my-major-is-k-howard

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Screaming Color

Happy New Year, everyone!! I thought I’d start 2021 off right with my last Parrlyn soulmate AU one shot. Thank you all for getting me through 2020. I appreciate and love all of you and hope that this year is a WAY better year for you. You deserve it! And as always, I hope you enjoy this one shot!! 💙💚

Word Count: 4388

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Anne shifted impatiently on her bed as she watched Kat closely observe each color on her eye shadow palette, indecisive on which one she should apply to her restless subject.

“Kat, I don’t have all day,” Anne complained as she looked down to Kat’s palette. To Anne, they were just a mix of lighter greys and darker greys, a sign that she still had yet to find her soulmate.

Anne thought briefly about the moment she would meet her soulmate and her monochromatic world would slowly turn into one of color. She longed to experience the wonderful sight of color that Kat had tried describing to her. Despite her best efforts, Anne still struggled to imagine what color was actually like. Though, Kat’s overt excitement while explaining the different shades and sights made Anne bubble with anticipation at the thought of sharing that first colored glance with her soulmate.

“We’re going to brunch with Anna,” Kat muttered absentmindedly. “We could literally have all day, if we wanted.”

“But you always spend so much time picking colors!” Anne whined as Kat finally picked one of the lighter greys to apply.

“I want to make sure those green eyes of yours pop if you happen to meet your soulmate today,” Kat replied as she began working on Anne’s makeup.

Anne paused for a moment to think about what Kat had said. “What is green like?” Anne asked dreamily after a few moments. She had asked this question countless times before but she never got tired of Kat’s answer.

“Green is like a gentle stroll in the park, surrounded by nature. It’s peaceful and quiet, like the feeling you get when someone truly knows you,” Kat answered as she moved from Anne’s left eye to her right. “At least, that’s what I think of when I see green. It reminds me of you. Because your eyes are the prettiest shade of green I’ve ever seen.”

“You and Anna are so lucky,” Anne whispered. “You met each other in elementary school. And I’m stuck here wondering if I’ll ever meet my soulmate.” Anne sighed despondently at the thought.

“You will, Anne!” Kat exclaimed. “And they’ll be the most amazing person ever!”

“I hope so,” Anne responded, silently dreaming about her soulmate as Kat finished doing her makeup.

~~~

Cathy grunted quietly to herself as she heard the front door of her apartment swing open. The two voices chattering to each other cut through Cathy’s concentration, causing her to stop halfway through writing her sentence. She set down her pen with a huff as she threw her head back in frustration.

This had become Cathy’s new normal, much to her distaste. After her roommate Catalina had found her soulmate early last month, the two lovebirds had become practically inseparable. They had spent the majority of their time together, enjoying the new sights and sensations that came as new soulmates bonded. And, all the while, Cathy had never felt more alone in the world.

Of course, Cathy felt guilty about her emotions but she couldn’t help feeling irritated when she saw Catalina with Jane. Cathy was sure Jane was a lovely woman but it stung when she remembered that she had been completely replaced by her.

It used to be Cathy that Catalina would sit and watch movies with. It used to be Cathy that Catalina would tell all of her thoughts to. It used to be Cathy that Catalina would want to spend time with. Now, Cathy had been reduced to a passing shadow in the background of Catalina’s life.

Cathy shook her head to clear her mind of those depressing thoughts. She shouldn’t be blaming Catalina for how lonely she felt. Deep down, Cathy knew she was just longing to have a connection with someone like Catalina had with Jane. She wanted to spend an endless amount of hours talking and laughing with someone that gave her butterflies. She wanted to experience color for the first time with her special someone and watch as her greyscale world slowly came to life. She wanted to find her soulmate.

The sound of giggles broke Cathy out of her thoughts, as she looked down at her journal with a sad expression. She wouldn’t be able to focus enough to write with all of the background noise coming from the living room. So instead, Cathy decided to leave the apartment altogether and head to her happy place: the library.

In a hurry, Cathy threw on her favorite hoodie before grabbing her phone and keys off her desk. She hoped that she would be able to get past the living room and out the front door without any awkward conversations.

Of course, luck was never on her side. A few paces before Cathy reached the door, Catalina noticed her. “Hey Cathy! Where are you going?”

“The library,” Cathy grunted as she reluctantly turned to face the couple that was cuddled up on the couch. Cathy did her best to refrain from wincing visibly at the sight.

“Hey!” Jane’s sickenly sweet tone made Cathy narrow her eyes skeptically. “I like your jacket!”

“Yeah! It’s blue,” Catalina said excitedly, which only added insult to injury. It was bad enough that Catalina had seemingly forgotten about Cathy in the past month but jabbing at her inability to see colors yet was a step too far.

“You know I can’t see color, Catalina!” Cathy finally snapped. “But thanks for rubbing it in my face that you can!”

“Cathy, I didn’t mean it like-” Catalina’s frantic response was cut off by Cathy slamming the door on her way out of the apartment. As she walked down the stairs, Cathy was overcome by guilt for acting out of anger and lashing out at Catalina. She almost turned back to apologize but decided against it, knowing it would be best for each of them to have their own space for a while before talking it out.

With that reasoning in mind, Cathy exited the building and rushed off to the library, hoping to find some solace among the endless shelves of books. Even if her sight was in black-and-white, she could always paint a vibrant picture in her head of the stories held within the bindings of a good book.

~~~

Anne turned off her motorcycle as she pulled into one of the spots in front of their favorite restaurant. She looked around the outdoor seating to see if Anna had arrived before them. Much to her surprise, she found Kat’s soulmate sitting at one of the tables with a menu in her hands.

“She’s actually on time for once,” Anne mused as she took off her helmet and slid off her motorcycle.

“I told her that she would make me sad if she turned our brunch into a lunch again,” Kat piped up from beside Anne as they approached the table.

“Did you give her your puppy dog eyes?” Anne asked and received a devilish smile in return.

“You bet I did!” Kat answered as Anne laughed and nudged her cousin’s shoulder affectionately.

“I taught you well,” Anne responded, winking at Kat with a smile on her face. “I’m so proud of your progress.”

Kat giggled before walking up behind Anna’s chair and covering her soulmate’s eyes with her hands. “Guess who it is!”

Anna paused for a moment, pretending to be deep in thought. “I think it might be my beautiful soulmate who also has extremely soft hands. Or her obnoxiously loud cousin.”

“Rude!” Anne scoffed jokingly at the last comment directed at her as she took a seat in the chair across from Anna.

“It’s me!” Kat exclaimed excitedly as she popped her head next to Anna’s. In turn, Anna smiled at her lovingly before pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

Anne watched the small exchange with a longing expression on her face. She couldn’t be more happy that her cousin had a perfect soulmate. It seemed like they were made for each other and Anne knew for a fact that nobody made Kat happier than Anna did.

Yet, seeing her interact with Anna made her heart drop slightly in her chest. Anne longed to share small moments like the one she had just witnessed with her own soulmate. She wanted to hug and kiss them, cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie together, and even invite them to brunch with Kat and Anna so that Anne would finally feel less alone. More than anything, she wanted to find her soulmate.

“Earth to Anne!” Anna’s exclamation snapped Anne suddenly out of her thoughts.

“Sorry! I got distracted,” Anne mumbled out as an apology.

“No worries! We were wondering if you were ready to order,” Kat chimed in.

Anne briefly looked down at the menu in front of her before nodding her head. She practically had the thing memorized after so many visits to this spot. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Not long after, the trio ordered their food and settled into casual conversation. They talked and laughed together until their waitress set down their plates and they began eating in silence.

After a few minutes of quiet, Kat piped up and said, “Anne, I can’t wait until you meet your soulmate!”

“What… what makes you say that?” Anne asked, caught off guard by Kat’s sudden confession.

“She wants you to start doing your own makeup,” Anna joked before Kat smacked her lightly on the arm. “Ow!”

“No, I love doing your makeup!” Kat exclaimed. “But brunch would be so much better if there were four of us.” Kat gestured to the empty chair in front of her, the perfect place for Anne’s soulmate to sit. Anne turned to look at the chair with a small smile on her face, imagining a near future where she could hold hands with her soulmate under the table as they ate brunch with Kat and Anna.

Anne was about to respond when something in the crowded sidewalk caught her eye. Her attention shifted completely away from her brunchmates as she turned to get a better look at what it was. She gawked as she saw the sight of a pretty woman rushing past their table, wearing something… colorful.

Anne suddenly pushed back her chair and stood up, turning around as she watched her soulmate run further down the street. “T-that was…” Anne stuttered as she turned back to Kat and Anna, who each had wide grins on their faces. “... color.”

“Go get ‘em!” Kat cheered and motioned for Anne to leave. Anne smiled back at her before quickly taking off in the direction her soulmate had gone.

After a moment of stunned silence, Anna spoke up. “I think you just summoned her soulmate, Kat.”

“Yes. I did,” Kat replied and lifted her head in pride. “I take full credit.”

“Do you think Anne is going to finish that?” Anna asked and gestured to her half-eaten plate of food.

“Probably not,” Kat answered and watched as Anna scooped the leftover food onto her own plate. She looked back up in the direction her cousin had gone in pursuit of her soulmate before continuing. “I doubt she'll be back any time soon.”

~~~

Cathy pushed open the library door with a huff before a sudden calm washed over her. The library atmosphere instantly soothed Cathy’s temperament as it brought back the many good memories she had made while reading her favorite classics.

Before Cathy could think about where she was going, her feet led her to the shelves holding the literary classics out of habit. As she browsed the different titles in search of a new one to read, Cathy felt her phone buzz in her pocket. She pulled it out and sighed when she saw several messages from Catalina asking where she was and apologizing profusely for her earlier behavior.

Cathy quickly grabbed a random book from the shelf before walking over to the seating area and picking a spot to sit away from the others who were reading. As she sat down, she slid the book on the table and began messaging Catalina, letting her know that she was at the library and also apologized for her sudden outburst. Cathy knew that they would still have to talk about why it had happened but for now it was nice to simply be forgiven.

After letting Catalina know she would be home in a few hours, Cathy slid her phone back in her pocket and turned to see which book she had grabbed from the shelf. A scowl passed over Cathy’s face as she let out a frustrated sigh. Sitting on the table was a hardback copy of “Romeo and Juliet,” one Cathy’s least favorite books.

The title seemed to mock Cathy, reminding her of the soulmate she still had yet to find. The first time Cathy read the book, she had been enamored by the love that Romeo and Juliet had for each other until she realized how disastrous their choices turned out to be for themselves and their families. Their love had been selfish and brash, a complete opposite of what Cathy hoped for herself and her future soulmate.

With those thoughts swirling in her head, Cathy slid the book away from her and resolved to find a new one when a voice spoke up beside her. “I’m not much of a fan of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ either.”

“Finally someone agrees! I think it’s a terrible portrayal of love for teens to read, especially when considering how much society has evolved since Shakespeare’s time and-” Cathy’s flow of words suddenly stopped as she turned to look at the person standing beside her chair. Her breath caught in her throat and for the first time in her life, Cathy was truly at a loss for words. Because nothing could describe the sight of the stranger’s eyes, glistening in a new shade that Cathy had never seen before.

She was utterly speechless as she stared in shock, suddenly realizing that the beautiful woman she was staring up at was her long-awaited soulmate. The girl shuffled nervously before flashing Cathy a quick smile. “I- um- can I sit with you?” Cathy’s soulmate stuttered as she gestured to the empty chair across from her own.

“Yeah, absolutely!” Cathy exclaimed eagerly as she broke out of her daze. She watched as the woman took a seat and looked back at her with curious eyes, causing her eyes to sparkle even more brightly than before. Cathy looked down shyly, almost unable to bear the intensity of the color in them.

“I’m Anne Boleyn. And I guess we’re soulmates,” Anne said with a nervous chuckle.

Cathy gave Anne a warm smile before introducing herself. “My name’s Catherine Parr. But most people just call me Cathy.”

“I like your jacket, Cathy,” Anne complimented. “Do you happen to know what color it is? Because it’s the first color I can see.”

In that instant, Cathy was incredibly grateful for Catalina and vowed to not only apologize profusely to her when she got home but also treat her to a nice dinner to show her gratitude for telling her the color of her jacket before she left. “My friend said it was blue,” Cathy replied as she looked down at her sleeve. The faintest hues were starting to seep into the fabric, though they were still too faint to differentiate from the grey the jacket was before.

“Blue,” Anne whispered to herself. “I like blue.”

“Anne, your eyes…” Cathy couldn’t even finish her sentence as she became enraptured once again by the beautiful colors in Anne’s irises.

“Oh, yeah! My cousin says they’re green,” Anne mentioned, proud of herself that she remembered the color.

“Green is beautiful,” Cathy said and admired the way Anne’s eyes lit up at the compliment.

“You’re beautiful,” Anne blurted out before ducking her head in embarrassment. Cathy blushed at the sudden praise and reached across the table to take Anne’s hand in her own.

“That’s really sweet, Anne,” Cathy nearly whispered as she gave Anne a soft smile. Anne returned Cathy’s smile with one of her own.

In that moment, Cathy felt the pang of loneliness she had carried around with her for so long finally dissipate into thin air. In its place, a small bud of love had sprouted for the woman sitting front of her, the same woman that also happened to be her soulmate. An elated feeling spread in Cathy’s chest at that thought. She couldn’t wait to get to know Anne better. She couldn’t wait to bond with her soulmate and live a life full of color with her. And she certainly couldn’t wait to fall in love with the green-eyed goddess sitting in front of her.

~~~

The two queens stayed in the library and talked with each other for quite a long time until eventually the librarian got tired of asking them to stay quiet and politely asked them to leave. Anne and Cathy apologized for being disruptive before leaving the library as they quietly giggled to themselves.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been kicked out of a library,” Cathy commented as they walked hand-in-hand down the street.

“Oh, I’ve probably been blacklisted from every library in town for being too loud at this point,” Anne joked and nudged Cathy’s shoulder lightly. “Where are we off to next?”

“There’s a park not too far from here,” Cathy said with a question in her eyes. “I’d like to see it in color, if you’re okay with that.”

“I’m more than okay with that, Cathy,” Anne responded and squeezed Cathy’s hand in reassurance. “I love spending time with you.”

Cathy looked up to Anne with a shy smile on her face. “I love spending time with you too. I know we haven’t known each other for that long but you’re my new favorite person.” Cathy bit her lip nervously at the confession, watching Anne’s response to see if she had gone too far.

Anne visibly lit up at Cathy’s words. “You’re my new favorite person too!” Anne exclaimed excitedly before taking a moment to pretend like she was pondering thoughtfully to herself. “It’s almost like we’re soulmates or something,” Anne joked, eliciting a small laugh from Cathy.

“Maybe it’s because we are soulmates,” Cathy said with a smile on her face. Anne took that opportunity to look at Cathy for a moment and admire how beautiful Cathy really was. A lively color had seeped into her skin in the past couple of hours, contrasting from the dull grey it was before, giving her an almost angelic glow in Anne’s eyes. Her smile literally lit up Anne’s world, making the colors that had appeared in her surroundings over time a little brighter than before. Cathy’s gentle touch made Anne crave every part of her, filling Anne’s mind with daydreams of them cuddling and kissing one another as Cathy led her to the nearby park.

Anne was broken out of her thoughts by Cathy gasping next to her. She looked around for a moment before having a similar reaction to Cathy. Anne stared in amazement at the beautiful park in front of her, practically glowing with a newfound life that Anne had never experienced before.

Anne tore her gaze away from the sight of the park to steal a quick glance at Cathy. She smiled subconsciously as she watched Cathy look around, taking in every new color and committing it to memory. After a brief moment, Cathy turned to look at Anne and they shared a smile.

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Anne exclaimed excitedly and pulled Cathy towards the entrance of the park. Cathy eagerly followed her, sharing in Anne’s excitement to experience their first walk in the park together in color.

The new soulmates spent most of their early afternoon roaming along the park’s walkways, admiring their surroundings as the colors around them became more vibrant and lively. They chatted as they walked, getting to know each other better as they exchanged interests and a few laughs as well.

Anne felt so at peace in the world, relishing in the park’s atmosphere and bright colors as she brushed shoulders gently with Cathy. There was no feeling like it. For the first time in her life, Anne felt truly whole. Of course, her upgraded eyesight was amazing but the real reason for her happiness was the beautiful girl beside her, the girl she was quickly falling in love with.

“Everything is so much more beautiful now,” Cathy breathed out as she scanned the park briefly, her eyes landing on Anne. “And it’s even better than everything in the park is also green.”

Anne tilted her head in confusion as she looked around at the trees and grass, noticing that their hue was the predominant color in the park. She looked back to Cathy. “You mean my eyes are the same color as the trees?” Anne asked, almost in disbelief.

Cathy nodded. “Though, your eyes are brighter than the leaves.”

“Wow.” Anne was at a loss for words. Kat’s description of the color green came back to Anne’s mind and she suddenly understood what Kat had been trying to explain. Colors enhanced moments that would otherwise seem ordinary, making them all the more exciting and memorable. They helped make connections between memories and surroundings, similar to how Anne’s favorite color had quickly become blue because it reminded her of Cathy.

Cathy led Anne to a bench and they sat down next to each other. Cathy turned to Anne and brushed the hair that was covering her cheek behind her ear. Anne blushed at the gesture as Cathy brought her hand to rest on Anne's cheek. She leaned into the touch as Cathy softly stroked her cheek.

Slowly, the two of them leaned in for a kiss and Anne felt a million butterflies erupt in her stomach. When their lips touched, Anne felt her heart flutter in her chest and she was certain that she could spend the rest of her life kissing Cathy.

They parted after a few moments and Anne felt a small smile play on her lips as she watched Cathy look around in awe at the park that had suddenly become much more vibrant and alive than before.

“Do you think that happens every time?” Cathy asked as she looked back to Anne with an excited smile on her face.

“I think there’s only one way to find out,” Anne said with a smirk. Cathy raised an eyebrow before licking her lips and pulling Anne in for more kisses. Though Cathy didn’t look back at her surroundings after that, instead keeping her eyes closed and enjoying the sensation of Anne’s lips on her own.

Anne quickly lost track of time, too caught up in losing herself in Cathy’s arms and in their later conversation.

“Hey! I’m curious, Anne,” Cathy began after her giggles had ceased from Anne’s stories about her disastrous experiences while attempting to cook. “How did you find me? At the library, I mean.”

“Oh! I didn’t actually,” Anne replied. “I saw you run past the restaurant where I was eating and tried to catch up to you. But, you’re really fast! I saw you walk into the library and then it was only a matter of time until I found you.”

Cathy’s eyes flashed guiltily as she remembered why she had been speeding to the library. “Oh. Yeah, I was upset after a fight I had with my roommate. Going to the library helps me calm down.”

“Is everything okay between you too?” Anne asked as she rubbed Cathy’s shoulder, sensing her distress at the memory.

“Not… exactly,” Cathy managed to reply. “She found her soulmate recently as well and I felt like she replaced me in a way. I got angry with her and snapped at her before I left. We apologized to each other but I know we still have to talk it out when I get back.”

“I know how you feel. When my cousin and I moved in together, I felt like she was spending more time with her soulmate than with me,” Anne empathized. “I talked with her about how I was feeling and she made sure to include me more and have one-on-one time together after that. I know it’s pretty cliché but communication really is key.”

Cathy pondered over what Anne had said before a look of determination passed over her features. “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll go talk to her.” Cathy paused momentarily and looked back to see Anne’s proud smile. “Thank you, Anne.”

“No problem, Cathy,” Anne said, before a look of complete terror passed over her face. “I totally forgot I left my motorcycle at brunch!” Anne exclaimed as she dropped her head in her hands in embarrassment.

Cathy giggled at Anne’s dramatic reaction before saying, “Hey, it’s okay. Let’s walk back to your brunch spot and then I can walk back to my apartment to talk with Catalina.”

“Yeah okay,” Anne breathed out as she stood up, followed by Cathy. “I could drive you to your apartment, if you’d like.”

Cathy smiled at Anne’s offer. “That would be nice.” The soulmates smiled at each other before making their way to the small restaurant where Anne had first seen Cathy. Much to her relief, her motorcycle was still parked out front where she had left it. Kat and Anna were gone but Kat had placed Anne’s helmet on the seat of her motorcycle. Anne picked it up and handed it to Cathy for her to put on.

Anne turned the motorcycle on and felt it roar to life under her. Cathy slid behind Anne and wrapped her arms around Anne’s torso, causing Anne to smile widely at the action.

As Anne navigated the streets following Cathy’s instruction, she was overcome by how suddenly her life had changed. In the morning, she had been dreaming of what it would be like to have a soulmate and now she had hers pressed softly against her back. In the morning, Anne was longing for someone to fill the void of loneliness in her heart and now Anne’s heart was overflowing with love for the beautiful woman behind her. In the morning, Anne’s world had been in black-and-white and now it was in screaming color.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Invisible String

Happy holidays, everyone!! It’s been a while but I thought I would post this as a gift to everyone! I hope you all are staying safe and finding ways to stay positive. You all always brighten my day and I hope this little drabble manages to brighten yours a little more. I hope you all enjoy! 💙💚

Word Count: 4574

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Anne sat on her bed gazing out her window, lost in her thoughts. Her eyes were fixed on the full moon that was rising in the sky, watching it curiously as her mind ran through different scenarios in her head of the moment she would meet her soulmate.

Anne was acutely aware that staying up late and thinking about her soulmate would not make their first meeting come any quicker but it still became a nightly tradition for Anne to stare at the moon and wonder if her soulmate was doing the same thing. 

For a brief moment, Anne broke her staring contest with the moon to look down at her hands. She noticed that she was twirling the red string that was tied to her right pinky around her left index finger, a habit that Anne had formed over the years when she was thinking deeply about something.

Anne tilted her head to the side and smiled happily as she wrapped her physical connection to her soulmate around her finger once more. She thought about the person that was tied to the other end, the only other person that could see the invisible thread besides Anne. Who were they? What hobbies did they have? When was their birthday? Where did they live? Did they think about Anne late at night too?

Anne sighed to herself before checking her clock for the time. Noticing how late it had gotten, Anne reluctantly pulled her blanket over her and laid her head down on her pillow. Unfortunately, she had to be up early the next morning for work which meant she had to grind her daydreaming to halt and catch some sleep. Those thoughts of her soulmate would have to wait until the morning.

~~~

Anne groaned as she rolled over in her bed and tried to muffle the sound of her alarm with her pillow. It worked temporarily until the blaring from her phone grew too loud to ignore. Angrily, Anne threw the covers off of her and reached out to turn off her alarm. 

From there, she slowly got ready for the day, putting a simple outfit together and applying some makeup before getting ready to head to the library. Anne loved working at the library, much to the dismay of her friends who never thought she would enjoy a second of quiet given her generally loud nature. Cleves often joked about how Anne would one day get fired for upsetting her boss by disrupting the peaceful atmosphere with her chaotic tendencies. Anne was determined to prove Cleves wrong. 

Anne actually found the quietness of the library relaxing, especially when taking in the wealth of knowledge lining the shelves. The only downside to working at the library was her grumpy boss that always seemed to be looking for a reason to punish Anne and assign her menial tasks. The last time she had upset her boss, she had been assigned to customer service for the week to deal with the many complaints that were brought to her.  

Anne shook her head and stared at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, appraising her appearance before grabbing her phone and keys. She looked to her clock and silently cursed when she saw that she was roughly ten minutes behind schedule. Not wanting to be late, Anne rushed out of her apartment and onto the street.

As Anne sped walked to the library, she couldn’t help but smile when she noticed her red string leading in the same direction that she was walking. She followed the thread’s path, thinking to herself about how amazing it would be if she finally met the person on the other end of the string. Anne contemplated briefly just following the string until she found her soulmate but quickly shook that thought out of her mind. Her boss would not only fire her if she did that but also probably hire a hitman to take her out silently.

Anne shuddered at the thought as she rounded the corner, finally seeing the entrance to the library loom before her. When she got closer, Anne did a double take as she peered more intently at the doors, not believing her eyes when she noticed a little red string leading into the library.

Anne let out a shocked gasp when she realized her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her and were actually seeing her soulmate thread leading up the steps to the library. Anne all but stumbled up the stairs in excitement, unable to control herself at the thought of finally meeting her soulmate. 

She burst through the doors and smiled widely when she saw the invisible string trail over to the classics section of the library. Anne was about to follow her thread of fate when she regrettably heard her name get called by her extra grumpy-looking boss.

“Anne Boleyn!” her boss shouted, disrupting the peaceful quiet of the library. “Come here now!”

“This could not be worse timing,” Anne spat under her breath as she approached her boss, glancingly longingly to the classics where her red string led.

“Do you want to explain why you are fifteen minutes late?” her boss questioned accusingly while crossing his arms.

“Listen, I’m sorry. I was running behind schedule and didn’t have the chance to catch a cab,” Anne reasoned shooting a glance back at the direction of the classics.

“That’s no excuse,” her boss deadpanned. “You’re lucky I haven’t fired you yet for being such a pathetic excuse of an employee. You’ve earned yourself cataloguing duties today for your unexcused tardiness.”

“Yes, sir,” Anne managed to mumble out through gritted teeth. Her eyes dropped to the red string tied to her pinky. Maybe she could just take a few minutes and find her soulmate without her boss noticing.

“Now, Boleyn. The cataloguing is not going to do itself.” Her boss shut down those hopes in an instant. Anne knew that his focus would be solely on her for the rest of her shift, waiting for her to mess up so he would finally have a reason to fire her.

“Yes, sir,” Anne mumbled and walked in the direction of the cataloguing equipment. Of all the passive-aggressive punishments Anne received, cataloguing was by far her least favorite. On top of being boring, she was secluded from the rest of the library and confined to a small desk in one of the out-of-the-way corners. At least with customer service, Anne had people to interact with, even if they were usually angry moms. Cataloguing was just downright depressing.

As she walked towards the cataloguing desk, Anne shot one last glance towards the classics section. When she realized that the string was no longer leading that way, she stopped and looked around for where her soulmate had gone. Her heart dropped when she saw the string leading out the entrance of the library. Anne had come so close to meeting her soulmate only for her dreams to be crushed in a swift turn of events.

For the rest of her shift, Anne sulked in her desk chair, thinking of what might have been if she had just arrived to work fifteen minutes earlier. Anne didn’t twirl her red thread of fate and think about her soulmate like she usually did during her shifts. Instead she cursed herself for an endless list of reasons that had prevented her from finding her soulmate, possibly forever.

~~~

“Anne, you’ll find your soulmate again!” Kat encouraged Anne from her spot next to her on the couch. “If they checked out a book, they’ll have to return it eventually.”

“But it probably won’t be during my shift,” Anne complained, slumping further into the cushions as she grabbed another cookie from the table in front of her. “And even if it was, my boss will find another way to ruin my life. Again.” Anne took a bite of the cookie angrily.

“Have you tried bringing your boss coffee in the mornings?” Kat asked with a hopeful look on her face. “That sometimes works! In movies, at least.” Kat mumbled the last part under her breath before flashing Anne one of her signature smiles.

“Kitty, I love you for trying to fix my relationship with my evil boss but I could literally fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool with coffee for him and he would still hate me with every fiber of his body,” Anne lamented dramatically.

“Why don’t you just quit if you hate him so much?” Kat asked, clearly confused by Anne’s stubbornness in continuing to work at the library if she was so miserable.

Anne sighed. “Because I really like working at the library. Sure, my boss sucks and makes me do the worst jobs but being surrounded by books from so many perspectives and eras is inspiring. On the same book shelf, there can be a novel written in 1899 by a white woman empowering the independence of women from men and an autobiography by a Muslim woman recounting her activism for female education under the Pakistani Taliban. That’s incredible! And every time I check out a book that someone is reading, I have hope that the knowledge hidden within those pages will be passed on from author to reader.” Anne finished her speech with a huff. As much as she loved working at the library, it still didn’t change the fact that she had missed her only chance at meeting her soulmate.

“Well, I’m sure your soulmate would agree with that. You said they were looking in the classics section, right? That means they’re probably super smart,” Kat said in a light tone, hoping to finally break Anne out of her spell of sadness.

“And I’ll probably never see them again,” Anne replied despondently before looking to Kat with a small smile. “At least I have you. We can just move in together and forget about finding soulmates. Who needs them anyway?”

Kat smiled nervously. “Actually… about that…”

“Don’t tell me that you found your soulmate,” Anne whined and threw her head back in despair. “I’m destined to be alone forever!” 

“No, you’ll find your soulmate eventually!” Kat exclaimed, preventing Anne from getting lost in her depressing thoughts. “I’m sure they’ll show up when you’re not even looking.”

Anne smiled weakly. “Thanks, Kat. I don’t believe you but your faith in me is comforting.”

“Anytime, Anne,” Kat responded, thankful for any victory in cheering Anne up no matter how small. “How about we watch a movie together! I’ll make us some popcorn!”

Anne smiled as she watched Kat run off to put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. She was thankful to have such a kind-hearted person as her cousin. Kat was always there for her when she needed her and comforted her when she was feeling down. Who needed a soulmate when there was someone like Kat in the world?

Kat stayed with Anne for the rest of the day, making sure that she was alright before Anne finally convinced her to go home. After Kat left, Anne started to get ready for bed, determined to get a full night of rest so she didn’t arrive late to work again. She changed into her pajamas and flopped onto her bed, pulling her covers over her. 

Though before Anne closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she looked out of her window to the moon that was casting its soft light into her room. Anne wondered for a moment how different her life would’ve turned out if she had met her soulmate that morning in the library. She heaved a sigh at the thought and looked down to her red string, twirling it once around her finger before letting it drop. Maybe Kat was right. Maybe her soulmate would show up when she least expected it.

Anne finally let her head drop onto her pillow and closed her eyes, waiting for her dreams to take over. She hoped that they would be pleasant dreams of unicorns and rainbows rather than nightmares of losing her soulmate before she had even found them.

~~~

Anne awoke to the sound of her alarm and immediately threw her covers off of her and slid out of bed. She swiftly turned off her alarm and got ready for the day. After adding a few final touches to her makeup, Anne deemed herself ready to leave with a final glance in the mirror. 

Without missing a beat, Anne scooped up her keys and phone and left her apartment. She was greeted by the warm sunshine as she stepped outside, which brought a small smile to her face. The morning sun always made her walk to the library much more pleasant, putting her in a good mood as she ascended the stairs to the library’s entrance.

However, her good mood immediately evaporated when she saw her boss lingering by the entrance, a scowl appearing on his face as he noticed Anne approaching him.

“Boleyn, you’re early today,” her boss commented as he placed the books he was holding in the return bin next to him.

“Yes, sir. I learned my lesson yesterday,” Anne responded, forcing a smile onto her lips albeit painfully.

“Wonderful,” her boss muttered sarcastically. “You’re shelving books today. And just because you came in early doesn’t mean you get to slack off. You’d better start shelving right away.”

“Yes, sir,” Anne replied, holding back a sigh of relief that she was shelving books instead of cataloguing. Shelving books was actually one of her favorite jobs to do, since she got to see what books had been checked out recently. It was interesting to find out which books were more popular than others and which were diamonds in the rough. Anne had actually found a few lesser known books she had thoroughly enjoyed through this task.

After a few trips around the library placing books back on shelves, Anne came across her first book that belonged in the classics section. It was a compilation of Emily Dickinson poems, a book that Anne was immediately interested in. Anne had always been a huge poetry nerd, loving the aspects of both reading and writing such eloquent poems.

Anne shook her head to clear her thoughts and looked up from the book, searching the bin for a few more books belonging to the classics section of the library before making her way to return them to their spots on the shelves.

As she walked down the aisle to the classics, Anne felt her heart sag in her chest as she remembered how her red string had trailed to this area of the library the day before. Her soulmate had been standing just a few paces away from where Anne was walking now. Anne longed to turn back time to the day before and make this same trip, following her thread of fate to finally see her soulmate for the first time. But instead, Anne was doomed to the reality that she had blown her chance and her wishful thinking changed nothing about how the events had actually unfolded.

Anne sighed to herself, shoulders slumping down as she entered the first aisle to deposit a few books in their place. As Anne bounced bath and forth putting away the classics she was holding, she noticed one person arrive and begin looking around at the selection on the shelves. Anne watched the woman momentarily before sliding another book onto the shelf in front of her.

She was absolutely breathtaking, with her curly brown hair framing the sides of her face and those intelligent-looking eyes intently reading over the titles of the books in front of her. Her lips were pursed tightly together, clearly focused on finding a specific book from the shelf. Her fingers trailed along the spines of the books as she read their names, gingerly touching each one before passing onto the next.

Anne stared at the woman in awe, completely captivated by her every movement. Not only was she jaw-droppingly gorgeous, she was also in the poetry classics section which was a huge win in Anne’s book. After a few moments of admiring her, Anne’s gaze dropped to the final book in her hands, scared that the girl would catch her staring and think she was some creep.

Anne smiled when she noticed that the last book was the collection of Emily Dickinson. She also realized that the location of the book was right around where the pretty woman was scouring the shelves. Anne shot a shy glance in the girl’s direction and noticed something she hadn’t seen the first time she looked at her.

Anne did a quick doubletake and did her best to restrain a loud gasp when she finally realized that the red string tied to the woman’s hand was not a figment of her imagination but actually quite real. And Anne could see it! Anne’s soulmate was standing right in front of her. Anne’s soulmate came back.

Without a second to lose, Anne crossed the distance between them, lingering a couple steps away before clearing her throat. “Excuse me,” Anne whispered out shyly, suddenly becoming very nervous to introduce herself to her soulmate.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” the girl apologized without looking at Anne, shuffling to the side so that Anne could get a better view of the shelf.

“Um, I was actually wanting to… talk to you,” Anne answered as she looked down and shuffled with the book in her hands.

The woman finally looked away from the shelf and turned to Anne with a curious expression on her face. However, the curiosity melted away and was replaced with a look of recognition as the woman’s jaw dropped in shock. “It’s you.”

“It’s… me?” Anne tilted her head in confusion. Anne was certain this was the first time they had met. But then, why did her soulmate recognize her.

“You’re my soulmate,” the girl whispered softly. She lightly twirled the red string that tied them together around her finger and slowly trailed it toward Anne’s end. She stopped about halfway between them before dropping the string and looking back to Anne with a small smile.

“Yeah,” Anne breathed out as she slowly looked up from their red thread of fate. “But, what? How…?” Anne was at a loss for words.

“I saw you yesterday,” her soulmate admitted. “You were talking with your boss. I wanted to say something but I was too nervous to talk to you. And plus your boss didn’t seem that… friendly.”

Anne chuckled. “Yeah, he’s not my biggest fan. I’m just lucky he’s having me shelve books today instead of cataloguing for the rest of eternity.” Anne held up the sole book in her hands so that her soulmate could see it.

The girl laughed as her eyes trailed to the book Anne was holding. Her eyes lit up when she saw the cover. “Hey! That’s the book I was looking for!” She reached out to take the book from Anne and she obliged with a smile. “It wasn’t here yesterday but I wanted to check again today.”

“I’m hoping that wasn’t the only reason you came back,” Anne said with a shy smile, hope glistening in her eyes.

Anne’s soulmate returned her smile with one of her own. “Well, there’s also this really cute librarian that works here. She has the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen in my life and a gorgeous smile that lights up the room. She’s been on my mind since I saw her yesterday, getting yelled at by her boss. Maybe you know her?”

Anne blushed profusely at her soulmate’s words but managed to recover just in time to reply with a quip of her own. “I know her quite well actually. Her name’s Anne Boleyn and she loves reading all sorts of books, which is why she decided to work at a library. I also know that she’s been waiting her entire life to meet her soulmate and she’s happier than she’s ever been in her life right now.”

It was her soulmate’s turn to blush this time. “That’s really sweet, Anne.”

Anne smiled victoriously as she saw her soulmate’s cheeks heat up. “So, can I get your name, love?”

The girl’s eyes widened as her blush deepened, realizing she hadn’t introduced herself yet. “Yes! Sorry! I’m Catherine Parr, but most people call me Cathy.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cathy,” Anne said, savoring the feeling of her soulmate’s name rolling off her tongue. She could definitely get used to saying it.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too-” Cathy began but was cut off by another voice.

“Anne Boleyn! Stop slacking off and get back shelving books! You’ll be lucky if I don’t fire you after this shift for your misbehavior.” Anne’s boss suddenly appeared in the aisle behind Anne, who turned to see the man standing with his arms crossed and a condescending look on her face.

Before she could apologize, Cathy cut in with her own response. “Oh, I’m sorry, sir! She was just helping me find a book. I didn’t mean to distract her from her job.” Cathy turned her attention back to Anne. “What was that book you were telling me about?”

Anne’s eyes flashed with relief before replying, “It’s a collection of poems from the Harlem Renaissance. It’s one of my favorites.” Anne turned to her boss and ducked her head in apology. “I’ll get right back to shelving books after I find this woman the book I was recommending, sir.”

Her boss grumbled to himself before nodding curtly and walking away. Anne let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding until he left. She looked back to Cathy with a huge smile. “Thank you for that. You probably saved me from a month’s worth of customer service duty.”

Cathy giggled at Anne’s way of thanking her. “You’re welcome! Now, do you want to show me that book on the Harlem Renaissance?”

Anne nodded and quickly led Cathy to the right aisle and pulled out the book. She handed it to Cathy with a grin. “My shift ends in an hour and a half if you want to go somewhere after.” Anne bit her lip nervously, hoping that Cathy wouldn’t reject her.

Much to her relief, Cathy smiled warmly and nodded. “I would love to.”

“Awesome! That’s great!” Anne replied excitedly, staring back at Cathy for a few seconds as they both took in the other as their moment of silence stretched longer.

“You should probably get back to shelving books before your boss yells at you again,” Cathy remarked, breaking the comfortable silence. “I’ll be in the reading section when your shift is over.”

“Yeah! Okay!” Anne stuttered out. “I’ll see you later.” Before Anne could think about what she was doing, she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Cathy’s cheek, leaving both girls blushing as Anne pulled away. “Bye!”

Cathy bit her lip before breathing out a small “bye” as she watched Anne walk off to continue shelving books.

Anne spent the rest of her shift running back and forth, depositing books back in their places on the shelves. Though, a few times Anne took the long way to her destination just so she could walk by the reading section and take a few moments to watch Cathy read. Anne’s heart fluttered when she noticed that Cathy was now wearing reading glasses. She didn’t know it was even possible but Cathy’s frames made her even cuter to Anne as she read one of Langston Hughes’ poems from the book Anne had picked out for her. 

The final 90 minutes of Anne’s shift passed incredibly slowly, which only made Anne even more excited when it finally ended. She signed out of her shift mere seconds after it ended and sped directly to the table where Cathy was intently reading another poem from the Harlem Renaissance collection. In fact, she was so focused on the page in front of her that she didn’t even notice Anne slide into the seat in front of her.

Anne picked up on this and took a few moments to admire her soulmate. Her heart started beating a little quicker and she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach when it finally sunk in that Cathy was really her soulmate. Anne silently declared herself the luckiest person in the world to have someone like Cathy as a soulmate.

“You are so much more beautiful than I ever could’ve imagined,” Anne blurted out before her eyes widened as she realized she had said that thought out loud. 

Cathy looked up from her book with a little smile. “I could say the same thing.”

Anne ducked her head to hide the color creeping into her cheeks and cleared her throat. “Um, do you like the book so far?” Anne gestured to the poem collection in Cathy’s hands.

“Yeah! It’s amazing!” Cathy responded ecstatically. “You have really good taste in poetry.”

“So do you!” Anne pointed out and glanced at the Emily Dickinson collection lying on the table. “I love Emily Dickinson!”

An annoyed shush caused the couple to jump in their seats. They ducked their heads sheepishly when they realized how loud and disruptive they were being.

“Maybe we should get going now,” Anne suggested.

“Maybe we should,” Cathy agreed.

The two queens got up from the table and made their way hand-in-hand out of the library. Anne shot a quick glance at their intertwined fingers and smiled when she saw the red string hanging below their hands, swinging back and forth as they walked. Anne had spent so many years twirling that red thread by herself, longing to do what Anne was doing in that moment. Longing to hold hands with her soulmate. Longing to smile and laugh with her soulmate. Longing to kiss her soulmate. Longing to build a future with her soulmate.

A rush of emotions overtook Anne for a moment as all of her midnight daydreams came back to mind, suddenly much more vivid and only an arms-reach away. She stopped walking and squeezed Cathy’s hand to get her attention. Cathy turned back to her with concern in her eyes, noticing the near-desperate look on Anne’s face.

“Is everything okay-” Cathy was cut off by a pair of lips being pressed desperately to hers. Cathy smiled into the kiss before melting into the slow rhythm and movement of their lips. Anne tenderly brought her free hand to Cathy’s cheek, slowly caressing it as she pulled away.

“Sorry, I just-” Anne started but was cut off by Cathy.

“Don’t apologize!” Cathy pressed her forehead to Anne’s gently. “I’ve been waiting my whole life to do that.”

Anne blinked slowly as she took a second to treasure the special moment that she had just shared with Cathy. They had just shared their first kiss, the first of many Anne hoped. 

Anne sighed happily and pulled away from Cathy, bringing their intertwined hands up to her lips and pressing a light kiss to the back of Cathy’s. Anne’s eyes darted momentarily to their red thread of fate which was no longer red anymore. A glistening gold had mysteriously replaced the crimson red it was before. 

Anne’s eyes trailed up from the string to meet Cathy’s soft gaze. They both let a grin take over their features before Anne finally broke the silence between them.

“I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”   

[my-major-is-k-howard]

The Emerald Letter

Hey guys! I’m finally back with another soulmate AU one shot. This one is a little shorter than my other ones but it was still pretty fun to write. I hope you all enjoy! 💙💚

Word Count: 3013

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Cathy stood by herself in her godmother’s apartment lobby, waiting patiently as the elevator descended the floors. She was on her way to pay Catherine a visit to catch up over tea, something the two had been doing at least once a month for years. Cathy smiled softly to herself as she recalled all of the memories that she had made with Catherine during these special moments together. 

She looked back up at the elevator’s floor indicators and watched the numbers slowly decrease. This elevator was one of the slowest on the planet, which Cathy could attest to as someone who had ridden it plenty of times. 

She sighed quietly to herself before looking down at the inside of her wrist, noticing that she was once again tracing the small letter that was there out of habit. Cathy stopped tracing the mark and appraised the green letter A, the only hint of who her soulmate was. The green letter meant the first letter of her soulmate’s name would be the first letter of the alphabet.

Cathy wondered what it would be like to finally find her soulmate. She had heard from some of her friends that it would be like finding the missing part of you. There would be an instant connection, a connection that would make you feel complete for the first time in your life. But the only way to know for sure would be after they introduced themselves and the soulmate letter finally disappeared for good.

Unfortunately for Cathy, she had met a lot of people throughout her life that had a name beginning with the same vowel on her wrist. Alfred. Audrey. Alex. Abby. Adam. Each person she met that had a name that began with A made her heart skip a beat. Her eyes would immediately dart to her wrist to see if her letter would fade away. Much to her disappointment, it never did. Her soulmate was still out there somewhere, bearing a C on their own wrist that stood for Cathy.  

Cathy was snapped out of her thoughts by the elevator doors screeching open in front of her. She quickly entered and pressed the button that would take her up to the sixth floor. To her dismay however, the elevator began descending to the basement instead of taking her to the designated floor. Cathy cursed under her breath as the elevator stopped, dreading the unwanted social interaction that was bound to follow.

The doors opened to let the stranger in and immediately all of Cathy’s annoyance at the inconvenience melted away. Standing before her was possibly the most beautiful woman Cathy had ever seen in her life. Cathy took in the sight of the raven hair that flowed down in front of her shoulders, the porcelain skin that almost seemed to glow in the dingy light of the elevator, the leather jacket and boots that made her appearance even more awe-striking. Finally, Cathy made eye contact with the stranger and had to restrain herself from gasping aloud at the stunning emerald eyes that were curiously staring back at her.  

The moment ended as quickly as it had started when the stranger moved to press the elevator button, shifting the motorcycle helmet she was holding under one arm as the other stretched towards the button panel. She stopped halfway when she noticed that the sixth floor button was already pressed. Cathy shuffled to the corner of the elevator to give the stranger more room as she found a comfortable place to stand. 

Cathy shyly looked over at the pretty stranger who gave her a small smile in greeting. Cathy returned the smile before ducking her head and staring at her feet. After a few moments, Cathy looked up to watch the floors pass, refraining from stealing another glance at the other person in the elevator. For once, Cathy was glad that the old elevator took so long to reach its destination. She craved more time with the stranger in the elevator, even if it was just a few more moments.

Suddenly, there was a loud screech that echoed in the elevator shaft as the old machine shuddered to a stop between the fourth and fifth floors. Cathy grabbed onto the rail to prevent herself from falling. Her elevator buddy sloppily mirrored her movements, dropping her helmet in the process as the elevator shrieked to a halt.

Cathy had to stifle a giggle at the woman’s clumsy movements before the realization set in that she was now stuck in an old, rusty elevator. In a panic, Cathy pulled out her phone to call her godmother for help. She huffed when she saw that there was no service in the elevator and glumly slid her phone back into her pocket.

The other woman in the elevator picked up her helmet from the floor and quickly went to press the emergency alarm on the control panel. When no sound came out, the stranger banged on the metal a few times before trying again. The woman cursed quietly to herself when the alarm still stayed silent.

“Well, this is a shitty situation,” the stranger breathed out in defeat.

“You don’t say,” Cathy responded as the stranger turned to look at her. The two women shared a glance, and Cathy felt all of the panic from before evaporate into thin air.

The woman smiled at her. “Well, it could be worse. At least, I’m stuck with a pretty girl and not some creepy dude.”

Cathy blushed at the comment before shooting back a witty response. “And I’m stuck with a clumsy biker.”

The woman gave Cathy a sheepish grin. “My helmet slipped, okay? I’m not clumsy.” The woman looked down at the floor as she said the last statement, which Cathy took as a sign that she probably was quite a clumsy person.

“Whatever you say, Klutz,” Cathy joked as the woman across the elevator from her gave her a faux angry glare.

“Okay. That’s rude. I’ve known you for like one whole minute and you’re already giving me mean nicknames,” the biker shot back playfully as she fidgeted with her helmet.

One whole minute. That caught Cathy off guard. It had only been one minute and Cathy was already joking around with this stranger as if they had known each other their whole lives. Cathy shook her head before responding to her elevator acquaintance. “Well, it’s only fair if I let you give me one. Do your worst, Klutz.”

Cathy smirked as the girl struggled to come up with a nickname for her. “You really put me on the spot there.” The biker scratched the back of her neck as she appraised Cathy. “All I can think of is Pretty Girl. But that’s not a mean nickname at all.”

Cathy blushed at the phrase once again and smiled softly. “That’s actually really sweet, Klutz. Who knew you would be such a softie.”

“The leather jacket can only do so much for my reputation before my true colors show through,” the biker mused jokingly before looking back to the elevator control panel where the button for the sixth floor was still glowing a faint orange. She looked back to Cathy with a curious expression on her face. “I haven’t seen you around. Are you new here?”

“Oh, I don’t live here,” Cathy responded shyly as she rubbed her arm. “I was actually just visiting my godmother, Catherine.”

“Oh! We’re neighbors!” the woman commented excitedly. “When I was moving in, I accidentally walked into her apartment and she freaked out. She started yelling at me in Spanish and I barely escaped within an inch of my life. Good times.”

Cathy chuckled at the anecdote. “She told me that story not that long ago. She thought you were trying to rob her hence the angry Spanish yelling. She did say that she felt bad so she made you cookies as an apology.”

The woman laughed and nodded. “Those were the best cookies I’ve ever had.”

“She also mentioned that you have a habit of playing music obnoxiously loud in the middle of the night,” Cathy added with a smirk.

The biker’s eyes widened before smiling shyly. “Yeah, I guess I’m a bad neighbor. I should probably make her some apology cookies.”

“Maybe you should try flowers instead, Klutz. I wouldn’t trust you around anything in the kitchen,” Cathy joked before taking a seat on the floor of the elevator. It seemed like they would be stuck for a while so why not pass the time talking with the woman until help arrived.

“You’re so mean to me, Pretty Girl,” the woman said as she sat next to Cathy. “For your information, I am superb at using a microwave.” She flashed Cathy a brilliant smile that made her heart pound in her chest. There was something about this girl that drew Cathy in, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. 

She was totally enraptured by the sight in front of her that she almost forgot to reply. “I bet you are. You must be such a culinary expert in that department,” Cathy giggled.

“Wait until you try my ramen, Pretty Girl. Gordon Ramsay would be quaking at my skills preparing that dish,” she joked which made Cathy laugh even harder. Her acquaintance joined in her laughter until both of them were almost in tears.

“You know, out of everybody I could have been trapped in an elevator with, I’m glad it was you, Klutz,” Cathy commented after her laughter subsided.

“Yeah, it’s like fate wanted us to meet or something,” Cathy’s new friend added, glancing back at her with a small smile.

Cathy looked back at the woman next to her and mirrored her smile. They stayed like that for a few moments, getting lost in each other’s eyes before the biker cleared her throat nervously.

“So, I haven’t asked yet. Have you met your soulmate?” The woman dropped Cathy’s gaze shyly as she began fidgeting with her helmet that was resting beside her.

Cathy smiled softly at the biker before looking down at her wrist and began tracing her soulmate mark. “No, not yet.” She looked back up to the woman next to her, who was gazing back at her with a new glimmer in her eyes. Cathy hesitated for a moment before she decided to return the question. 

For some reason, it made Cathy’s heart ache when she thought about her new friend having a soulmate. She knew that they had just met but Cathy already felt so connected to the biker, more connected than she was to some of her friends even. Cathy took a quick breath to clear her mind of those emotions before letting the question slip out of her mouth. “What about you? Have you met your soulmate?” Cathy braced herself for her response, selfishly hoping that the girl was still searching.

“I have not, Pretty Girl. I’m still looking for my special someone,” the woman responded and looked down at her helmet. Cathy let out a small breath that she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She felt her heart jump in her chest as an elated feeling overtook her. She didn’t know why she felt this way but there was no denying that the biker’s confession had given her a little hope that maybe, just maybe, she and Klutz were soulmates.

Cathy stopped tracing her soulmate mark, realizing that she had been repeating the motion out of nervousness. Then, a sudden thought struck Cathy. Before she could stop herself, Cathy asked, “What’s your letter?”

The girl looked up with a soft expression on her face before pulling down the sleeve of her leather jacket to reveal the blue, cursive C on her wrist. Cathy gave a small gasp at the sight. Her hopeful eyes returned to the shining green ones that were peering back at her curiously.

“What’s yours?” the biker asked as she bit her lip nervously. 

“It’s an A,” Cathy responded quietly as she showed her friend her soulmate mark. She watched the biker’s face closely, gauging her response for any notion that they could actually be soulmates.

The woman’s eyes sparkled before she let out a small laugh. “Hey! My name’s Anne! Maybe I’m your soulmate!” the biker exclaimed excitedly.

Anne. Cathy’s eyes immediately darted to her wrist and gawked at the sight of her green letter beginning to glow a gold hue before disappearing from her skin permanently. Cathy let out a shocked breath before turning back to Anne. “My name is Cathy.”

Cathy watched as Anne peered down at her own soulmate mark and witnessed it fade from her wrist. She let out an excited laugh before looking back at Cathy with a bright smile. “See! I knew fate wanted us to meet!”

Before Cathy could respond, Anne had thrown her arms around her and was pulling her into a tight hug. Cathy immediately wrapped her arms around Anne’s waist and rested her head gently in the crook of her neck. Cathy let out a satisfied sigh, reveling in the feeling of finally being in her soulmate’s arms. 

They stayed in that position for a few minutes before parting from each other. Cathy looked into those mesmerizing emerald eyes and smiled happily as she felt butterflies erupt in her stomach. Her eyes slowly drifted down to Anne’s lips, admiring how full they were… and how badly Cathy wanted to feel them on hers. 

“Hey Cathy,” Anne whispered quietly as Cathy looked back up to meet Anne’s nervous eyes. “I would really like to kiss you right now.” Cathy noticed Anne’s gaze momentarily shift to her own lips before meeting her gaze shyly once again.

“I’m not stopping you,” Cathy whispered back as she bit her lip. Anne gave her a soft smile before bringing a gentle hand up to cup her cheek. Cathy leaned into the touch and closed her eyes, anxiously awaiting Anne’s kiss.

Right before Anne’s lips touched hers, the old elevator creaked into motion, snapping the soulmates out of their moment. They quickly scrambled to their feet as Anne reached down to grab her abandoned helmet from the floor. As the doors slid open, she lost her grip and dropped her helmet back on the elevator tile. 

Cathy giggled as she picked up the motorcycle helmet, exiting the elevator before Anne had a chance to react. A moment later, Anne joined her in the apartment hallway and watched the elevator doors close behind her.

“From now on, I’m taking the stairs,” Anne mused as she turned back to Cathy.

Cathy laughed out loud at Anne’s joke before handing her the helmet. “Here, Klutz. Try not to drop it again.”

Anne sighed as she carefully took her helmet back from Cathy. “I’m never going to escape that nickname, am I?”

“Not a chance!” Cathy giggled. “You’re stuck with it for the rest of our lives.”

“‘The rest of our lives.’ I could get used to that, Pretty Girl,” Anne responded with a smile. 

Cathy returned Anne’s smile before slowly leaning up to finally press her lips against Anne’s. They immediately melted into the kiss, moving their lips together in perfect harmony. After a few moments of pure bliss, Cathy pulled away and admired the look of awe that was painted across Anne’s face. 

“Wow,” Anne breathed out as a dopey grin took over her previous expression. “I really like having a soulmate.”

Cathy smiled softly at Anne’s words. “Me too.”

The two stayed there for a few more moments, admiring each other, until Anne cleared her throat. “I should let you go visit with your godmother.” Anne shuffled in her spot awkwardly before kissing Cathy’s cheek gently. 

As Anne was about to walk down the hall to her apartment, Cathy grabbed her arm to get her attention. “Would you like to join us, Anne? I know she would love to have you over… and I’d like to spend more time with you.”

Anne met Cathy’s shy glance with a loving smile. “Yeah! I would love to join you!” Anne paused before adding, “Maybe she can teach me how to make those apology cookies I love so much.” Cathy giggled at that before taking Anne’s hand and leading her to her godmother’s apartment. 

It wasn't long before Anne officially became a permanent member of the monthly tea time. They eventually made it their custom for Anne to pick Cathy up on her motorcycle and take her back to Catherine’s apartment, which originally started after Anne gifted Cathy a motorcycle helmet of her own on their four-month anniversary. They would ride together through the winding streets, Cathy with her arms around Anne’s waist to keep her secure as her soulmate navigated her motorcycle with ease.   

When they arrived at the apartment, they would race each other up the stairs, refusing to take the elevator together ever again. Usually, Anne won but Cathy would occasionally snatch the victory on the times Anne dropped her helmet on the way up. On those occasions, Cathy would always turn around and endearingly call Anne her Klutz for dropping her helmet. Though, regardless of who won, they never failed to share a quick kiss at the top of the stairs after catching their breath.

For all the times Cathy wondered about what having a soulmate would be like, she never imagined how beautiful the little moments would be. But that was one of the amazing parts about having Anne as a soulmate. Every little thing was special and deliberate. Anne brought joy to every part of Cathy’s life, even the parts that were previously monotonous like her quick trips to her godmother’s apartment for tea. 

Anne made Cathy feel complete. With her, colors were a little brighter, her smile was a little wider, and the longing for a soulmate that had resounded deep within her was now replaced with deep echoes of laughter. Cathy had finally found the missing part of her, someone who just so happened to be a clumsy, green-eyed biker named Anne.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Just Say Yes

Inspired by this post by @politics-notmything. This is the second and last part of “Just Say Yes.” I had a really fun time writing this and am excited about the next few one shots that will be posted throughout the next couple of weeks. As always, enjoy this one shot! 💙💚

Word Count: 2288

Pt. 1

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Anne was a surprisingly safe driver, Cathy noticed quickly. She stayed within the speed limit even though Cathy was sure the car could probably go about three times the speed. She didn’t attempt to run any red lights or have any other reckless habits which Cathy was immensely grateful for.

A short drive later, Anne pulled into a parking spot in front of a small cafe that wasn’t too far from campus. Anne turned to face Cathy with a small smile before removing her car key from the ignition. “We’re here.”

The two got out of the car and entered the coffee shop hand-in-hand, both with giddy expressions on their faces as they stared at their interlocked hands. Once inside, Cathy breathed in the strong aroma of coffee that wafted from the machines and sighed contentedly. She looked around and noticed that the seats were mostly empty, with only a few people scattered around the tables.

Anne led Cathy up to the counter where the cashier was smirking at the sight of their intertwined hands. “Well, well, well. Anne Boleyn! I thought you were waiting until marriage to hold hands,” the cashier joked.

Cathy curiously looked over to Anne, who had tightened her grip on Cathy’s hand gently at the comment. “Ha ha. Very funny, Cleves.”

Anne looked back at Cathy with a soft smile. “Catherine, this is my roommate and best friend, Anna of Cleves.” 

Anne turned back to Cleves with a warning look before introducing Cathy. “Cleves, this is my soulmate, Catherine Parr.”

A look of recognition passed over Cleves’ face at the name. “Oh, the girl you’ve been trying to ask out for months? I’m so proud of you, Boleyn!” Cleves laughed as she watched Anne’s face go beet red. 

Cathy also blushed at what Cleves had just said. Had Anne really been working up the courage to ask her out for months? She shook her head in astonishment. The more she learned about Anne, the more Cathy realized how far her assumptions about the girl were from the truth. And the more she fell in love with the real Anne.

“Anna. I am going to salt your bed when I get back to our dorm room,” Anne said through gritted teeth.

“Relax Anne,” Cleves replied with another smirk before turning to Cathy. “She’s very dramatic, which you will find out very quickly.”

“That’s good to know,” Cathy giggled and turned to look at Anne. “You are majoring in theater, right?”

“Yeah I am,” Anne answered with a soft smile, staring into Cathy’s eyes for a moment before Cleves interrupted their moment.

“And she should already have her degree by now for all of the monologues I’ve had to endure while she practiced asking you out,” Cleves added.

“You know what, Anna! When you get back to our dorm, you’re not gonna have a bed at all anymore!” Anne huffed as she looked down at her feet in embarrassment.

“I could always steal yours,” Cleves replied before addressing Cathy. “I'm curious though. What did Anne say to win your heart, Catherine?”

Cathy shot Anne a questioning glance, silently asking permission to show Anne’s best friend her soulmate mark. Anne sighed in response before saying, “Go ahead, love. She’ll find out one way or another… but either way I’ll never live it down.” 

A smile tugged at Cathy’s lips as she quickly let go of Anne’s hand, rolled up her sleeve, and took Anne’s hand in hers once more. Cathy showed Cleves her soulmate mark as she gently squeezed Anne’s hand to get her attention. When Anne’s gaze met hers, Cathy offered her another quick smile that was eagerly returned.

The couple stayed like that, smiling at each other, until Cleves let out a boisterous laugh as she finished reading Anne’s speech. “Wow, Anne! Smooth.”

“I didn’t think about what I was going to say,” Anne shot back. “She dropped her keys and I saw my chance to finally talk to her. I didn’t have enough time to script out an elaborate profession of love! I had like two seconds!”

Cathy giggled at Anne’s confession before bringing Anne’s hand to her lips and kissing her knuckles softly. “You still won my heart, Annie.”

Anne blushed at the gesture before Cleves cleared her throat to get the lovebirds’ attention. “Anne, as much as I love embarrassing you in front of your soulmate, I don’t want to get fired from this job for shirking my responsibilities.” She grabbed a cup from the stack beside her and stared expectantly at Anne.

“Oh, right! I’ll have that cinnamon thing then,” Anne said before turning to Cathy. “What would you like?”

“I’ll have a regular coffee,” Cathy added before realizing she had left her money inside her backpack, which was still in Anne’s car. “Oh, wait! I forgot to bring my wallet!”

“Don’t worry, Catherine. I got it!” Anne responded as she reached into her pocket for her own wallet. She released her grip on Cathy’s hand to pull out her credit card and pay for their drinks. 

“Thank you, Anne,” Cathy said as they walked to one of the booths by the window. “I guess I’ll have to pay for our next date then.”

“Next date,” Anne repeated dreamily as she slid into the seat in front of Cathy. “I like the sound of that.”

Cathy smiled shyly at Anne. She couldn’t wait to take Anne to all of her favorite places and make lasting memories with her on future dates. Cathy imagined walking with Anne to her favorite spot in their university's park and having a picnic together under the oak tree. Or stealing quick glances at each other as they studied together in the library. Or getting dressed up for a fancy evening at one of their town’s expensive restaurants. Cathy wanted it all. But most importantly, Cathy wanted to spend each of these moments with Anne.

Cathy hadn’t even realized that she had been staring at Anne until she was snapped out of her thoughts by the barista calling out her name. Quickly, Cathy got up and grabbed her coffee along with Anne’s pumpkin spice latte. As she returned to the booth where Anne was waiting for her, Cathy noticed the writing on Anne’s cup. She smirked to herself as she slid into the booth and placed the cup in front of Anne.

“Your roommate really loves teasing you,” Cathy commented, gesturing to the word simp under Anne’s name on her latte. She giggled as Anne rolled her eyes at Cleves’ jab.

“She’s trying to get back at me for all the times I teased her about being soulmates with my younger cousin,” Anne confessed. “She swore she would have her revenge when I found mine.” 

Cathy laughed at Anne’s words. “She’s doing a pretty good job so far.”

“Unfortunately,” Anne grumbled to herself before suddenly becoming quite shy. “I hope you’re not weirded out by what she said. I’ve wanted to talk to you all semester but I never had the courage to approach you after class.” Anne rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment as she waited for Cathy’s response.

Cathy smiled gently at Anne, hoping to quell her fears with the simple action. “If anything, I’m surprised you actually wanted to talk to me at all. I mean, practically everybody on campus adores you and wants to be with you. I usually fade into the background to people like you.”

Anne tilted her head slightly at Cathy’s confession as a soft look passed over her face. “You are always the center of attention to me.” Anne paused for a moment before continuing. “That’s why I sit behind you in lit class. I look less suspicious to the professor when I try to look at you from across the auditorium.”

Cathy almost choked on her coffee at Anne’s last statement as a light blush crept into her cheeks. “You really are a simp, Annie,” Cathy quipped back after she recovered.

“Only for you, Catherine,” Anne replied before taking a sip of her drink.

“You can call me Cathy, if you want. It’s less formal than Catherine,” Cathy said as Anne put her cup back on the table.

“Cathy. I like that!” Anne spoke aloud as she tried out the new nickname. A sudden thought struck her as she said the name and, before Anne could think about what she was saying, she blurted out, “Though, I’d like to call you my girlfriend, if anything.”

Cathy’s heart skipped a beat at what Anne had just said, feeling a swarm of butterflies erupt in her stomach. This moment felt exactly like one of Cathy’s many daydreams about the Boleyn girl, making her want to pinch herself to see if this was really happening. Though, the sight of hope and fear swirling in Anne’s emerald irises suggested that this was very much real.

A wide smile spread across Cathy’s face before answering, “I would love to be your girlfriend, Annie.” 

Anne matched Cathy’s smile as a breathy laugh escaped through her lips. “I found my soulmate and got the girl of my dreams, all in one day! You’ve made me the luckiest girl in the world, Cathy!” Anne reached across the table to take Cathy’s hand in hers, stroking her knuckles lovingly.

Cathy glanced down at their hands momentarily before looking up to meet Anne’s eyes with a soft expression. “I’m pretty sure I’m the luckiest girl in the world, because I get to call you mine forever.”

“I guess we’re tied for ‘Luckiest Girl in the World’ then, love,” Anne joked. 

Cathy giggled at Anne before saying, “I guess we are.”

The two queens spent the next couple of hours talking with each other, excitedly discussing their shared interests and favorite childhood memories. They bonded over their shared love for music and literature, exchanging their favorite titles of each and marveling at how similar their tastes were. Anne shared some anecdotes of her younger self, earning several giggles from Cathy. If their future kids were anything like Anne, they would surely be a handful.

Cathy shook her head at that last thought with a small smile on her face. It was too early to bring up the subject of children but Cathy couldn’t help but romanticize having a family with Anne a few years down the line. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought.

“Shit!” Anne's sudden expletive snapped Cathy out of her thoughts. She looked to Anne with a confused expression.

“It’s almost noon!” Anne exclaimed as she looked up from her phone and back to Cathy. “You have a class, right?” 

“Oh! Yeah!” Cathy answered anxiously, running her fingers through her hair. “I hadn’t even realized we had spent so long here.”

Anne slid out of the booth, followed by Cathy. “Time flies when you’re having fun, Cathy. And I am always fun.” Anne winked at Cathy, who playfully shoved her with her shoulder.

“I’m sure you are,” Cathy joked as they walked back to Anne’s car. Anne quickly walked over to the passenger side and opened the door for Cathy. In response to the chivalrous deed, Cathy kissed Anne’s cheek softly and slid into the passenger seat. A dopey smile spread across Anne’s face as she closed the door and made her way to the driver’s seat.

The drive back to their college campus was peaceful, despite the rush to get Cathy to her next class. Anne even held Cathy’s hand for the entirety of the trip, showing her superb one-handed driving skills at the same time. They pulled into the parking lot in front of the university hall with a few minutes to spare.

 Cathy shuffled with her backpack before turning back to Anne with a shy smile on her face. Anne had a similar look as she watched Cathy bite her lip nervously. They both leaned in slowly until their lips touched, a soft and gentle kiss that only lasted for a few moments yet sent shivers down both of their spines.

As Cathy pulled away, she whispered quietly to Anne. “I’ll see you after class?”

“Yeah,” Anne breathed out. “I’ll find you.”

Cathy smiled softly at Anne. “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

“Maybe then I can take you back to my dorm,” Anne said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

“So we can salt Anna’s bed together,” Cathy joked, earning a small chuckle from Anne.

“I was actually thinking of doing something on my bed together,” Anne said with a small smirk on her face, letting her eyes rake over Cathy’s body long enough to get her message across.

“Anne Boleyn!” Cathy exclaimed as a deep blush crept into her cheeks.

“Now get to class before you’re actually late, love,” Anne replied, smirking even wider as she noticed Cathy’s red cheeks. 

“Right!” Cathy exclaimed, having completely forgotten she had a class to attend. “I’ll see you later, Annie.” Cathy shared another quick kiss with Anne before exiting the green sports car. 

As Cathy walked to the front steps of the building, she looked over her shoulder at Anne, who noticed she was glancing back at her and blew her a kiss. Cathy smiled shyly at the gesture before finally entering through the doors and rushing to class.

 Though the lecture hall had a cool draft blowing through it, Cathy decided to take off her hoodie and stow it away in her backpack. Her eyes landed on the words on her forearm as the memories of Anne speaking them into existence crept into her mind. Those words marked the beginning of a beautiful love story, with chapters that Cathy was excited to write together with Anne for the rest of their lives.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Just Say Yes

Inspired by this post by @politics-notmything. Wow. I did not mean to disappear for so long. I recently started university and have not had a chance to post in a while. However! I do have a few one shots ready to go that I’ll be posting in the coming weeks. And all of them are Soulmate AUs (because I’m a sucker for them)! Thank you for sticking around and I hope you enjoy the first part of this one shot. 💙💚

Word Count: 2314

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Cathy awoke to the sound of her alarm blaring from her nightstand and groaned. It seemed like she had only been asleep for a few minutes and the aching tiredness in her bones made that seem even more plausible. Reluctantly, Cathy rolled over in her bed and reached out a hand to turn off her alarm.

The night before, Cathy had stayed up later than usual so that she could finish one of the dreaded papers for her literature class that was due that day. She had barely completed the essay but felt confident enough that she wouldn’t fail when she had decided to go to bed. After around four hours of sleep, Cathy was hoping that her three cups of coffee she drank last night had actually been put to good use. 

Cathy heaved a sigh as she slid out of bed, immediately missing the warmth while she searched for clothes to wear for her early morning class. After throwing on some jeans and t-shirt, Cathy began looking for her favorite hoodie. She found it near the foot of her bed and quickly put it on. 

 Cathy could always be found wearing her classic navy blue hoodie around her college campus, or any long-sleeve article of clothing for that matter. Most people assumed she was just always cold but the reality was Cathy was trying to cover up her soulmate mark from prying eyes. The length always attracted unwanted attention which more often than not made Cathy extremely uncomfortable.

Though, Cathy wasn’t embarrassed or ashamed of her soulmate phrase. On the contrary, she found the ramblings quite endearing and couldn’t wait to hear her soulmate let the jumble of words spill out of their mouth. Cathy momentarily rolled up the right sleeve of her hoodie to reveal the words that trailed down her arm, rereading the little monologue with a soft smile on her face.

It briefly mentioned her literature class which also happened to be the class she was about to walk to. Every time Cathy thought about snoozing her alarm and sleeping through the day’s lecture, she would remind herself that her soulmate could be waiting for her, finally ready to build up the courage to talk to her.

With that thought in mind, Cathy grabbed her backpack from beside her desk and slung it over her shoulders. She then slipped her phone and keys into her pocket and left her dorm room. On the way to her class, Cathy picked up a coffee from the campus cafe for a much-needed caffeine boost as she was still running on only a few hours of sleep.

When she made it to the lecture hall, Cathy quickly took a seat in one of the first few rows and chugged the rest of her coffee before the start of class. She pulled out her laptop just as the professor stood up in preparation to begin her lecture about the impact of the Civil War on American literature.

Just as the professor was about to address the class and begin her lecture, the sound of someone bursting through the doors echoed throughout the auditorium. Along with some other students, Cathy turned around to see Anne Boleyn standing in the entrance of the room, looking absolutely stunning despite appearing as though she had just jogged halfway across their campus.

From her seat, Cathy could see Anne’s flushed cheeks and chest heaving for air as she looked around the auditorium for a place to sit. Cathy felt her heartbeat quicken as she appraised the girl standing by the doorway, taking in how perfectly sculpted her features were from eyebrows to her jawline to her hips. Cathy gawked at Anne for a few moments before quickly composing herself again.

Right before Cathy was about to turn back around in her seat, she swore she saw Anne’s gaze land on her and linger for a couple beats with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. But before Cathy could even return her smile, their professor spoke up and addressed Anne from the front of the lecture hall.

“Anne Boleyn! Please take a seat,” the professor called out loud enough for the girl to hear. Anne ducked her head apologetically and scurried to one of the free seats a few rows behind Cathy, much to the latter girl’s disappointment.

It was no secret that Anne Boleyn was attractive. Everybody on campus admired her when she walked by, or at least knew of her infamous beauty. It seemed as if everyone was vying to be her soulmate and have her sole affection. And, as much as she tried to deny it, Cathy couldn’t help but dream of what it would be like to hear her own soulmate phrase flow from those red-painted lips. 

Cathy quickly shook her head at the absurdity of that thought. There was no way Anne could be her soulmate. Anne was always centerstage in the spotlight while Cathy clung to the sidelines. Anne was well-liked and popular while Cathy mostly kept to herself and her few friends. Anne was funny and outgoing with everyone around campus while Cathy buried herself with books in the privacy of her dorm. Anne was perfect in every way, and Cathy would be lucky if a girl like Anne even noticed her at all.

Cathy sighed softly to herself. She could never keep Anne out of her thoughts for long. Though they had never formally spoken, Cathy had grown quite fond of the Boleyn girl, admiring her wit and intelligence every time she spoke up about the topics being discussed in their shared literature class. While most people thought Anne’s looks were the most beautiful part about her, Cathy couldn’t help but think her mind, with all of its humorous quips and insightful analyses, was truly the most attractive part of Anne.   

Cathy was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by her professor moving onto a new topic. In a panic, Cathy looked up to the presentation and calmed down when she realized that she hadn’t missed much of the lecture. From that point on until the end of class, Cathy stayed focused on her professor’s words and took notes diligently, pushing her thoughts of Anne aside until later. 

After class was dismissed, Cathy packed up her things and exited the auditorium, throwing away her empty coffee cup on the way out. A few paces down the hall, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, checking to see if she had any unread messages from her friends. Much to her relief, there were none. That meant Cathy had a few hours to herself until her next class, hours that would more likely than not be spent napping.

Cathy slid her phone back into her pocket and felt around for her keys. Much to her dismay, she didn’t find them. Cathy felt around her other pockets, only growing more anxious when she turned up empty-handed. Cathy turned around with the intent of going back into the lecture hall to see if she had dropped her keys in there, only to stop dead in her tracks when she came face-to-face with Anne Boleyn.

There was a moment of silence that passed between them as they stared at each other, both too nervous to say anything. After Cathy’s initial shock wore off, she looked down at her feet shyly and bit her lip in a vain attempt to stop herself from smiling. Anne Boleyn was really standing in front of her. Anne Boleyn actually wanted to talk to her.

 Cathy felt her heartbeat pulse rapidly in her chest as she nervously twirled one of her curls around her finger. “Hi, Anne,” Cathy finally said to break the silence, looking back up to meet Anne’s shining green eyes.

Anne visibly lit up at the small greeting before shuffling in place nervously as she addressed Cathy. “Hey! Catherine! I- um- you dropped these.” Anne handed Cathy her lost keys before continuing her rambled speech. 

“I’ve seen you around campus a lot with your friends and you always look super pretty and everything. Um- and the things you say in literature class are so smart. Like all of your comments about the authors’ biographies and how they play into their writing make me question everything I was reading. And, I’ve never had the chance to say anything until now but I think you’re amazing!”

Anne’s gaze suddenly dropped to the floor and rubbed her neck to hide her embarrassment. She took a quick breath before she continued speaking. “I’m rambling. Sorry! What I want to say is I really like you and I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me sometime.” Anne looked up with hopeful eyes as she waited for Cathy’s answer.

Anne’s words swirled in Cathy’s mind, leaving her in utter shock and unable to respond. Her eyes immediately darted to her right arm as she rolled down her sleeve to reveal a perfect transcript of what Anne had just said. Cathy didn’t know how to respond, her mouth left slightly ajar as she tried to process that Anne was her soulmate. Anne freaking Boleyn was her soulmate! 

Noticing that the girl in front of her was not responding, Anne fidgeted even more in her place. She noticed that Cathy was staring at her soulmate mark and had a sudden realization. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you had already found your soulmate. I’ll go.”

Anne quickly turned on her heel and prepared to flee the awkward situation she had just made. In that moment, Cathy finally came to her senses and grabbed Anne’s arm before she could leave. Anne turned back to her with a confused expression before Cathy spoke up shyly. 

“I actually just met my soulmate,” Cathy said quietly, hoping Anne would catch on that they were soulmates. Instead, Cathy watched as Anne forced a smile at her response.

“That’s great, Catherine! I hope you two are happy together,” Anne all but whispered, trying but failing to keep the pain out of her voice.

Cathy tried a different approach. “Anne, what does your soulmate mark say?”

A small smile painted itself across Anne’s lips as she looked down to her right arm. “Mine says ‘Hi, Anne.’ Pretty vague, huh? I hear it a lot so I never actually know who my soulmate is.”

“Well, now you do,” Cathy whispered as she showed Anne her own arm, for once excited to see someone’s reaction to her mark.   

A look of realization dawned on Anne’s face as she read the words of Cathy’s soulmate mark, the same words that had been spilling out of her mouth just moments before. Her realization quickly melted away into a soft smile as she shifted her gaze to look back at Cathy.

“I really should have scripted that. I’m sorry you have my stupid rambling permanently on your skin,” Anne said bashfully.

“No, it’s okay!” Cathy responded quickly before giving Anne a little smile. “It’s actually really cute.” Cathy watched as Anne’s cheeks turned bright red and had to stifle a giggle at the sight. 

“So, about that date,” Cathy continued after a brief pause. “I would really like to get to know my soulmate sometime.” Cathy smiled shyly as she waited for Anne’s response.

Anne lit up at Cathy’s mention of a date. “Let’s go right now! Are you busy?” Anne’s hopeful eyes stared back at Cathy, making her heart flutter at the sight. Cathy’s nap could wait.

“No, I’m free until noon,” Cathy responded with a bright smile. Anne returned Cathy’s smile before grabbing her hand and leading her away.

“Where are we going, Anne?” Cathy giggled as she followed Anne toward the parking lot.

“It’s a surprise, love,” Anne answered and squeezed Cathy’s hand lightly. Cathy blushed at Anne’s nickname which Anne noticed with a smirk.

“You like coffee. Right, love?” Anne asked, smirking wider as Cathy’s blush turned a deeper shade of red.

“Yes, Annie. I’m practically addicted to it,” Cathy replied, turning to see Anne’s cheeks flush at her own nickname for her. “How else would I have been able to write that insanely long essay about the use of metaphor in Uncle Tom’s Cabin?”  

“Fair point,” Anne replied with a laugh before she stopped and turned to face Cathy. “Well, this is my car. Her name is Sally.” She gestured to the green sports car parked in front of them with a nod.

Cathy gawked at the seemingly expensive vehicle in front of them before processing what Anne had just said. “Wait, you named your car?”

“Yeah,” Anne stated as if it was obvious. “Doesn’t everybody name their car?”

“You’re the first person I know who’s named their car, Annie,” Cathy said with a smile as she gently bumped her shoulder against Anne’s. 

“It might just be my family then,” Anne said with a laugh as she unlocked the doors and opened the passenger side for Cathy to get in. Cathy smiled gratefully at Anne as she slid into the leather seat. 

“Wow,” Cathy breathed out as she admired the interior of the sports car. She had to admit that Anne’s car was pretty impressive all around. It suited her perfectly.

“If you think this is cool, you should see the ones my dad has,” Anne commented as she closed her car door. “He co-owns this car brand so he gets a lot of really awesome sports cars custom-made. He gave this one to me when I went off to college.” Anne smiled fondly at the memory. 

“I never knew that,” Cathy replied, smiling warmly at Anne as the engine roared to life.

“Yeah, my dad was really busy with work most of the time but he always put family first,” Anne said before looking over to Cathy. “You ready, Cathy?”

“Yes.”

[my-major-is-k-howard]

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[my-major-is-k-howard]

Writing Masterpost

One Shots

watch you sleep.

To Build a Mockingbird Nest

Cyber Connection

Just Say Yes (Soulmate AU) pt. 1 pt. 2

The Emerald Letter (Soulmate AU)

Invisible String (Soulmate AU)

Screaming Color (Soulmate AU)

Multi Chapter Fics

Lover

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7 Bonus Scene

She

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Edited January 1, 2021

[my-major-is-k-howard]

She

Inspired by “She” by dodie. This is the last part! I had a really fun time writing this one out (specifically the second half of it 👀). I hope you all are taking care of yourselves and staying safe. I love you all and I hope you enjoy the final part of “She!” 💙💚

Word Count: 3773

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

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Part 5

Cathy woke up the following morning feeling just as tired as she had been before she had fallen asleep. She groaned and sat up, combing her fingers through her mess of curls in an attempt to get rid of her bedhead. Reluctantly, Cathy slid out of bed and changed out of her pajamas into a blue t-shirt and joggers. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. She would need her coffee extra strong that morning to make up for her hours of lost sleep.

Cathy ran her fingers through her hair one last time before heading downstairs to start making her coffee. Cathy breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was in the kitchen yet. She didn’t want to explain her sudden departure from the sleepover yesterday to the queens. She winced as the memories of the night before flooded back into her mind.

Cathy shook her head to clear her thoughts and quickly began brewing her coffee. Cathy froze when she heard footsteps descending the stairs and hoped it wasn’t Anne. Cathy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when she saw Cleves walk through the kitchen entrance.

Cleves looked up and noticed Cathy standing by the kitchen counter. She gave her a confused look before speaking. “You’re up early. Usually it’s the rest of us waiting on you when breakfast time rolls around.” 

Cathy grinned weakly. “Yeah. I didn’t sleep very well so I thought I would get a headstart on my coffee making.”

“I sometimes worry about how much coffee you drink,” Cleves laughed as she slipped on her apron that read Kiss the Cleves. “Would you prefer waffles or pancakes for breakfast?”

Cathy didn’t hesitate. “Waffles. I love waffles.” Cathy’s attention shifted back to her coffee which had finally finished brewing. She quickly poured the dark liquid into a mug and took a sip. Cathy sighed happily and continued drinking her morning coffee as she watched Cleves expertly make a mountain of waffles for breakfast.

One by one, the queens made their way down the stairs until all of them except Anne were at the table. Jane huffed. “Where is Anne? Usually she’s one of the first ones ready for breakfast.”

“I’ll go get her!” Kitty chirped and rushed off to her older cousin’s room. Cathy watched her leave before continuing to eat her waffle. She smiled contentedly as she ate her favorite breakfast food. 

A few minutes later, Cathy heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. She looked up just in time to see Kitty enter the kitchen followed by a very grumpy-looking Anne. However, when Anne’s eyes landed on Cathy, she offered her a small smile. Cathy didn’t return her smile but rather dropped her gaze back to her plate. A flash of hurt passed over Anne’s face at Cathy’s reaction.

Cathy tried to ignore Anne for the remainder of breakfast, not wanting to address the events that had unfolded the night before. She had been successful until the girl next to her whispered, “Do you want me to get you sugar for your coffee?”

“No thanks. I didn’t sleep well last night so I want it strong,” Cathy replied curtly.

“Yeah, I didn’t sleep well either,” Anne responded glumly as she stabbed another square of waffle with her fork. 

Cathy scooted her chair slightly away from Anne, hoping that the Boleyn girl would pick up on the hint that she didn’t want to talk. Anne, of course, noticed the action and gave Cathy a confused look. When Cathy didn’t even look in her direction, Anne understood what Cathy had done and swallowed the lump that was building up in her throat.

After breakfast, Cathy escaped to her room in an attempt to hide from Anne. She felt guilty about what she was doing but she couldn’t bring herself to act normal around Anne. Everytime she looked into her green eyes, Cathy was reminded of how much she loved Anne which always led to thoughts about Anne’s mystery girl and subsequently the painful memory of their kiss.

A knock at her door interrupted her from spiraling any further in her thoughts. Cathy quickly got up and made her way to the door. She opened it and cursed herself for not asking who it was first. Anne Boleyn was standing there with a vulnerable look on her face. When she saw Cathy, her eyes darted to the floor and she began fiddling with the cuffs of her jumper. 

“I- um- Kitty and I were planning on watching a movie and I wanted to invite you if- if you wanted to join us,” Anne stammered out as her shy eyes finally met Cathy’s. 

Cathy smiled as sweetly as she could before saying, “I was actually going to read a little before lunch. Maybe next time though.”

Anne tried to mask her disappointment at Cathy’s answer to no avail. “Oh! Um- yeah! That-that’s fine! I hope you enjoy your book,” Anne managed to say before nodding politely and walking away from Cathy’s bedroom door. 

Cathy watched her for a few moments before closing the door. She didn’t know how many more times she could deny Anne like that. The guilt was already eating her up inside. Of course, her heart desperately wanted to spend time with Anne but the logical side of her brain was telling her to stay away from her. Cathy felt like she was about to tear in half, being pulled in two opposite directions. 

Cathy managed to get through lunch without speaking a word to Anne. Though, she couldn’t help but notice how little Anne spoke at all and the dull look that had creeped into her eyes since the last time she saw her. It pained Cathy to see her like that but she knew that the best thing she could do for the both of them was to stay away from Anne.

Cathy nearly reached her breaking point the next time Anne tried to approach her. After lunch, Cathy had decided to read her book in the living room for a change of scenery. Jane was watching one of her home renovation shows that droned on in the background as Cathy read.

Cathy flipped a page in her book before she heard a set of footsteps coming down the stairs. Cathy looked up to see Anne standing by the entrance of the living room, fidgeting with a piece of paper that she was holding in her hands. 

Cathy immediately stood up and tried to exit the room without speaking to Anne. She couldn’t bear to have the conversation she knew they were about to have. However, as soon as Cathy tried to brush pass Anne, the Boleyn girl stopped her.

Anne looked to her with a determined look on her face before speaking. “Cathy, I-”

“Sorry, Anne! I have to go to the bathroom!” Cathy cut her off and sped past her, not stopping until she was safe behind the locked bathroom door. It wasn’t a complete lie. Cathy did need to use the restroom. But, Cathy couldn’t shake the guilt that was gnawing at her. Anne was about to say something important to her and Cathy had just brushed her off. 

Cathy groaned quietly to herself as she washed her hands. She knew she couldn’t keep hurting Anne the way she had been. One of the other queens would step in and knock some sense into her sooner or later. Cathy dried her hands and picked up her book before heading to her bedroom. At least there she could hide from the other queens for a while.

Cathy shut the door behind her and threw the book onto her bed. She was about to follow when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. Cathy turned to her desk and saw a folded paper sitting there. A confused look passed over Cathy’s face since she always kept her desk clear of stray papers. She approached her desk and froze when she saw what was written on the front.

For Catherine Parr’s Eyes Only was written in beautiful calligraphy on the paper. Cathy recognized the handwriting immediately and drew in a shaky breath as she sat down at her desk. It was Anne’s handwriting. This must’ve been the paper she was holding when she approached her in the living room. Cathy swallowed her guilt and hesitantly opened the paper. She took a deep breath and began reading Anne’s letter.

Hey Cathy!

If I’m honest, I don’t know how to write out what I want to say. You were always better at words than I was. I guess to start out I want to say that I am so incredibly sorry for making you uncomfortable yesterday with that stupid dare. I never should have kissed you. I was being selfish and if I had known that it would ruin our friendship, I never would have done it in a million years. 

Cathy, your friendship is one of my favorite parts of my life. I know I can be really annoying (like all the time) but you still make me feel wanted and loved. You listen to me, even if I’m rambling out random thoughts. You laugh at my jokes, even when everybody else thinks they’re awful. You trust me, even though some of my actions are admittedly pretty dumb. You have an amazing way with words and you always express your thoughts with such eloquence. I love being your friend more than anything because you are INCREDIBLE.

But I can’t keep going on like this. I need to be honest with you. That kiss last night was more than “just a kiss” to me. It made it impossible to keep my feelings secret any longer. Catherine Parr, I am in love with you. I should have told you that a long time ago but I was too scared. You are like literally perfect and I’m just me. I love having conversations with you because you are so intelligent and smart. I always learn new things when I talk to you, whether it’s about biographical information of the authors you’re reading or the little quirks you have when you speak about something you’re passionate about. I love seeing you smile and hearing you laugh (especially if it’s at me or my jokes) because it makes you even more beautiful. Your eyes light up and I literally have to stop my jaw from hitting the floor because I can’t help admiring how stunning you are. Every part of you makes my heart stop. (Well, not literally because then I’d be dead but you know… figuratively.) 

Cathy, you mean everything to me and I don’t want to lose you. I know I was stupid when I kissed you. I thought that maybe I could show you how I felt without telling you but I messed everything up by doing that. You don’t feel the same and that’s totally fine. I just want to be your friend again. I don’t want you to avoid me or feel awkward around me anymore. We can pretend that nothing ever happened and I can go back to being the Anne you’re just friends with. I promise! I just needed to tell you how I feel about you. You deserve to know.

If you don’t completely hate me by now, I’d like to see your face. I really missed hanging out with you today. Maybe we can talk about The Picture of Dorian Gray. You seem like you are enjoying it so far. Once again, I’m sorry for being an absolute idiot. I hope I can make it up to you somehow.

(hopefully I still am) Your friend,

     Anne Boleyn xoxo

P.S. - the ‘xoxo’ is 100% platonic :)

Cathy set down the letter in shock. This entire time Cathy had been Anne’s mystery girl. The more Cathy thought about it, the more it made sense. And the more she felt like the absolute oblivious idiot. All of those kind gestures and subtle touches weren’t just Anne’s way of being friendly. She had been trying to flirt with her the entire time and Cathy never picked up on it. Cathy groaned in frustration. She really needed to work on her communication skills. 

After a few moments, Cathy’s frustrated scowl turned into a giddy smile. Anne was in love with her! Cathy looked back down at the letter and reread Anne’s confession over and over again. She squealed happily to herself. Anne returned her feelings and Cathy couldn’t be happier. She relished in her thoughts as her daydreams of Anne flooded back, only this time they were much more plausible than before.

Cathy pulled out her journal from her drawer, not with the intent to write but to stare at her bookmark. She opened the journal and flipped over the photo booth strip so that they were right side up again. Cathy smiled widely at each of the pictures, her eyes finally landing on the one with Anne kissing her cheek. Cathy’s heart swelled at the sight, knowing now that Anne had been in love with her then. And she was in love with her now. Anne loved her back. 

Cathy suddenly broke out of her thoughts when she realized that Anne had no idea that she returned her affection. She thought this entire time that Cathy was acting weird because Anne has overstepped her boundaries. Cathy shook her head as her previous guilt returned. She had to apologize to Anne for being so cold earlier. And tell her how she really felt.

Cathy carefully folded the letter and slid it into her journal. Cathy placed the bookmark on top of the letter before closing the journal and stowing it back in her desk drawer. Before she could change her mind, Cathy rushed to Anne’s bedroom and hesitantly knocked on her door. She heard the girl inside shuffle her way to the door before slowly opening it. Her eyes widened at the sight of Cathy standing in front of her before her gaze dropped to the floor.

“I got your letter,” Cathy offered as the Boleyn girl opened the door wider for her to enter into Anne’s bedroom. Anne smiled sadly in response.

Cathy stood awkwardly in the middle of the room until Anne gestured for her to sit beside her on the edge of the bed. Once Cathy was sitting, they turned to each other and both started speaking at the same time.

“Look, Anne-”

“Listen, Cathy-”

The two of them laughed nervously before Cathy motioned for Anne to speak first. “You go first.”

Anned nodded and bit her lip anxiously before finally speaking. “Cathy, I’m so sorry for kissing you yesterday. I should have never pushed you to do that and I feel so guilty for letting my feelings for you get in the way of our friendship.”

“Anne-” Cathy tried to say but was cut off by the rambling girl.

 “Kitty convinced me to say something to you but I should have done it in private and with actual words instead of trying to show you in a stupid game of Truth or Dare.”

“Hey-” Cathy tried again but couldn’t stop Anne from spiraling in her thoughts.

“And I’m sorry for making things awkward between us. I just want to go back to being your friend and-”

Cathy leaned forward and pressed her lips lovingly against Anne’s, successfully silencing her from continuing her rushed speech. Anne immediately reciprocated as Cathy brought her hand up to caress Anne’s cheek. 

Cathy parted from Anne after a few moments and giggled at the shocked expression on her face. She watched Anne tentatively touch her lips with her fingers as a giddy smile spread across her face. “My turn,” Cathy whispered.

Anne's eyes snapped to Cathy, listening intently to what she was saying. “First, Anne, I am so sorry for the way I acted earlier today. It was uncalled for and unjustified-”

“It’s okay, Cathy,” Anne interrupted.

“But, it’s not!” Cathy continued. “I hurt you and I feel so guilty about it. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space but I was just retaliating for how broken I felt.”

“What do you mean?” Anne asked, confused by Cathy’s words.

“I eavesdropped on your conversation with Kitty yesterday,” Cathy confessed. “I heard you talk about some girl you liked and thought that by giving you space you could pursue her like you wanted. I thought I was getting in the way of that.”

“But we were talking about you,” Anne stated with a bashful smile on her face.

“I didn’t know that at the time,” Cathy admitted. “I was heartbroken after hearing you speak about someone like that. I think part of me was jealous and, after we kissed, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I iced you out and I feel so guilty about it. You didn’t deserve that and I’m so sorry.”

“Cathy, it’s okay. I forgive you,” Anne said before smiling lovingly at Cathy. 

“I love you Anne,” Cathy breathed out.

Anne’s face went slack. “Y-you do?”

Cathy blushed at her impulse confession. “How could I not? I’ve fallen in love with the way you smile at me like I’m the only person in the world. I’ve fallen in love with all of your little jokes and witty comments. I’ve fallen in love with your mind, especially how intricately you think about things from books to philosophical topics. I’ve fallen in love with your beautiful green eyes and the little twinkle they get when you come up with a new prank. I’ve fallen in love with how deeply you feel for other people because you’re secretly quite soft, even if you try to play it off like you’re not. Anne, I’ve fallen in love with you. With every part of you.”

Cathy finished speaking and looked down shyly, slightly embarrassed by how her words tumbled out of her mouth. Anne brought her hand to Cathy’s cheek, lifting her head slowly until their eyes met. Cathy peered into those green eyes she adored so much, taking in Anne’s soft expression as if it was the last time she would ever see her.

Anne leaned in and kissed Cathy gently. As she pulled away, Anne rested her forehead against Cathy’s and gently stroked her cheek. “Cathy, I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

Cathy gave an excited squeak at Anne’s words before quickly burying her head in Anne’s chest. Anne giggled at the girl’s antics before wrapping her arms around her. Anne let out a contented sigh. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

“Me too,” Cathy mumbled into Anne’s chest before snuggling deeper into her hoodie. She breathed in Anne’s scent and relished in the feeling of Anne’s arms around her. “I just want to stay like this forever.”

Anne smiled and kissed the top of Cathy’s head before whispering, “I think I would like that.” After a few moments, the two queens began gradually shifting their positions until they were cuddling comfortably on Anne’s bed. 

Cathy closed her eyes and listened to Anne’s steady heartbeat from where she was resting her head on Anne’s chest. With the gentle quiet that had settled between them and Anne softly stroking through her curls, Cathy drifted off to catch up on her hours of lost sleep. Not long after, Anne did the same.

While they were still sleeping, Jane made her way upstairs to check on both of the queens. After silently witnessing their interaction in the living room, she was determined to make them reconcile and talk like the mature adults she knew they were deep down. Jane made her way to Anne’s room first to comfort her after being so harshly rejected by Cathy throughout the day. 

She quietly called out to Anne through the door. When she got no response, she pushed open the door and smiled when she saw Anne and Cathy wrapped up in each other’s arms and sleeping soundly. Jane quickly pulled out her phone and took a picture of the sleeping pair of queens. As she left the room, she sent the picture to her group chat with Catherine, Cleves, and Kitty along with a message that read: they finally found each other.

After some time had passed, Cathy slowly stirred awake and blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the light of the setting sun that was filtering into the room. She shifted her head from Anne’s chest before looking down and realizing that Anne still had an arm gently draped over her waist. Cathy smiled to herself as she turned back to admire Anne’s features while she slept. Cathy swore that she could spend the next decade describing the sight and she would still fall short of the quintessential beauty that was Anne Boleyn.

Cathy leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Anne’s cheek which quickly led to Cathy peppering her face with kisses to wake her up. Eventually, Cathy saw an emerald eye peeking out at her. Cathy grinned happily as she watched Anne blink her eyes awake and take in her surroundings.

Anne returned Cathy’s smile and stroked her side lovingly. “What are you thinking about, mon amour?”   

Cathy blushed at the term of endearment before answering. “I like waking up next to you.”

Anne’s smile widened. “If I’m honest, being woken up by your kisses might be even better than cuddling until we fall asleep.”

Cathy leaned in for a proper kiss at Anne’s words. After a few moments, Anne suddenly pulled away and looked back at Cathy with an earnest expression. Cathy gave her a confused look before Anne spoke up. “Cathy, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Annie,” Cathy replied and gently rubbed Anne’s upper arm.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Anne asked, suddenly very shy.

Cathy bit her lip to prevent the excited squeal from leaving her mouth at Anne’s words. “Yes!! Anne, I would love to be your girlfriend!” Cathy exclaimed before kissing Anne passionately. She would never get tired of kissing Anne because every kiss was like the first, filled with a sensory overload of wonderful things. 

The two parted with huge smiles on their faces. Anne pulled Cathy closer and pressed her forehead to hers. “Cathy, you mean everything to me.”

Cathy’s eyes misted over as she replayed those words over and over in her head, remembering all of the times she wrote that exact same phrase in her journal. “You mean everything to me too, Anne.”

[my-major-is-k-howard]

She

Inspired by “She” by dodie. Oh, poor oblivious Cathy. 💙 Things must get worse before they get better unfortunately. Despite that, I hope you all enjoy this part!

Word Count: 4466

Trigger Warnings: anxiety attack, self-deprecating thoughts

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

————————————————————

Part 4

A quiet knock at her door broke Cathy out of her reading. She let out a sigh and put her book down. Cathy hated it when she had to stop abruptly in the middle of a chapter.

“Who is it?” Cathy called out as she slid off her bed and walked to the door.

“It’s Anne. Dinner’s ready! Jane made chicken nuggets!” Anne’s excited voice made Cathy hesitate. Her hand stopped on the doorknob and she took a deep breath before forcing a fake smile onto her face. 

Cathy slowly opened the door and was met with the sight of Anne who immediately smiled brightly at her. Cathy felt her heart flutter in her chest at the sight as her own fake smile turned into a small genuine one. Cathy’s smile dropped however when she remembered that Anne was pining after someone else. 

“Okay. I’ll be right down,” Cathy responded as her gaze fell to the floor. Anne gave her a confused look before clearing her throat.

“Yeah! Okay,” Anne rambled nervously. “I’ll see you downstairs then.” Anne hesitated for a moment before making her way back down to the kitchen.

Cathy watched Anne walk away before turning back into her room with groan. Cathy didn’t mean to act weird around Anne but it was impossible to see her and not think of how desperately Cathy wanted her. And how unattainable she was.

Cathy quickly crossed the room to her bed and grabbed her book. She slipped one of her stray bookmarks into the pages and closed it before placing it on her nightstand. 

“Don’t be weird, Cathy,” she whispered to herself as she left her room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. “Please, don’t be weird.”

Cathy entered the kitchen and sat down in her seat as quietly as possible, hoping not to draw attention to herself. She picked up her fork and poked at the chicken nuggets on her plate, not really in the mood to eat but not wanting to raise suspicion if she didn’t. She slowly began eating as she listened to the other queens’ conversation.

“Hey Kitty, can you pass the mustard?” Cleves asked, gesturing to the yellow bottle by her side.

“That’s disgusting,” Kitty commented as she passed Cleves the requested item. “I hate mustard.”

“Oh really?” Cleves asked, giving Kitty a mischievous smile. Before Kitty could reply, Cleves uncapped the mustard bottle and squirted an unnecessary amount of the yellow liquid in the middle of Kitty’s plate, dangerously close to the rest of her nuggets.

“NO!! ANNA! WHY??” Kitty complained and gave a disgusted look at her plate. “Now I can’t finish my food!”

“That’s for trying to steal the maple syrup from me this morning,” Cleves replied with a satisfied smile. “And you’ll be fine, Kitty! I didn’t get it on your food, which I definitely could have done. You’re welcome for that.”

“Stop bullying my cousin, Cleves,” Anne spoke up. “Unless you wanna catch these hands!” Anne squared up from her place across from Cleves before doubling over in pain. “Ow! That’s not fair! You kicked me!”

Aragon chuckled. “I think that’s pretty fair game, Anne. You asked if Cleves wanted to fight and she retaliated appropriately.”

  “Wow, Catherine! I am so hurt,” Anne exclaimed dramatically, bringing her hand to her chest in a demonstration of faux pain. “At least Cathy’s on my side. Right, Cathy?”

Anne turned to look at Cathy who was now frozen with panic at the mention of her name. Cathy looked up from her plate and mumbled out a few words. “Uhm, yeah. Sure.”  

Cathy looked down at her plate once more, missing the concerned looks the queens exchanged at her sudden change in demeanor.

Jane spoke up to break the uncomfortable silence that was growing. “I know what we should do! After dinner, we should have a movie night!”

The other queens expressed approval, except for Cathy. “You all can go ahead. I’ll join you another time,” Cathy responded, not too keen on spending the rest of her night in any other way than sulking in her room while reading.

“C’mon, Cathy! Join us!” Cleves pleaded before an idea struck her. “We can put on one of those crime documentaries you like so much.”

Though the thought was appealing, Cathy shook her head. “Maybe another time.”

“Or we can have a game night! Though I refuse to play Mafia again. We all get way too aggressive during that,” Aragon chimed in, hoping that Cathy would agree to her request.

“Yeah! We can play Scrabble!” Anne piped up excitedly before bumping shoulders with Cathy. “You love Scrabble!”

Cathy smiled weakly but still refused. “I think I’ll pass. But you all can do something without me. It’s fine, really.”

“No it’s not! It won’t be the same without you, Cathy!” Anne blurted out before turning beet red at her outburst.

Cathy opened her mouth to respond but was cut off by Kitty’s voice. “A sleepover! Let’s have a sleepover!” Cathy looked over to Kitty and was met with her pleading eyes. “Please, Cathy?”

Cathy sighed quietly. She already felt guilty for denying the other queens’ offers so Kitty’s final plea was enough for her to finally acquiesce. “Alright. Fine. I just want to finish the chapter I was reading in my book before I join. I stopped halfway through it before coming down for dinner.”

The queens let out a collective sigh of relief at Cathy’s response. “No problem, love,” Jane commented and smiled gently at Cathy.

“Yay! I’m going to bring my fluffy blanket from my room,” Kitty exclaimed excitedly, moving her chair back in an attempt to retrieve said item.

“Not so fast, Kitty! You still have to finish your dinner,” Aragon said.

“But there’s mustard on it!” Kitty complained, slowly scooting back to the table.

The rest of the queens’ dinner was quiet as they quickly finished their food in anticipation for their impromptu sleepover. Cathy, however, was slowly growing to dread what was to come. She knew that her friends were just trying to cheer her up but she would have much preferred to be alone in her room with her thoughts instead.

So, instead of reading the rest of her chapter like she said she would, Cathy spent those minutes in her bedroom in complete panic mode. Could she somehow find a way to get out of this? Would they let her escape if she just said she was sick? Why did Anne smile at her like that when she opened the door? Didn’t she have feelings for someone else? Was Cathy being selfish for enjoying her attention while it lasted?

Of course, her thoughts always led back to Anne Boleyn and her beautiful smile. Cathy shook the thought out of her head as she quickly changed into her pajamas. She would have to join the other queens downstairs soon or they would start to worry about her again. 

Cathy moved in front of her mirror and took a deep breath. It was just a sleepover, with her friends. There was nothing to be anxious about. Cathy breathed out slowly and felt much more calm. The queens cared about her; that’s why they were having a sleepover in the first place.

With that thought in her mind, Cathy left her bedroom and made her way down the stairs. As she entered the living room, she saw the queens sitting on the floor and laughing as Cleves told them one of her stories.

“- and that’s how I catfished a supermodel,” Cleves finished as the queens erupted into laughter. As Cathy got closer, she noticed that Jane had tears streaming down her face and was wheeze-laughing at the story.

“What’s so funny?” Cathy spoke up with a small smile. The queens turned to look at her with bright smiles.

“You made it!” Kitty piped up with a squeal from where she was snuggled up in her neon pink fluffy blanket.

Anne scooted to her right to make enough space for Cathy to sit next to her. Cathy noticed and slowly made her way to sit beside Anne. After she had made herself comfortable, Anne turned to Cathy and filled her in on the story she had missed. “So, apparently Cleves likes to catfish people on Tinder. She even got the attention of some supermodel and she broke their heart. Which is kind of mean but it’s super funny when she reads the text messages out loud.”

“In my defense, I ghost them after I get bored,” Cleves said with a laugh.

“That’s worse, Anna!” Kitty yelped and lightly smacked Cleves on the arm.

“Weirdly enough, those text messages remind me of this guy who unsuccessfully tried to win my heart,” Aragon commented.

“What?!” Cathy exclaimed. “What happened?”

“Yes! Tell us what happened, Catherine!” Anne chimed in.

“So, I was minding my business and reading the Bible in a park like I usually do on Sundays,” Aragon began. “I was sitting on a bench when this guy suddenly sat down next to me and handed me a letter. I reluctantly took it and began to read it. The words sounded really familiar until I realized that he had just written down chapter 4 of Song of Solomon. At the end of the letter, he had written his number with a little heart. As if I would call him after he plagiarized the Bible in an attempt to woo me. Needless to say, I stopped going to that park after that.”

By time Aragon finished her story, all of the queens were laughing together. Cathy realized how nice it was to have a good laugh with her friends. This was a much better way to spend her night than sulking in her room about her own misfortune.

“For the record, I totally would have called him,” Anne jested earning more laughter from the queens. “Do you still have the letter?”

“Sadly, I threw it away. Otherwise, I would give you his number so you could call him,” Aragon said. “Maybe you two would hit it off.”

“I doubt it. I have my eyes on someone else anyway,” Anne responded, sneaking a quick glance at Cathy that went completely unnoticed by her. The other queens all shared knowing looks while Cathy’s gaze dropped to the floor in disappointment. Cathy’s heart sank when she heard those words come out of Anne’s mouth. She didn’t want to be reminded of Anne’s feelings for the mystery girl, especially not when she was finally beginning to feel better after what had happened earlier.

Cathy was grateful when the other queens began telling more stories. Slowly, Cathy felt the sinking feeling in her chest change into an elated bubble of joy. She laughed so much at their ridiculous anecdotes, growing even more grateful for her friends. The queens had noticed how upset she was and decided to cheer her up in whatever way they could. It meant a lot to Cathy knowing that she had such amazing people in her life that she could always depend on.

Cathy looked around at each of the queens before her eyes landed on Anne Boleyn. She was slightly caught off guard when she noticed that Anne was already looking at her. When their eyes met, Anne tilted her head slightly to the side and smiled at Cathy. In turn, Cathy smiled back and stared into those gorgeous emerald orbs, letting herself get lost in their depths. 

Anne might have her eyes on someone else but right now she’s looking at me, Cathy thought to herself. And that’s all that matters.

“Ooh! Let’s play truth or dare!” Kitty exclaimed, breaking Anne and Cathy out of their moment. The queens agreed and started the game. They all had a great time watching each other answer embarrassing questions and completing funny dares. 

After Cleves had successfully completed Jane’s dare of prank calling one of their neighbors, she turned to Cathy with a smirk on her face that made Cathy nervous.

“Cathy, truth or dare?” Cleves asked.

“Truth,” Cathy answered simply, knowing better than to ask for a dare from Cleves.

Cleves smirked even wider as she began her question. “What do you write about in your journal?”

Cathy’s face paled at the question, knowing she couldn’t give an honest answer without professing her feelings for Anne. “I’m chickening out,” Cathy said with an embarrassed smile on her face.

“Laaaaame,” Cleves taunted.

“Oh, c’mon Cathy! It can’t be that bad!” Kitty added on. “Tell us!”

“No, absolutely not. There’s a reason it’s a private journal and not a public journal,” Cathy responded. “I’m officially chickening out of that truth.”

“Wow, I’m so disappointed,” Anne said, faking disapproval. “As someone who has never chickened out, it breaks my heart to see you turn to the dark side, Cathy.”

“Oh hush,” Cathy responded and playfully nudged Anne’s shoulder with her own. “It’s my turn then.” Cathy looked around to see who she should ask next. A brief thought of asking Anne who she had feelings for crossed her mind before she quickly dismissed it. Cathy didn’t know if she wanted to know the answer. She would rather just pretend that nothing was going on and everything was fine, just for tonight.

Instead, Cathy turned her eyes to Kitty. “Okay, Kitty. Truth or dare?”

Kitty’s eyes lit up as she responded. “Dare!”

Cathy thought for a moment before she came up with the perfect dare for the younger girl. “I dare you to eat a whole tablespoon of mustard.” A wicked grin stretched across Cathy’s face when she saw Kitty nearly burst into tears at the dare.

“NO! Cathy please!! Anything but mustard!” Kitty cried out.  

“Rules are rules, Kitty,” Aragon commented.

“Unless you wanna chicken out,” Jane chimed in.

Kitty hesitated, carefully pondering her options. Cleves began making chicken sounds as Kitty delayed her response.

“Kitty, don’t chicken out on me! I can’t lose you too!” Anne joked. Kitty gave her cousin a desperate look which Anne responded to by beginning to chant, “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

The queens joined in until five voices were chanting for Kitty to complete the dare. Finally, Kitty caved and said, “Okay! Fine! I’ll eat the stupid mustard!”

The queens followed Kitty into the kitchen and watched her as she squeezed the mustard into a spoon. A look of utter disgust passed over Kitty’s face as she brought the spoon to her lips. Slowly, the queens watched as she quickly put the spoon in her mouth and swallowed. Kitty gagged at the taste but gratefully took the glass of water that Anne was handing to her.

The queens cheered as Kitty downed the glass of water in a vain attempt to get the taste of mustard off her tongue. Kitty grimaced and placed the spoon and cup in the sink. Kitty looked at Cathy and shook her head. “I hope you’re happy. That was the worst thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

Cathy giggled. “I’m sorry, Kitty!”

“Don’t apologize. I know you don’t mean it,” Kitty muttered as the queens made their way back to their spots in the living room. 

“It’s my turn now,” Kitty said and looked around at all the queens before her eyes landed on Anne. Cathy noticed the two cousins share a glance which caused a petrified look to pass over Anne’s face. Anne shook her head slightly but Kitty had already made up her mind. “Anne, truth or dare?”

Anne hesitated for a moment before responding. “Dare.”

Kitty glared at Anne momentarily before a satisfied smile passed over her face. “I dare you to kiss Cathy.”

Cathy’s mouth dropped in shock, mirroring the girl next to her. Had she heard that right? Did Kitty really just say that? Cathy was left at a loss for words. A storm of emotions and thoughts swirled in her mind about what Kitty had just said.

Cleves whooped loudly at Kitty’s dare and pointed to Anne, who was shifting uncomfortably in her spot. “You’re not going to chicken out of this, or are you Anne?” Cleves taunted. 

Much to Cathy’s surprise, Anne said nothing. She didn’t jump to defend her honor of never chickening out how she usually did. Cathy looked at her and saw Anne turn to her with soft eyes and a shy smile.

“We don’t have to do this, if you don’t want to,” Anne whispered to Cathy, before dropping her gaze to the floor. “I can chicken out if you want.”

“Anne Boleyn! You never chicken out!” Cathy responded incredulously as Anne looked up to meet her eyes once more. “I won’t get in the way of that. I mean, it’s just a kiss.”

Just a kiss I dream about every night, Cathy thought to herself. She subconsciously bit her lip. Cathy was secretly looking forward to the kiss. She had wanted to kiss Anne for so long now that it almost didn’t feel real that it was actually about to happen.

“Yeah, just a kiss,” Anne said as she dropped her gaze momentarily from Cathy. A sad look passed over Anne’s face, though Cathy didn’t understand why. Anne looked back up with a tender look on her face that sent butterflies stirring in Cathy’s stomach. 

Anne brought her hand up to cup Cathy’s cheek gently, slowly caressing her cheekbone with her thumb. Cathy’s breath caught in her throat and she was suddenly hyper aware of everything around her. The feeling of Anne’s hand on her cheek, the soft look in those emerald green eyes, and the small smile on Anne’s face brought back all the love that Cathy had for the girl in front of her. The girl she was finally about to kiss.

Cathy’s gaze dropped to Anne’s lips, desperate to finally have them on her own. Cathy watched as Anne’s smile morphed until her mouth was slightly parted. She watched Anne quickly lick her lips nervously before feeling Anne pull her in slowly.

Anne leaned forward and connected their lips in a gentle, feathersoft kiss. Cathy felt her insides melt at the touch as the stirring of butterflies intensified. A million thoughts were running through her mind until it suddenly blanked when she felt Anne slowly begin to move her lips. Cathy reciprocated at the same pace, bringing her hand up to Anne’s cheek to feel more contact with the girl she loved.

They quickened their pace gradually, matching each other’s movements perfectly. Anne pulled Cathy closer to her, slowly tracing her bottom lip with her tongue. Cathy had to stifle a moan at the feeling which sent Cathy’s mind into overdrive. Cathy abruptly pulled away from Anne as very loud alarms blared in her mind, signalling that something was very wrong. 

Cathy’s mind was swirling with an endless hurricane of thoughts, threatening to drown her in their whirlpool. She suddenly felt out of control of herself and frantically looked around the room for a way out.

“Cathy, what’s wrong?” Anne’s concerned voice brought Cathy back to reality for a moment.

“No- nothing,” Cathy stammered, unable to look Anne in the eye. “I’m actually feeling pretty tired so I think I’m going to head to bed early.” Cathy quickly got up from her spot, not meeting any of the worried looks of the queens.

“Cathy, wait!” Anne exclaimed desperately, scrambling to her feet as well.

“Goodnight,” Cathy said quickly before rushing out of the room, leaving behind a very confused Anne with a brokenhearted expression on her face.  

Cathy ran up the stairs and into her room, shutting the door quickly before any of the queens decided to follow her. She collapsed against it as she began hyperventilating. What had she done? Why had Cathy agreed to that stupid dare? Now, she was worse off than she had ever been before.

Now, she not only had to deal with Anne’s feelings for someone else but also the fact that they had shared a kiss that meant nothing to Anne. But, it meant everything Cathy. The kiss had been magical, everything she had been dreaming about and more. But it still plagued Cathy to know that Anne felt nothing when she kissed her. To Anne, it was some silly dare that she had only done to keep her pride intact. 

That thought mocked Cathy. Anne probably felt guilty about kissing someone else while she was still pining after her mystery girl. The girl Anne actually cared about. The girl Cathy craved to be. All she wanted was for Anne to love her in return. Was that too much to ask?

Cathy huffed and tried to control her breathing. She took slow breaths until the feeling that she was suffocating subsided. She pushed away from her door and crossed the room to her desk, pulling out her journal in a rush. She quickly turned on her desk lamp and flipped to a free page before choking back a sob when she saw her bookmark. Those pictures mocked her, making her feel even more foolish for ever hoping that Anne would kiss her. Now that she had, it had only made everything worse.

Cathy threw the bookmark on the floor angrily and grabbed her pen. Cathy wiped at the tears she hadn’t even realized were streaming down her face. She had to get her feelings out before they consumed her. She had to write it out before she drowned in her own sorrows.  

Love is an ocean of torment and pain, black waters that rise and rage against all who dare to swim in its shallows. One moment I was wading in a crystal bay and enjoying the gentle waves crashing against my skin and in the next I was thrashing to get to the surface as vicious currents pulled me deeper, drowning me in my own despair. I understand why Aphrodite was born from the foam of such a volatile entity. Love changes like the tides of the sea, rising and falling in accordance to the hope that foolish lovers cling to as if for dear life.

I was foolish enough to hope for love. I bartered my heart for a kiss, only to find that lipstick marks are a mockery of what I wanted. I didn’t want a kiss. I wanted Anne Boleyn! I wanted all of her, every single part of her. I wanted her lips, I wanted her eyes, I wanted her smile, I wanted her affection, I wanted her desire. I wanted her to feel what I felt when she kissed me.

When her lips touched mine, I felt my heart come alive in my chest. It was as if it had been dormant my whole life and was suddenly awakened by Anne’s gentle touch. I saw the birth of the sun, a brilliant light that drowns out all darkness in the galaxy. I smelled fields of lemongrass and groves filled with vanilla flowers and overgrown honeysuckle bushes, the scent I always imagine breathing in right before I fall asleep. I heard the sound of windchimes softly ringing out a lullaby and the quiet whispers of the wind, telling me all the secrets of the earth as they billowed past my ear. And I finally tasted Anne on my lips. She tasted of everything good I could ever describe and more. She tasted like the first bite of my chocolate birthday cake from last year but better. She tasted like the warm coffee I drink to keep me awake while I read but stronger. She tasted like the candy we ate together after trick-or-treating last Halloween but sweeter. 

But Anne felt none of that. She didn’t see, smell, or hear what I did. She didn’t taste anything when she kissed me. My heart is cleaved in two when I think of how differently we experienced that kiss. We were the closest we had ever been when we kissed yet I have never felt more far away from Anne. While I was thinking about my endless love for her, Anne was concerned with her own pride. While my mind was reeling with the magic of Anne’s lips on mine, her mind was completely blank. 

I lament ever pleading for her kiss! It has brought me so much despair because now I realize that everything I want and everything I am will never be enough for Anne. My most precious memories are nothing but passing thoughts to her. The moments that keep me awake at night, those same moments I journal about, are forgotten by Anne when she wakes up the next morning. I am overrun by my feelings for her, feelings that she has no need or desire for. 

I can’t go on like this! I simply won’t. From now on, I will keep my feelings locked away in my heart and out of sight from prying eyes. I will consign my feelings to admiring Anne from a distance. I will harbor my love in a prison, not free to run rampant as I let it for so long. I will keep my distance so I can have a chance to heal my broken heart. Maybe then I can be the friend Anne deserves, the friend she needs me to be. At least I can find my peace in that role, even if I can’t have what I truly desire. But, I’m willing to make these sacrifices because Anne… my beloved Anne… means everything to me.

Cathy scribbled her name out at the bottom of the page and stopped writing as her tears returned with a vengeance. She put her pen down and rested her face in her hands as she quietly sobbed into them. Cathy stayed like that for a few minutes until a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She reached for the tissue box that she had gotten from Jane and hastily wiped the tears from her face.

Cathy sighed heavily before taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She slowly turned in her chair to find where her bookmark had landed. Cathy found it by her foot and sighed gratefully that it was face down. She picked it up and placed it back in her journal, keeping it face down the entire time. Cathy closed the journal and returned it to its place in her desk drawer. She reached over to her lamp and flipped the switch, plunging her back into darkness.

Cathy closed her eyes tiredly for a moment before lumbering her way to her bed. She crawled under her covers and tried to fall asleep, though her memories of the day kept her awake as they replayed in her head. Eventually, Cathy drifted into a restless sleep, plagued with nightmares of those green eyes and that devilish smirk.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

She

Inspired by “She” by dodie. I’m back with Part 3! Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story so far. You all mean the world to me and I cherish each and every one of you SO MUCH. ❤️ I hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 2535

Part 1 Part 2

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Part 3

Cathy spent the next few hours reading from her new book. She had planned on finishing the book that day but her mind kept drifting off to a certain green-eyed queen. By the time Cathy reached the middle of the book, she could no longer focus on the words on the page. The events of earlier that day still nagged in the back of her head, making the simple act of reading nearly impossible.

Cathy let out a breath and closed the book. Maybe Anne would like some company if she wasn’t busy. Cathy could tell her about The Picture of Dorian Gray, or at least the parts she remembered when she wasn’t distracted. She should also thank Anne again for the photo booth pictures and let her know that she was putting them to good use. Cathy smiled at the thought and resolved to go look for Anne.

As Cathy opened the door of her bedroom, she was greeted by the sounds of video games coming from the living room. She followed the sound of gunshots and zombies, hoping that Anne would be down there and she could watch whatever gruesome game she was playing. Cathy wasn’t a huge fan of gore but she was willing to put her bias aside to spend time with Anne.

When Cathy walked into the living room, she narrowed her eyes in confusion when she saw that it was Cleves who was playing the video game of mass murder instead of Anne. Cathy jumped slightly as Cleves let out a shout of victory before she looked over to where Cathy was standing off to the side.

“Hey, Cathy. Do you want to join me?” Cleves asked sarcastically.

Cathy gave her a horrified expression which caused Cleves to start laughing. “Absolutely not! You know I despise violent video games.”

“Did you need something from me?” Cleves asked when her laughter subsided.

“Umm… have you seen Anne? I thought she might be playing with you,” Cathy mumbled, suddenly becoming quite embarrassed to admit that she was looking for Anne.

Cleves smirked at Cathy’s sudden change in demeanor. “I think she’s in her room. But be careful. She might be attempting a séance again.”

“She’d better not be,” Cathy muttered. “Thanks, Cleves.” Cleves nodded and resumed her game as Cathy made her way back up the stairs. 

Cathy began walking down the hall when she heard voices coming from Anne’s room. Cathy hesitated at the door of Anne’s bedroom, not wanting to interrupt an important conversation, until she heard one of the voices say something that caught her interest. 

“- TOTALLY likes you back!” Cathy heard Kitty say excitedly. Of course, Cathy knew it was impolite to eavesdrop but she couldn’t help it. She pressed her ear closer to Anne’s door. Did Anne like somebody?

“Kitty, keep your voice down!” Anne whisper-yelled to her cousin. 

“Sorry! But, Anne, she totally likes you back,” Kitty whispered back. “I mean, have you seen the way she looks at you?”

“Kitty, I’ve tried literally everything to tell her how I feel except saying it directly to her face,” Anne huffed. “Either she’s completely oblivious or she just doesn’t like me like that. And, I’m pretty sure it’s the latter.”

“Anne, listen to me. Even if you don’t believe that she has feelings for you, which she definitely does for the record, would you rather tell her how you feel and have a shot at an actual relationship or spend the rest of your life wondering what could’ve happened with the girl you love?” Kitty ranted.

“I don’t want to ruin our friendship, Kitty!” Anne exclaimed. “If I say something and she doesn’t feel the same, I will lose the most valuable friendship I have in my life. I… I can’t risk that!” Anne began sniffling as the sound of quiet sobs grew louder.

“Annie… come here,” Kitty whispered softly. The sound of Anne’s bed creaking suggested that Kitty was now holding her older cousin.

“Kitty, the truth is… I do want to tell her. I want to tell her that I love her smile and her laugh. That I always look forward to spending time with her. That when she says my name my heart skips a beat. That she means everything to me.” Anne took a deep breath. “But, I’m so scared. First, that she’ll reject me and our friendship will be awkward after that but also if she does like me back and I just end up disappointing her. What would I do then?”

“Anne, you’re not going to disappoint her, I promise. She adores you! She laughs at all your jokes, even if the rest of us think they’re bad. She always takes your side when Aragon gets mad at you. She even takes breaks from her reading just to spend time with you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is,” Kitty answered.

“Okay… you’re right. But, I don’t know how to tell her,” Anne sighed.

“Don’t worry! I’ll help you,” Kitty piped up. 

“You promise?” Anne asked.

“I promise!” Kitty squealed. “Everything is going to be perfect!”

Cathy swallowed the lump that was building up in her throat as she felt her stomach drop to the floor. Anne liked someone. Anne liked someone and it wasn’t Cathy.       

Cathy choked back a sob as she rushed back to her room. As soon as Cathy closed the door, she felt hot tears beginning to stream down her face. She didn’t try to fight her emotions or bottle up her feelings. It was too late for that anyway. 

Cathy sat on her bed, brought her knees to her chest, and buried her face in the pillow she had grabbed in an attempt to muffle the sound of her crying. She didn’t want the other queens to hear her and worry about what had happened. More than anything, she didn’t want them to ask what was wrong. Cathy wouldn’t know what to say.

 Cathy reprimanded herself for getting her hopes up. Anne didn’t have feelings for her and she would never have feelings for her. She shook her head in disbelief that she ever had any inkling of hope that Anne would return her affection. 

No, Anne’s affection was elsewhere, with the mystery girl that she and Kitty were talking about. The one that was beautiful, charming, elegant, sweet, smart, funny, kind. Everything that Cathy wished she was. How could she ever compare?

And Anne was planning on pursuing her. Cathy’s heart ached at the thought. She would have to endure watching Anne fall in love with someone else, while Cathy inevitably fell in love with Anne in secret. She would have to watch Anne hold hands and link arms with someone else. She would have to watch Anne smile and laugh with someone else. She would have to watch Anne kiss someone else the way she desperately craved for Anne to kiss her. Cathy felt her heart twist violently at her self-inflicted thoughts of agony. 

There was one silver lining in all of the pain, however. Anne would be happy. Anne would finally have someone that she could depend on. She would have someone that she could let her guard down around and not constantly fear the pain of rejection. She wouldn’t have to mask her feelings with humor anymore. Cathy smiled for the first time since overhearing Anne’s conversation. Anne deserved to be happy and Cathy wouldn’t get in the way of that happiness.

Cathy’s heart still ached knowing that Anne was falling for someone else but she held no resentment for the mystery girl. Anne had a chance to be happy and Cathy loved her too much to risk jeopardizing that with her own feelings. 

Cathy let out a loud sigh and began wiping away the tear stains on her face. She didn’t want to go to the hall bathroom to clean herself up and risk any of the other queens seeing her like this, especially not Anne. So instead, Cathy used the sleeves of her shirt to wipe the tears from her eyes. Cathy sniffled a little as she returned her pillow back to its place.

  Almost immediately after, Cathy heard a knock at her door. Her eyes widened in panic and she had to steel herself to keep her voice from cracking. “Yes?”

“It’s Jane, love. Can I come in?” Jane spoke loud enough so that Cathy could hear her through the door.

“Just a moment,” Cathy responded and gave one last attempt to clean the tear residue from her eyes and cheeks. She got up and opened the door to meet Jane’s concerned eyes. Cathy let Jane enter her room before closing the door once more.  

“Are you alright, love?” Jane asked quietly. “It sounded like you were crying.”

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, I’m fine,” Cathy lied. She flashed Jane a small smile in hopes that she would convince Jane that she was okay so she wouldn’t pry into why Cathy was crying.

Jane didn’t look convinced. “Did something happen?”

 Cathy looked down at the floor. She didn’t want to lie to Jane about what had happened but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her the truth either.

Jane took the silence as an answer. “Cathy, do you want to talk about it?”

Cathy shook her head profusely as she felt her tears return with a vengeance. Before she could process what was going on, tears were steadily flowing down her cheeks and sobs were racking her body. Cathy tried to turn away from Jane to hide her tears but Jane didn’t let her. Instead, Jane wrapped her arms around the fragile girl and held her as she cried.

Cathy immediately sank into Jane as the older woman stroked her hair in an effort to calm her down. After a few minutes, Cathy’s sobs subsided and were replaced with whimpers and the occasional hiccup. The two queens had migrated to Cathy’s bed where Jane was slowly releasing her grip on Cathy. 

Cathy parted from Jane and looked up to meet the warmth in her eyes. Jane stroked Cathy’s back soothingly before breaking the silence. “I’m not going to ask what happened. You’re clearly not ready to talk about it.” Cathy dropped Jane’s gaze and swallowed. “But, when you are, I am more than willing to listen. Okay, love?”

Cathy nodded. “Thank you, Jane.”

“You’re welcome, dear. I’ll go bring you some tissues. I’ll be right back.” Jane left Cathy’s room for a few moments before returning with a tissue box. Cathy accepted them gratefully and began blowing her nose and wiping her eyes.

Jane stayed with Cathy for a few more minutes before excusing herself. “Cathy, I’m going to start making dinner now. Are you okay by yourself?”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay,” Cathy responded. “Thank you, Jane. It means a lot to me.”

“I’m here for you, Cathy, and I know the other queens would agree as well. We love you.”

Cathy nodded gratefully. “And I love all of you too.” Jane smiled before getting up and exiting the room. 

When Jane closed her door, Cathy muttered under her breath, “That’s kind of the problem though. I love Anne.” Cathy shook her head at those words.

Even though Cathy felt like she had no more tears left to cry, she still felt all of her emotions stirring within her once more. Cathy heaved one last sigh before walking over to her desk. She reached into the drawer and pulled out her journal. Hopefully writing would give her some peace of mind.

Cathy opened her journal and instantly regretted her decision when she saw the images of her and Anne from the photo booth staring right back at her. Cathy picked up the bookmark of heartbreak and turned it face down on her desk. She reached over and picked up her pen from its resting place before putting her thoughts to paper.

Nobody told me that Cupid was both an archer and an assassin. When I was struck by his arrow, the tip pierced my heart and my love for Anne only grew from that moment on, blossoming from admiration into infatuation. But how cruel and double minded he can be! His aim when he struck Anne was a dagger in my heart. The backstabbing fiend promised me love, omitting the word “unrequited” in premeditated deceit. How could I have been such a fool?! 

Anne, my sweet Anne, has blossomed feelings for another. Against my better judgment, I eavesdropped on her conversation with Kitty, only to overhear the earth-shattering revelation of her undying love for someone else. Oh, how I wish I could have frozen time forever in that photo booth and not only in a photograph. Then, I could live in that blissful state of mind where I was Anne’s sole affection and I didn’t have to vie for her love. I lament my foolish actions.

 Even though this pain feels like my chest was ripped open and my heart was crushed in hand, I can’t imagine my life without Anne in it. I still love her, even if the circumstances have changed out of my favor. My love for her may be selfish but it’s what sustains me. It fills me with warmth on the coldest days and brightens my life when everything before was dull and dark. It may hurt to think about the reality of this situation but I can still build a whole world of possibilities inside of my mind about her. Thoughts of her still make my heart jump and bring a smile to my face. The pain reminds me of how much I love her and that makes the pain all the more bearable. It’s a strange feeling.

I can’t give her up. I just can’t. I won’t! So, I’ll stay quiet. I’ll keep my confessions limited to the whispers in my dreams. No one will hear them and no one will know. My secrets will stay on these pages so Anne can finally find the happiness she deserves with the person she loves. I wish her all the best even though it shatters me inside to know she found everything she wants with someone else. It’s a bitter paradox because she means everything to me.

Cathy signed her name messily at the end before dropping her pen back on her desk and drew a shaky breath. Her feelings were contradicting themselves, making it hard to verbalize efficiently exactly what she was feeling. Writing it out definitely helped clear her head though. She knew she would get through pain eventually but it still hurt deeply to think about. The wounds were still fresh. 

Carefully, Cathy picked up her photo booth bookmark and turned it right side up. She smiled sadly at the memories they pictured, images of blissful hope that were shattered by the harshness of reality. Cathy placed the bookmark in her journal and shut it slowly. She slipped the leather-bound journal back in its drawer before closing it and moving back to her bed. Maybe she could get her mind off of reality by delving back into the imaginary world that Oscar Wilde painted in The Picture of Dorian Gray.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

She

Inspired by “She” by dodie. Part 2 is here! This one is a quite a bit longer than I originally intended. I guess that happens when I get too excited about an idea haha. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoy!

Word Count: 3340

Part 1

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Part 2

Cathy glanced at herself one last time in the mirror, scanning over her outfit for any imperfections. She wasn’t wearing anything fancy, just blue skinny jeans and a grey t-shirt, yet she still felt apprehensive about leaving her room. 

Of course, she knew that none of the other queens would mock her outfit but she still felt so out-of-place around them. They were all very into fashion and dressed to impress while Cathy simply didn’t. She preferred to spend her time reading and writing over shopping for the latest fashion trends.

Cathy pulled at the hem of her shirt to straighten out the cloth before heading over to her desk to grab her phone. She checked to see if she had any unread messages and sighed in relief when there were none. Kitty hadn’t spilled her glitter which meant the queens should be ready to leave soon. Cathy quickly slid her phone into her pocket before leaving her room.

She walked down the stairs and entered the living room where Cleves, Jane, and Aragon were waiting. They all greeted Cathy as she approached.

“Anne and Kitty should be down soon,” Jane said. “They said they were finishing up when I asked them a few minutes ago.”

“‘Finishing up’ for those two could take ages,” Aragon replied, putting air quotes around “finishing up.”

Cleves grumbled in agreement before walking to the bottom of the stairs and yelling, “Anne, Kitty, hurry up! I want to get my boba tea sometime in the next month!”

Cathy heard one of the bedroom doors swing open as Kitty shouted back. “Coming!” Two pairs of feet descended the stairs before Anne and Kitty made their entrance into the living room.

“We’re here!” Anne exclaimed, calling Cathy’s attention to her. Cathy was left breathless at the sight in front of her. Anne was wearing a green crop top that left her midriff slightly exposed, along with black jeans and her classic choker. Cathy’s feelings began to bubble up to the surface at the sight though she managed to force them down and compose herself. Cathy flashed Anne a quick smile which was immediately returned.  

Cathy was snapped out of the moment by the sound of Jane jingling her car keys as she grabbed them from the counter by the front door. “Well, now that we’re all here, let’s be on our way,” Jane said to the other queens before leading the way to her minivan. 

As usual, Cathy opted to sit in the back of the minivan so that the other queens could sit closer to the speakers. Cathy was just about to shift the seat back into position when a hand stopped her. Before Cathy could even process what had happened, Anne was sitting next to her in the back row.

“I hope you don’t mind me joining you back here,” Anne said as she shifted the seat in front of her back into its regular position.

“No! Not at all,” Cathy replied. “It’s nice to have some company.”

Anne smiled at that before the rest of the queens piled into the vehicle. As Jane pulled out of the driveway, Cleves grabbed the auxiliary cord and began playing music through the speakers. Kitty immediately began singing along to the song that Cleves had chosen.

“You look really nice.” Cathy turned her head at the comment, growing more surprised when she realized that Anne had directed it at her.

Anne saw the surprised expression on Cathy’s face and misinterpreted it. She quickly began backtracking. “I mean… you always look nice. But especially right now… What I mean to say is I like your outfit,” Anne rambled as the blush on her cheeks intensified with each word that spilled out of her mouth.

“Thank you, Anne,” Cathy replied, dropping her gaze to her lap in hopes that Anne wouldn’t see the similar tint of red that was now painting Cathy’s cheeks as well. “I really like your outfit as well.” 

Cathy finally looked up after a few moments to see Anne smiling softly at her. When their eyes met, Anne’s smile widened which only brought a similar smile to Cathy’s face. 

Cathy eventually fixated her gaze out the window, watching the familiar sights go by as the car approached the mall. She was also half listening to Cleves and Kitty’s duet that was happening in the row in front of her.

Cathy’s thoughts came to a halt when she felt a soft hand brush hers from where it was resting on the leather seat next to her. Cathy didn’t dare turn around to face the culprit. Instead, she simply bit her lip and tried to steady her breathing that had become quite erratic from the touch. 

It was probably just an accident, Cathy reasoned with herself. It doesn’t mean anything.

Cathy barely moved a muscle until the van was safely parked in one of the mall’s parking spots. Only then did she break her temporary spell of immobility as she exited the van and joined the other queens outside. 

The group entered the mall and were welcomed by the bright lights and signs of the various shops. Before any of the queens had the chance to run off, Aragon began her monologue of “How to Behave at the Mall.”

“…and make sure you don’t break anything. Please. Check your phones so we don’t have to hunt you down when it’s time to leave. Okay?” Aragon finished, alternating her gaze between Kitty and Anne. The two cousins nodded before breaking out into huge smiles.

“Perfect! We’ll meet back here when it’s time to leave,” Jane said. “I’m going to look for some new throw pillows. Ooh! And maybe some more candles!” Jane walked off in pursuit of her desired items, followed by Aragon who mumbled under her breath that Jane would spend too much money if she didn’t babysit her credit card.

“Let’s go, Anna!” Kitty shouted, dragging Cleves off in the direction of the toy store. Cathy was fully expecting Anne to follow her cousin and leave her by herself so she was quite surprised when the Boleyn girl turned back to her with a grin on her face.

“And where are we off to?” Anne asked. Cathy felt her heart thrumming inside her ribcage. Did Anne really want to spend time with her?

“I was planning on going to the bookstore,” Cathy answered before quickly adding, “Unless you want to go somewhere else. I don’t have a preference really.”

Anne’s smile widened before she linked arms with Cathy and began pulling her in the direction of the bookstore. “I love books.”

Cathy felt butterflies stir in her stomach as she walked arm-in-arm with Anne towards the bookstore. She let herself imagine for a few moments what it would be like to link arms with Anne as they walked together to a coffee shop for a date. She imagined Anne kissing her cheek softly and whispering to her how beautiful she looked. 

Cathy shook her head to rid her mind of the daydream just as they entered the bookstore. She gazed in awe at the amount of books in sight, taking in all the different titles and genres. Anne had a similar expression on her face as she looked around. “I see why you like it here.”

Cathy turned to Anne. “It’s my little paradise. It’s quiet, I’m surrounded by books, and the chairs are super comfortable.” Cathy gestured to the armchairs with her free hand. “I usually grab a book and read until the other queens are done.” Cathy ducked her head in embarrassment as she admitted to what her mall experiences were actually like.

“What were you thinking of reading today?” Anne asked out of curiosity.

Cathy looked back up to meet Anne’s eyes. She didn’t see any judgment in them, much to her surprise. Rather, she saw genuine interest and warmth swirling in those green irises. Cathy shifted her focus to the Classics section of the bookstore so she didn’t get caught staring into Anne’s eyes for too long.

“I was planning on reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde,” Cathy replied.

“I guess I’ll have to find a book to read so I can join you,” Anne said. “I’ll meet you back at the chairs.” 

Before Cathy could respond, Anne had unlinked their arms and run off to find a book. Cathy shook her head at Anne’s antics but the small smile on her face gave away how fond she was of the girl. 

Cathy made her way to the Classics section in pursuit of her chosen book. She scanned the shelves carefully until her eyes landed on a hardback copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Cathy grabbed it and admired the cover before heading to the seating area where she would spend the rest of her time reading. 

Cathy made her way over to her favorite armchair and sat down, curling up comfortably on the cushion. Before she began reading, Cathy looked around until she spotted Anne approaching her with a wide grin on her face. Cathy let out a small chuckle when she noticed the book she was holding.

“Of all the books to choose from, you chose that one,” Cathy commented as Anne slid into the armchair in front of her.

“I don’t know what you mean. Captain Underpants is a classic,” Anne shot back with a smile on her face. 

Cathy giggled at Anne’s response. “I’m not sure the critics would agree.”

“I’m the only critic you need, babes.” Cathy’s breath hitched at Anne’s casual use of the nickname. She felt her cheeks begin to flush pink so she let her gaze drop down to the book in her hands in an attempt to hide it.

“Let me read in peace, Anne,” Cathy replied lamely as she opened up her book. She heard Anne shuffle in her seat and the sound of pages turning. Cathy flipped a few pages of her own book until she arrived at the beginning of the first chapter.

From that point on, the two queens read in almost complete silence, aside from Anne’s occasional giggles at the jokes of Captain Underpants. Cathy was totally enraptured by the world Oscar Wilde created in his novel. She absorbed each word written, page after page. She almost forgot that Anne was even there. Almost. There was still that elated feeling in Cathy’s chest when she remembered that Anne was still right there in front of her.

Cathy shyly glanced up from her book to admire Anne while she read. Except when she looked up, she saw that Anne wasn’t reading. Instead, the Boleyn girl was staring right back at her. Their eyes met for a brief moment before both queens snapped their heads back down to their respective books, crimson creeping quickly into both of their cheeks.

Cathy had trouble concentrating on her novel from that point on. She scanned the words on the pages but her mind was elsewhere. Did Anne think she was weird for staring at her? Did she somehow figure out about her feelings? Did Cathy have something on her face? Was that why Anne was looking at her?

Cathy’s mind swirled with embarrassed and anxious thoughts about what had just happened. As Cathy tried to calm herself down and return to reading, she was snapped out of her thoughts by her phone’s text tone. She checked the screen and saw that Aragon had texted the group chat saying that they would be meeting at the mall entrance in five minutes so that they could get home in time for lunch.

Cathy spoke up to get Anne’s attention. “Aragon wants us to meet back at the entrance in five minutes.”

“Already?” Anne whined. She checked her phone and muttered something under her breath that Cathy didn’t catch. 

“I’m going to buy this really quick and then we can go,” Cathy continued before getting up and walking to the cash register. After paying for the book, she returned to where Anne was waiting for her by the door.

“I’m guessing you enjoyed your book then,” Anne commented as Cathy approached.

“Yeah! It’s really interesting. I’ve enjoyed it so far,” Cathy replied. “How was Captain Underpants?”

“It was a masterpiece,” Anne said as they began walking back to the mall’s entrance.

“Spoken like a true critic,” Cathy joked before noticing that they weren’t heading toward the queens’ rendezvous spot anymore. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” Anne replied and grabbed Cathy’s hand, leading her in the opposite direction of the mall’s entrance. 

“Aragon is going to be mad at us if we’re late, Anne,” Cathy fretted but nonetheless followed the girl, relishing the feeling of Anne’s hand in hers. She couldn’t help but notice how soft Anne’s hand was and how perfectly it fit in her own. Cathy bit her lip to prevent herself from smiling at the simple action.

“First of all, Aragon won’t be mad at you. She’ll be mad at me,” Anne explained. “Second, it won’t take that long. And third, it’ll be fun! I promise.” Anne flashed Cathy one of her dazzling smiles and squeezed her hand lightly. 

Cathy sighed. How could she say no to Anne? “Alright. As long as it’s quick.”

“It is!” Anne replied. “We’re almost there.”

The two continued walking until Anne stopped in front of the mall’s photo booth. She let go of Cathy’s hand and gestured dramatically to the machine. “Ta-da!” 

Cathy giggled at Anne’s excitement. “Really, Anne?”

“C’mon, Cathy. Please?” Anne pleaded, pouting slightly. “I’ll pay for it.”

“Okay,” Cathy acquiesced as Anne held open the dark curtain for Cathy to enter. Cathy scrambled inside and took a seat, joined by Anne a few moments later. She watched as Anne inserted the money and jumped in surprise at the loud voice that was activated in the machine. 

The automated voice walked the two queens through the process before it began counting down. Before Cathy had a chance to ask Anne what pose they should do, the Boleyn girl wrapped her arm around Cathy’s shoulder and pulled her into her side. Cathy smiled widely at the action just as the first photo was taken.

Cathy turned to face Anne and stared adoringly at her as she made a silly face for the next photo. Anne was so close to her. Their legs were brushing, Anne’s arm was wrapped around her, and Cathy was in an utter state of bliss. She breathed in the scents of Anne’s shampoo and perfume, and instantly felt calm. There were hints of lemongrass and vanilla, mixed with the sweet aroma of honeysuckle. Cathy wanted to stay like that forever, in Anne’s arms breathing in her intoxicating scent.

Cathy was snapped out of her thoughts by the automated voice beginning a new countdown. Cathy turned back to face the camera and pulled another silly face to match Anne’s. The camera snapped the picture and the voice announced that the next photo would be their last one.

Cathy thought about what she should do next but was cut off by Anne beating her to it. Cathy froze when she felt soft lips pressed against her cheek. She was completely caught off guard by the action, subconsciously feeling a small smile spread across her face matched by a light blush on her cheeks. 

The photo booth captured the moment and the two blushing queens parted from each other. A few moments later, the strip of pictures was printed out and Anne grabbed them from the slot in the machine. Cathy followed Anne as they exited the photo booth, blinking as her eyes readjusted to the outside light.

Anne and Cathy rushed back to the mall entrance as quickly as they could after that. Cathy’s mind was still reeling from the events of the photo booth, questioning what Anne had done. Even though Cathy tried to ignore it, the same thought kept bouncing back inside her head. She enjoyed it. She enjoyed being close to Anne. She enjoyed it when Anne kissed her. Cathy shook her head frantically to rid herself of the recurring thought. She was falling madly in love with Anne.

As the two approached the mall doors, Cathy noticed that the other four queens were waiting for them. Aragon had her arms crossed and she was shaking her head in disapproval as Anne and Cathy joined the group. 

“You’re late,” Aragon deadpanned with a frown on her face.

Before Cathy could respond, Anne was already speaking. “Sorry, Aragon. It was my fault. I lost track of time.”

“Of course you did,” Aragon responded before letting out a sigh. “Now that we’re all here, let’s head back to the car.”

As the queens began walking back to Jane’s minivan, Anne bumped shoulders with Cathy to get her attention. “Told you Aragon wouldn’t get mad at you.”

Cathy chuckled. “No, but she got mad at you.”

“I’m used to it,” Anne quipped before pulling out the photo booth pictures from her pocket and handing them to Cathy. “Here. Maybe you can use this as a bookmark for your new book.” Anne gestured to the bag that Cathy was still carrying. 

Cathy gingerly took the photo strip from Anne. “Thank you.”

Anne winked at Cathy as they made it to the car. The queens loaded up their purchases and got in, enjoying the peaceful ride back home. 

After lunch, Cathy found herself back in her room staring at the photo booth pictures. A giddy smile was plastered on her face as she admired the sight of Anne kissing her cheek. Cathy got up from her bed and made her way to her desk. She took a seat and pulled out her journal, setting the photo booth strip off to the side. Cathy picked up her pen and began writing.

Anne never fails to make my heart flutter with her small tokens of friendship. A mug of coffee, a car ride, hand holding and linked arms, an impromptu photo booth shoot… a kiss on the cheek. When I close my eyes, I can still feel the feather soft touch of her lips in the same spot where she kissed me. Oh, how I long to feel that same softness on my own lips… 

I’m getting ahead of myself. There is not a single notion of possibility that she could ever return my love for her. I am Icarus and she is the brilliant sun. If I fly too close, she will be my downfall. I may wish in my heart for her to fall in love with me but my mind is too sensible to give in to such a foolish desire. I am satisfied with these small moments of friendship, despite how much it pains me to keep my feelings closed off and hidden. This pain is a constant reminder of how extraordinary and beautiful she is to me. There is no better pain than that. The fruits of love are sweet no matter the tree, whether they are orchards on public grounds or private property.

Anne is so blissfully unaware of how much she means to me. She wanders through every day not knowing that she holds my very heart within her grasp. I have given her my most precious possession and yet she is oblivious to my self-inflicted vulnerability. Anne, my beloved Anne! I lament my cowardice, for you will never know that you mean everything to me.

Cathy took a shaky breath as she finished putting her thoughts to paper. She hadn’t expected to get so emotional while writing. Cathy heaved a sigh as she quickly signed her name at the bottom of the journal entry. Before she closed the journal, she glanced back at the photo booth strip and smiled. She quietly slid it into her journal before closing it and stashing it away in her desk drawer. The photo booth pictures were still a bookmark like Anne wanted, just not for The Picture of Dorian Gray.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

She

Inspired by “She” by dodie. I’m so excited to finally be sharing this story with everyone! I love this song SO much and I might be a little bit in love with dodie if I’m honest. This story has 5 parts and I’ll be posting every other day (assuming life doesn’t get in the way of that). But for now, enjoy the first part of “She.” 💚💙

Word Count: 2010

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Part 1

Dreams can often reveal the secret wishes or desires of the unconscious mind. Unfortunately for me, I know exactly what my desires are and they haunt me every night. As soon as I drift off to sleep, those green eyes and that devilish smirk fill my dreams. Last night, I dreamed that Anne and I were stuck in a glass box together as water slowly rose and threatened to drown us. I pounded on the glass in a vain attempt to shatter it but it was no use. The water flowed quicker and I became more frantic to escape until Anne stopped me from struggling. She held me in her arms as I sobbed into her chest. I felt so hopeless in that moment. I hate how vividly I remember it - the feeling of utter defeat, the sense of impending doom, and a hopelessness as tangible as the water filling our glass prison. The water rushed above my knees, then over my waist, and finally covered my shoulders. I clung to Anne as she promised me that she would keep me safe. As the water climbed up my neck, Anne leaned close and we shared a passionate kiss. I didn’t have to look to know that the glass had shattered and the water had poured out. As we parted, I saw Anne mouth a few words but I was already stirring awake.   

I can’t stop thinking about that kiss. It felt so real… I wish it was real. I would give anything to have Anne return my feelings. She is so incredibly beautiful and intelligent and kind and funny and every good quality I could ever think of. I could marvel at her stunning features for the rest of my life. I sometimes don’t feel worthy to behold such a sight. She resembles some sort of mythological goddess of beauty that could vaporize mere mortals if we stared for too long. That would explain why my knees go weak when she flashes one of her amazing smiles in my direction. I’m vaporizing under her gaze. 

Alas, I am doomed to the vicious fate of unspoken love. Nonetheless I am forever grateful that I have Anne in my life. Every moment with her fills my heart with love and my mind with giddy thoughts. I would rather suffer in silence than feel nothing at all. Anne gives me a reason to write, a reason to sing, a reason to live a life admiring beautiful things that remind me of her. And she -

Cathy jumped in her seat when she heard her bedroom door swing open. The sudden sound made her drop her pen to the floor. Cathy quickly turned around to see Kitty in the doorway. The younger girl flashed her an apologetic smile before speaking up.

“Jane sent me to tell you that breakfast is ready,” Kitty explained. Cathy nodded to her before reaching down to pick up her pen. 

“I’ll be down in a minute,” Cathy responded without looking up from her journal. 

“What are you writing?” Kitty asked, suddenly much closer to Cathy’s desk. The writer turned around to see Kitty peering down at her unfinished journal entry. Cathy quickly covered her writing with her hands to prevent Kitty from seeing her personal thoughts.

“Nothing,” Cathy lied, though the light blush on her cheeks gave her away. Kitty noticed the red tint on her friend’s face and gave her a sly smile. 

“If you say so,” Kitty teased. She gave the journal one last glance, her eyes flashing at one of the words that was left uncovered. “I’m going back downstairs. Anna made chocolate chip pancakes and I want one before Anne eats them all.”

Kitty grinned a little wider when she saw Cathy’s blush intensify at the mention of the Boleyn girl.

“I’ll be right down,” Cathy huffed. She breathed a sigh of relief when Kitty left her room. She didn’t know what she would’ve done if Anne’s cousin found out about her feelings. She returned her focus to her unfinished journal, picking up where she left off.

- means everything to me.

Cathy decided to end her journal entry there, signing her name at the bottom of the page with a flourish before returning the leather-bound journal to its safe place in her desk drawer. She covered the journal with a few assorted papers for good measure before closing the drawer.

  Cathy got up from her desk and crossed her room until she stood in the doorway. She cast one last glance over her shoulder to her desk, double checking that she had put away her journal, before heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

Cathy was greeted by the loud voices of the other queens before she even entered the kitchen. Breakfast was never a quiet occurrence for the queens as they spent the majority of the time fighting over the maple syrup. As Cathy walked into the kitchen, she was met with the sight of Cleves wrestling the syrup from Kitty’s hands while Jane did her best to separate the two from fighting each other. Aragon was simply pretending that nothing was happening, happily munching on her syrupless pancakes. 

Cathy noticed that Anne wasn’t sitting at the table and glanced around the kitchen to see where she was. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw Anne standing by the counter, laughing to herself as she watched her cousin grapple with Cleves over the syrup. Cathy admired the glint of humor in Anne’s eyes as her focus shifted from the table of queens back to her cup. Her laugh resounded in Cathy’s ears, filling her mind with that bubbly sound of pure joy. 

Cathy’s thoughts came to a sudden stop as Anne turned to face her. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Anne gave Cathy one of her dazzling smiles, leaving the latter girl completely speechless. Cathy quickly found her bearings and returned Anne’s smile with one of her own. 

Anne crossed the room and returned to her spot at the table. She set down the mug and cup she was holding before turning back to Cathy.

“Good morning, Cathy!” Anne beamed as she took her seat.

“Good morning, Anne,” Cathy replied and made her way to the empty seat at the table, which of course happened to be right next to Anne. 

“So nice of you to join us,” Cleves said sarcastically, finally emerging victorious from her squabble with Kitty.

“I was just finishing up,” Cathy shot back as she took her place at the table.

“Yeah, in her diary,” Kitty teased before taking a bite of her pancakes.

“It’s a journal, Kitty!” Cathy exclaimed as a light blush colored her cheeks.

“Same difference,” Kitty replied with her mouth full, earning a scolding from Jane about manners.

Cathy’s attention shifted to the mug being slid in her direction by none other than Anne Boleyn. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Cathy realized that the mug was intended for her. She noticed the dark liquid sloshing around inside and had to restrain herself from squealing out loud in joy.

“You made me coffee?” Cathy asked excitedly. She took a sip from the mug and sighed happily at the taste. It was made just how she liked it, a couple spoonfuls of sugar and a splash of milk. 

“Yeah, I’ve watched you make it enough times that I know how you like it,” Anne replied before her eyes widened at what she had just confessed. Cathy nearly choked on her coffee but managed to play it off cool, though the blush on her cheeks reflected her emotions about Anne’s statement. Anne took a sip from her own cup in an attempt to hide her embarrassment.

“Anne, what are you drinking?” Aragon asked, confused by the color and consistency of the mysterious liquid in Anne’s cup. 

Anne swallowed the mystery juice before replying. “Oh, I mixed apple juice and peach juice together. It tastes pretty good! Wanna try?” Anne offered Aragon her cup which she adamantly refused.

“I don’t think you should be having that much sugar this early in the morning,” Jane said in her motherly tone.

“Why not?” Anne whined. She took another gulp of her juice as she waited for a response.

“Because you’ll be uncontrollable when we go to the mall later,” Aragon explained with a huff. “And I’m not going to babysit you during your sugar high.”

Anne didn’t respond. Instead, she took the opportunity to chug the rest of her beverage before letting out a satisfied sigh. Jane and Aragon both shook their heads in disapproval at the Boleyn girl’s antics. 

Cathy, however, was quickly getting lost in her thoughts. She was gazing at Anne, letting her eyes slowly trail down her face until settling on her lips. Those tantalizing lips that seemed to be calling out her name. Cathy imagined the sweetness of apple and peach she would taste if Anne were to kiss her. If only Anne would kiss her in real life like she had kissed Cathy in her dream. Cathy bit her lip subconsciously at the thought before averting her eyes back to her plate.

Cathy hoped none of the other queens had seen the way she had just looked at Anne but she was too afraid to look up to meet their gazes. Instead, she took a few bites of her pancake in order to not look too suspicious. When she finally did look up, Cathy was relieved that none of the other queens were staring at her with disdain. Rather, they were having their own conversations amongst themselves. Cathy breathed out a small sigh of relief.

“Is it okay?” Anne softly asked, causing Cathy to jump in her seat. She turned to face Anne with a questioning look. “The coffee, I mean,” Anne clarified with a shy smile.

“Oh! Yeah! It’s perfect,” Cathy replied. “Thank you.” Cathy was trying her best not to blush but she couldn’t seem to prevent the color from seeping into her cheeks. She reached for the mug in question and took a few more gulps in an attempt to hide her blush.

“Hey, Cathy! Are you going to finish that?” Cleves asked, referring to the last remaining pancake left on her plate. 

Cathy shook her head. “You can have it, if you want.” Cleves fist pumped before taking the pancake from Cathy’s plate.

The queens finished eating breakfast not long after and dispersed to different areas of the house. Cathy stayed in the kitchen and helped Jane wash the dishes. As Jane passed Cathy another plate to rinse, she asked her, “Are you alright, Cathy? You were quiet during breakfast.”

The question caught Cathy off guard. Had Jane noticed Cathy staring at Anne? Cathy came up with the first lame excuse she could think of. “I’m fine! I was just thinking.”

Jane gave her an unconvinced look. “If you aren’t up for going to the mall, we can stay home and do something else.”  

“I’m fine, Jane. I promise.” Cathy flashed Jane a quick smile in an attempt to sell her story. Jane still didn’t look convinced but she nodded in response. Jane handed Cathy the last plate and dried her hands.

“Alright, Cathy. I’m going to finish getting ready then. Hopefully, the girls will be ready to leave in the next hour. That is, if Kitty doesn’t spill her glitter again.” Jane shook her head at the memory before heading off to her room. 

Cathy let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Was Jane catching on to Cathy’s feelings for Anne? Cathy pushed that thought out of her head before she started worrying about it too much. Surely, none of the other queens could possibly know about her feelings.

Cathy turned off the tap water and dried her hands. She slowly made her way up the stairs and back to her bedroom. Once she was back in the safety of her own walls, Cathy began getting ready for the day ahead of her. 

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Im so effing gay for this woman Maiya Quashan-breed apreciation post

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Lover - Bonus Scene

“Lover” is back! I was really sad that I left this idea out of the original story so I decided to add it in as a bonus scene. This would technically come right before chapter 7 for context... and it’s from Cathy’s perspective! I had a really fun time bringing this idea to life. Hope you guys enjoy! 💚💙

Word Count: 3144

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6 Ch. 7

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2:47

2:46

2:45

Cathy anxiously watched her timer, counting down the seconds along with it in an attempt to keep herself calm. She glanced up at the mirror in front of her and stared at her reflection, trying to resist looking down at her phone. Only a few moments later, Cathy caved in and looked back down at her phone.

2:37

Cathy sighed to herself before letting her eyes drift to the cause of her timer. Lying on the counter of the bathroom was a pregnancy test, face down so Cathy wouldn’t be taunted by that loading screen. She had the sudden urge to turn the test over but quickly shook her head and looked back at her phone.

2:14

Cathy huffed in frustration. She knew from experience that waiting was one of the worst parts of this whole ordeal. It was second only to finding out that she wasn’t pregnant. Cathy’s heart gripped as she thought back to the times before when she had felt the sharp pain of disappointment at the result of the pregnancy test. She hoped this time would be different.

Cathy longed to finally have a child with Anne. Her sweet, supportive Anne who always stood by her side and held her when she cried about the heartbreaking news. Anne never gave up and constantly encouraged Cathy to have the same outlook. Anne kept her going through all the heartache.

Cathy’s mind wandered to their conversation about having children, the day they had decided to start trying for a baby. Anne had brought up the subject of kids lightly, not wanting to force Cathy into the change if she wasn’t ready. Much to Anne’s surprise however, Cathy had burst into a bright smile and confessed that she had been wanting to have a baby since they had gotten married. From there, they shed a few happy tears and talked some more before deciding together that Cathy would carry the baby. They had both been so excited about their decision at the time, not realizing how difficult the process would actually be.

Cathy was broken out of her thoughts by the gentle chime of her timer going off. She reached forward and turned it off before eyeing the pregnancy test once again. She reached out and grabbed it, hesitating for a moment to take a deep breath. Cathy closed her eyes and slowly turned over the test. 

When Cathy opened her eyes, she gawked at the single word on the screen of the pregnancy test in her hand - Pregnant. Cathy was stunned by the result for a few moments before she finally let the realization sink in that she was indeed pregnant. A wide smile spread across her face as she felt happy tears well up in her eyes.

The tears slowly rolled down her face as she brought a hand to her abdomen, an acknowledgement of the baby that was beginning to form inside her. Cathy let out breathy laughs as she continued to admire the confirmation of her pregnancy. She felt liquid excitement course through her veins as she imagined the look on Anne’s face when she told her.

“Oh my God! I need to tell Anne!” Cathy exclaimed to herself as she began to brainstorm different ways she could tell her wife that they were finally expecting a baby.

Anne was at work which gave Cathy enough time to execute the perfect plan, if only she could think of one. Cathy didn’t want to just tell her or just give her the pregnancy test. She wanted to do something cute, possibly including something that they could keep forever to remind them of the special moment.

A thought struck Cathy and she smiled at her idea. It was a week away from their anniversary which meant Cathy had a plausible excuse to give Anne a present. However, the gift wouldn’t just be an anniversary gift; it would be her way of telling Anne that she was pregnant. As for the present itself, Cathy was still unsure. 

She glanced down at the pregnancy test in hopes of finding inspiration for Anne’s gift. After a few moments of pondering her options, Cathy finally resolved to pick out something at the baby store that wasn’t too far away from their house. 

She set the pregnancy test back on the bathroom counter and checked her phone for the time. Cathy realized she only had about an hour until Anne returned so she would have to be quick. In a hurry, Cathy raced downstairs and grabbed her keys before heading out to her car.

There was minimal traffic to the baby store which Cathy thanked her lucky stars for. As she entered the shop, she heard the door chime and a kind employee greeted her. Cathy nodded politely before looking around at the various items for sale. 

Cathy came to the baby clothes section first, wondering if she should get a baby onesie for her surprise. As she strolled by, she admired how tiny the baby clothes actually were. Cathy could barely imagine a human being so small. Cathy sauntered into the crib section next. She looked around and saw a wide selection of cribs, car seats, and strollers. She knew that these items would be too big for the gift but it was still amusing to imagine Anne’s reaction to a fully assembled crib in the living room when she got home. 

Cathy finally approached the toy section of the baby store. She looked around at all of the brightly colored toys adorning the wall. Cathy picked up a few, rattling some of them and feeling the soft textures of others. Cathy even played with a couple of toys that made sounds. An embarrassed blush crept into her cheeks when she realized how much fun she was having with these toys. Maybe she would buy one of these for herself.

Cathy perused the different stuffed animals on the shelves, ranging from elephants to dogs to sloths and everything in between. Most of them were pastel colors, exuding a sense of calmness from the color as well as the cute facial expressions of the animals. Hence when Cathy’s eyes landed on a bright purple lion with a red mane, she let out a small laugh. The strange creature looked so out of place among the other stuffed animals.

Cathy instantly fell in love with the little lion and knew that Anne would too. With that thought in mind, Cathy picked up the lion from the shelf and purchased it. The door chimed once more as she left the store with the purple lion in hand.

When Cathy arrived back home, she let out a relieved sigh when she noticed that Anne’s car was not in the driveway. She still had time to throw her surprise together before Anne got home. Cathy rushed back inside and chose one of the unused gift bags from their closet at random before heading upstairs to the bathroom. She quickly grabbed the pregnancy test from the counter and wrapped it in some of the tissue paper that came with the gift bag. She gently placed it at the bottom of the bag before proceeding to put the lion in. She added a few of the remaining sheets of tissue paper to the top for decoration and headed to her bedroom to wait until Anne got home.

Cathy sat on the end of the bed and looked at the wall in front of her, which was adorned with the Polaroids that told her and Anne’s love story thus far. She glanced at each one for a brief moment and smiled at the memories they brought back. These pictures were some of the most special possessions that she and Anne shared, along with the journal she gave Anne a couple Christmases ago and the novel that she had used to propose to Anne with. Each Polaroid was a puzzle piece that fit together to portray Anne and Cathy’s lives together. Luckily for them, they still had lots of pieces to assemble before the puzzle was completed.

Cathy’s thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening. Cathy smiled widely at the sound of her wife returning home. She got up from the bed and left the bedroom to meet Anne by the entrance of their house.

“Cathy! I’m home!” Anne shouted before noticing the sound of feet hurrying down the stairs. She hung her jacket up and turned back around to see her wife approaching her. Cathy pressed a quick kiss to her lips, like she always did when Anne got home from work. Anne smiled giddily and leaned in for a second kiss which quickly led to a third.

“How was work?” Cathy asked as the couple made their way to the living room.

Anne groaned as she flopped down on the couch. “Exhausting! I was working on a new design for one of my clients and then they completely changed their vision, and now I have to rework the entire design. My team was pretty upset but I managed to get them excited again with one of my amazing pep talks.” Anne turned back to Cathy and rubbed her wife’s arm affectionately. “How was your day, love? Did you finish that chapter you were working on?”

“Almost,” Cathy answered. “I actually took a break and went out for a bit. Speaking of which, I have a gift for you.” Cathy bit her lip to conceal some of her excitement about Anne’s present.

Anne smiled widely at the mention of a present. “Ooh! What’s the occasion?”

“It’s an anniversary gift. But, I can’t wait that long to give it to you,” Cathy admitted. “I’ll be right back!”

Cathy quickly ran back up to their bedroom and grabbed the gift bag that was still sitting on the edge of the bed. She smiled to herself for a moment, growing increasingly excited about how the next few minutes were about to unfold. Unable to wait any longer, Cathy went back downstairs to where Anne was waiting for her on the couch.

As Cathy entered the living room, she noticed that Anne was fiddling with their Polaroid camera. Anne looked up to meet Cathy’s curious stare before saying, “We’re out of film, love. We’ll have to get some more the next time we go out.” 

“I told you not to take so many pictures of me, Annie!” Cathy laughed as she sat down next to her wife, gently nudged her shoulder against Anne’s. 

“But you’re so pretty!” Anne whined back before setting the camera back on the side table. “I can’t help it.”

Cathy looked down at the gift bag in her hands and blushed lightly. The other queens always thought it was so strange that, even after years of being together, Cathy and Anne still blushed when they gave each other compliments. But to Cathy, every compliment from Anne was like falling in love with her all over again. Hearing Anne say those words made her feel all giddy and warm inside, and Cathy was sure Anne felt the same way when she complimented her.

Anne leaned in and kissed Cathy softly on the cheek, successfully bringing the latter girl back to reality. “So… are you going to give me the present now?” Anne whispered cheekily in Cathy’s ear. 

Cathy rolled her eyes playfully and handed Anne the gift bag. Anne took it and looked back to Cathy with a mischievous glint in her eye. “Is it lingerie?” Anne asked with a smirk on her face.

Cathy let out a small chuckle and shook her head. “You wish. Open it, love.”

Without another word, Anne pulled out the tissue paper and reached inside the bag for her anniversary gift. She let out a small laugh as she set the purple lion on her lap. 

“He’s so cute!” Anne commented as she ruffled the stuffed animal’s red mane. “Where did you get him?”

“The baby store,” Cathy replied softly, watching Anne’s reaction closely in hopes that she would get the hint about her being pregnant.

“Oh! I love that place!” Anne exclaimed absentmindedly, making the stuffed lion clap his paws together. “Hopefully we’ll be spending a lot more time in there soon.”

Cathy had to restrain herself from facepalming at Anne’s last comment. Her wife was so close yet so far to what Cathy was trying to tell her. Anne really was an oblivious idiot 99% of the time.

Cathy decided next to try a different approach to indirectly tell Anne. “You know, I didn’t actually get the toy for you, Anne.” Cathy watched Anne stop playing with the lion and thought she had finally understood what Cathy was hinting at. Instead, Cathy watched as the smile fell from Anne’s face and a heartbroken expression took its place. 

“You mean, you got Mr. Roary for yourself? I thought this was my anniversary present!” Anne pouted softly. She gave Cathy her best puppy dog eyes which made Cathy’s heart melt instantly at the sight. Anne may be an oblivious idiot but she was her oblivious idiot.

“No- What I mean is- Wait,” Cathy stuttered before realizing that Anne had just called the stuffed lion Mr. Roary. “Did you give him a name already?” Cathy asked with a laugh.

Anne’s smile returned as she answered Cathy’s question. “Mr. Roareth King. But he goes by Mr. Roary,” Anne said and lifted the stuffed lion up in a similar fashion to The Lion King. Cathy giggled as Anne brought the toy back down. Anne turned to her curiously before asking, “But, I still don’t understand. Who did you get Mr. Roary for?”

 Cathy’s expression softened at Anne’s question before using the opportunity to get her announcement underway. “There’s something else in the bag.”

Anne gave her a confused look before setting Mr. Roary aside and shuffling in the gift bag once more. She pulled out the test, still wrapped in tissue paper, and dropped the gift bag to the floor in front of them. She gave Cathy a quick glance before unraveling the paper.

Cathy watched as Anne stared at the pregnancy test in her hands, a look of realization finally dawning on her. Anne let out a shaky breath, with hands trembling, as she read the single word on the test over and over. Her eyes misted over and Cathy felt hers do the same as she watched Anne process the news.

Slowly, Anne turned to Cathy with a gentle smile and took another shaky breath. A single tear trailed down Anne’s cheek before she finally spoke up. “You’re pregnant?” Anne asked with a hopeful expression in her eyes.

Cathy was too overcome with emotions to speak aloud so she simply nodded with a small smile on her face. A bright smile spread across Anne’s face, so bright that Cathy was convinced the sun would be jealous. Happy tears streamed down Anne’s cheeks, mirroring the ones that were starting to pour from Cathy’s eyes too.

Without hesitating a moment longer, Anne wrapped her arms around Cathy and gently buried her head in Cathy’s neck as she cried. Cathy returned Anne’s embrace softly as they both let their tears fall, so overcome with emotion that they were finally expecting a baby.

A few minutes later, Anne leaned back to meet Cathy’s eyes before pressing their lips together. Cathy melted into the kiss, feeling all the emotions that Anne was feeling through the simple touch. 

As they parted, Anne looked down and brought her arms back around Cathy’s waist, one hand still clutching onto the pregnancy test as the other came to rest on Cathy’s abdomen. Anne smiled softly at the sight before looking back up to meet Cathy’s own watery smile. “I’d be happy to share Mr. Roary with the little bean.”

Cathy let out a breathy laugh. “I like that. ‘Little bean.’” Cathy brought one of her hands to rest on top of Anne’s. “Our little bean.”

Anne’s smile turned into a dopey grin before a shocked expression took over as a new thought struck her. “Oh my God, Cathy! We have to tell the queens!” Anne parted from Cathy in a hurry, placing the pregnancy test on the side table next to the Polaroid camera. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and was about to speed dial Kat when Cathy placed a hand on top of hers to stop her frantic actions.

“Hey! Anne, slow down!” Cathy said gently before continuing. “Can we keep this to ourselves for a little bit? At least, until we see a doctor? Then maybe we can plan a super cute way to tell them instead of over the phone.” Cathy looked expectantly at Anne, hoping that she would agree to Cathy’s request.

Anne nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Yeah, you’re right,” Anne agreed as she returned her phone to her pocket. “I’m just… I’m so excited! Cathy, we’re having a baby!” Anne squealed as she gave Cathy another one of her amazing smiles.

“We’re having a baby,” Cathy repeated dreamily as she reflected Anne’s smile.

“You know, I would say we should pop some champagne but you can’t have alcohol for nine months,” Anne teased as she nudged Cathy’s shoulder gently. She picked up Mr. Roary and addressed him. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Roary.” Anne made the purple lion nod his head, making Cathy giggle at the sight.

“It’s going to be a long nine months, then,” Cathy joked. “But I think celebratory ice cream will suffice. Don’t you think, Mr. Roary.” Anne made the stuffed animal nod his head once more before the couple headed off to the kitchen to prepare two bowls of their favorite flavors of ice cream.

As Cathy ate another spoonful of her cookies and cream ice cream, she looked over to her wife sitting next to her, who was pretending to feed Mr. Roary some of her ice cream. Cathy felt butterflies erupt in her stomach at the sight, imagining that in the near future Anne would be in a similar position with their child. 

Anne was going to be a mother. And so was Cathy. They were about to enter a whole new chapter of their lives together - one filled with sleepless nights, dirty diapers, and the fullest hearts they could ever imagine. There were still a lot of uncertainties about their future and especially about motherhood. They both had so much to learn about how to be parents and take care of a baby. But Cathy was sure of one thing. She wouldn’t want to do this with anybody but Anne. It would always be Anne. Her Anne. Her wife. Her source of laughter. The wind in her sails. Her constant. Her safe haven. The light of her life. Her comfort. Her oblivious idiot. Her lover. 

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Cyber Connection

Another day, another Parrlyn oneshot. I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile now and finally decided to write it out. Hope you all enjoy this one!

Word Count: 1363

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“Aragon! I need your help!” Cathy exclaimed as she burst through the door of their shared apartment. Aragon, who had been peacefully watching a movie just moments before, stood up and approached her flustered friend.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Aragon asked hurriedly, trying to figure out what Cathy was so riled up about.

“I’m fine.” Cathy took a deep breath in an attempt to calm down before continuing. “You remember that cute girl from the coffee shop I told you about?”

“The barista with green eyes?” Aragon asked.

Cathy nodded. “That’s the one! Her name is Anne.” Cathy shuffled her hand in the pocket of her hoodie before pulling out a small slip of paper. “She gave me her number when I got my coffee this morning.” Cathy showed Aragon the slip of paper with a series of digits on it and a little note that said “text me later xoxo.”

“That’s great!” Aragon commented before her confused gaze returned. “But what do you need my help with?”

Cathy looked down at her feet in embarrassment. “I need your help with getting a phone so I can text her,” Cathy answered shyly.

Aragon chuckled at Cathy’s response. “What happened to the ‘I refuse to buy into the government schemes of mass control guised as cellular devices’ Cathy?”

“I’m willing to set aside my biases for this,” Cathy huffed. “I really like Anne. And, who knows, maybe I will enjoy using a phone.”

Aragon looked at Cathy skeptically before yielding with a sigh. “Alright. Let’s go get you a new phone.”

Cathy squealed with joy and gave Aragon a quick hug. “Thank you, Aragon!”

The two queens set off on their excursion, returning an hour later with Cathy’s new phone in hand. They sat down on their couch as Aragon explained the steps of setting up the device.

“Would you like a password?” Aragon asked, fully expecting the answer that Cathy gave.

“Of course not! I have nothing to hide!” Cathy answered vehemently.

“Then, it’s all set.” Aragon handed Cathy her phone which now had a blue case on it. Cathy took the phone carefully and peered down at the various icons on the screen.

“So… how do I message Anne?” Cathy asked tentatively.

Aragon smiled and helped Cathy open the messages app, enter in Anne’s number, and type out a greeting message. Cathy’s mind was swirling with all the new information, especially with the strange set up of the keyboard. Writing by hand was so much easier than texting.

Cathy slowly finished typing out her first text to Anne before thanking Aragon and running off to her room. She slumped down on her bed and looked back at her phone screen. She read over the message several times, checking for any mistakes even though she knew there weren’t any. Finally, she let her thumb hover over the send button before finally pressing it.

Cathy: Hi. This is Cathy.

After the text was sent, Cathy let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. She still didn’t completely trust the new technology but she was willing to try it out for Anne’s sake.

Cathy jumped in fright when a text bubble with an ellipsis appeared on her phone screen. She only realized what it was when another text appeared on the screen. Anne had replied almost immediately to her.

Anne: took you long enough cathy I was beginning to think you werent going to text me at all 😉

Cathy giggled at the message but stopped when she noticed the strange face at the end of the text. Aragon hadn’t told her anything about face texts so she decided to ask her about them.

Cathy rushed out of her room and back to the couch where Aragon had resumed watching her movie from before. She looked up curiously as Cathy approached. Cathy showed Aragon her phone.

“Oh, she texted you back!” Aragon commented.

“Yeah! But what is that?” Cathy pointed to the small face text at the end of Anne’s message.

“Oh, that’s an emoji,” Aragon explained. She took Cathy’s phone and showed her how to access the emojis from the keyboard.

Cathy carefully took back her phone and scrolled through the first few columns of emojis. She was overwhelmed by the seemingly endless amount of choices.

“Do you use all of them?” Cathy asked Aragon.

Aragon laughed and shook her head. “Not even close! I rarely use emojis at all but occasionally I’ll use the heart emoji or the crown emoji. Though, sometimes they are more efficient to convey how you are feeling. You should check them out!”

Cathy nodded and slowly made her way back to her bedroom. She rested her back against the headboard of her bed as she slowly typed out another response to Anne.

Cathy: Sorry! I’m new to this.

Anne: no problem babes ❤️

Cathy blushed at the nickname before typing out a question to keep their conversation going.

Cathy: How was the coffee shop today?

Anne didn’t respond immediately so Cathy took the opportunity to keep looking at the different emojis. She laughed at a few of them while questioning why others existed in the first place. She highly doubted that anybody desperately needed an emoji for an abacus.

Cathy felt her heart jump when Anne responded. She was still getting used to how quick texting was, and it was only made better by the fact that she was texting the girl she liked.

Anne: pretty chill. I missed seeing your pretty face tho 😘

Cathy felt her cheeks heat up once more at Anne’s flirty texts. She remembered what Aragon had told her about how emojis help convey feelings and decided to respond with her first ever emoji.

Cathy: ☺️

Cathy: I was there in the morning, though!

Anne: but you didnt come backkk 😫😭

Cathy: I’m sorry! I was a little busy after classes.

Anne: its okay babes

Anne: but you owe me

Cathy: Owe you what?

Anne: a date

Cathy smiled widely at Anne’s last message. She felt her heart flutter at the thought of going on a date with the green eyed girl. She typed out a message and browsed the different colors of heart emojis before settling on her favorite.

Cathy: I’d gladly go on a date with you, Anne. 💙

Anne: 💚💚💚💚💚

Anne: yay!!! 🎉🎊🎉🎊🎉

Cathy couldn’t keep her happiness to herself. She once again raced back to Aragon who instinctively paused her movie at the sight of Cathy’s joyful demeanor.

“Someone’s happy,” Aragon commented as Cathy sat down next to her on the couch.

“She asked me out on a date!” Cathy exclaimed excitedly as she showed Aragon the latest texts from Anne.

“That’s wonderful, Cathy! I’m so happy for you!” Aragon replied, reflecting Cathy’s smile with one of her own. She glanced down at her friend’s phone and noticed that Cathy had yet to change Anne’s number to her name. “By the way, Cathy, you can change her number to a name if you want to.”

Cathy looked back down to her phone. “How do I do that?” Aragon walked her through the steps until she was finally able to type in Anne’s name.

“You can make it whatever you want too,” Aragon added with a small wink.

Cathy looked back at her. “Will she see it?” Cathy asked curiously, not wanting to embarrass herself with the idea that was already forming in her mind.

Aragon chuckled. “Not unless you show it to her in person.”

Cathy threw her arms around Aragon and embraced her tightly. “Thank you, Aragon. For everything. It means a lot to me.”

Aragon hugged back just as firmly. “You’re very welcome, Cathy.”

After they parted, Cathy scurried back to her room and looked down at her phone. She bit her lip as she typed in the name for Anne in her contacts. When she returned to the chat, Cathy smiled the sight of “Future Wife 💚💙” at the top of the screen.

It would be years later when Cathy would finally get to drop the first word of that contact name, right after Anne and Cathy officially tied the knot.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

To Build a Mockingbird Nest

I’m finally back! Hooray! I meant to post this yesterday but something else came up and I got behind track with some of my editing. But it’s here now! I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who’s read “Lover.” You all are great (and keep a lookout because the story is not quite done yet 👀). I’ll be posting a couple more oneshots this week before I start posting my next multi chapter fic. I’m super excited about sharing these next few stories but, for now, enjoy this one shot!

Word Count: 1410

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Cathy breathed a sigh of relief for the first time that afternoon as she saw the last parent take a seat in front of her. As a third grade teacher, Cathy found it extremely draining to talk to the parents of her rambunctious students during Parent-Teacher Conferences. While a few of them were pleasant, the majority of the parents were either accusatory of her teaching methods or showed little interest in improving their child’s learning habits.

“Nice to see you again, Mrs. Boleyn-Parr,” Cathy greeted as she shook hands with the woman sitting in front of her. 

Anne smirked slightly and brought Cathy’s hand to her lips to kiss her knuckles. “Nice to see you again too, Mrs. Boleyn-Parr.”

Cathy blushed at the gesture before clearing her throat. “So, Elizabeth.”

“Yes, how is my daughter doing in class?” Anne rested her head in her hands with a wide smile on her face.

“She is very vibrant and always has a lot to say,” Cathy began before Anne’s chuckles cut her off.

“Teachers used to say that about me when I was in school,” Anne commented. “I believe the translation for that is she’s a little troublemaker.”

Cathy laughed for the first time that afternoon. “The troublemaker gene must run in the family then. It also doesn’t help that she uses the ‘My Mom is the Teacher’ card to get out of trouble.”

Anne joined in Cathy’s laughter before responding. “If this attitude keeps up, I guess I’ll have to give her more chores at home.”

“Says the person who can barely keep her own room clean. If it wasn’t for me, we wouldn’t be able to see our bedroom floor through your mess of clothes!”

“Rude!” Anne exclaimed with a look of faux astonishment. “True, but rude!” 

The two queens laughed together at Anne’s statement. After their laughter subsided, Cathy shuffled with her papers until she pulled out the one with Elizabeth’s name on it. 

“Ooh! Fancy paper!” Anne exclaimed as she snatched the paper from Cathy.

“Anne! Let me do my job,” Cathy said with a laugh as she grabbed the paper back from her wife. Anne gave her a little pout in response but let her continue talking.

“This is Elizabeth’s report card.” Cathy turned the page and gestured to the series of graphs representing Elizabeth’s academic progress.

“I have no idea what those mean,” Anne answered honestly. “All I see is a bunch of colored lines.”

Cathy smiled softly and began explaining. “The first graph shows Elizabeth’s scores in mathematics over time compared to the class average and national average. She’s right on track for this year and is projecting growth for next year.” Cathy pointed out the different parts of the graph as she explained.

“Oh, I see. So my daughter is a genius,” Anne concluded jokingly.

Cathy rolled her eyes playfully. “Exactly. The graph below shows her reading scores. She is above average in that category. She’s at the top of her class actually.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Anne commented. “My wife has been reading to her every night since she was a baby.”

“Has she now?” Cathy asked, feigning surprise.

“Yeah. She’s read all sorts of books to Elizabeth. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Charlotte’s Web, To Kill A Mockingbird…”

“One can never start too early with the classics,” Cathy mused. 

“I still have no idea how you read her the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird without me finding out,” Anne responded with a small smile.

“I might have told her Boo Radley would get her if she told you. It must’ve worked pretty well,” Cathy confessed. “We started reading The Scarlet Letter last night. I’m hoping to get to Animal Farm by June.”

Anne laughed heartily at Cathy’s words. “No wonder she has such high reading scores.”

“I might have to change my curriculum,” Cathy joked. She turned the page back around to show Elizabeth’s letter grades. She felt pride bubble up in her chest at her daughter’s achievements. Elizabeth had done her best in every category and nothing made her prouder as a mother than the effort she put into learning.

Anne noticed the proud look on Cathy’s face. “Aren’t you not supposed to have favorite students?” Anne teased.

Cathy looked back at her wife with a small glare before softening. “I think it’s a little different when you held her as a baby and watched her grow up.”

“She’ll always be your little girl. Even if she is your student,” Anne said. 

Cathy nodded. “I love Lizzie, even in all of her troublemaking ways.” Anne smiled at Cathy’s response before the two fell into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Cathy checked her phone to see what time it was. “Well, Parent-Teacher Conferences are officially over. And, there were only three parents that didn’t come. I’d consider that a success.”

“We’ll have to go get ice cream to celebrate then!” Anne exclaimed excitedly. Cathy smiled at how enthusiastic her wife was at the mere mention of sugary sweets.

“How could I say no to that?” Cathy quipped. “Let’s go get Elizabeth. You left her at the playground, right?”

“Yes, love. There were other parents around too and they said they’d keep an eye on her for us,” Anne responded.

The two queens stood up and walked hand-in-hand to the school's small playground. When they arrived, they immediately spotted their daughter swinging from the monkey bars. Elizabeth was moving from rung to rung with ease before she reached the end and jumped down. She giggled a little before turning around and spotting her mothers by the playground entrance. Her eyes lit up as she began racing toward them.

“Mommy! Mama!” Elizabeth shouted. “Do you see me cross the monkey bars? Sammy told me he thought I couldn’t do it because I was a girl. I told him that girls can do anything, just like you taught me. I bet Boo Radley is gonna eat him now for being such a meanie.”

“That’s my girl!” Anne shouted and picked up her daughter, letting Elizabeth rest on her hip.

“But what did I teach you about Boo Radley, Elizabeth? He’s not actually a bad person. He’s-” Cathy was cut off by her daughter finishing her sentence.

“I know! He’s a symbol for the ignorance of the town that Harper Lee uses to show the growth of Scout as a character as the novel progresses. I just wish Sammy would stop treating me differently just because I’m a girl,” Elizabeth huffed. 

Anne and Cathy exchanged a look that implied there would be a discussion about that later. But, that was a conversation for another time. “Well, Lizzie, Mommy and I were thinking about getting ice cream now. Are you up for it?” Anne whispered.

“Ice cream?! Yeah! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” Elizabeth responded excitedly while bouncing in Anne’s arms. Anne gently set her back on the ground and took hold of her hand. Cathy took Elizabeth’s other hand in hers and they began walking to the ice cream parlor nearby.

It may have been an exhausting day but Cathy wouldn’t have wanted to end it with anybody else. As she sat with her family happily eating their ice cream, Cathy couldn’t help but smile. Her heart swelled at the sight of Anne and Elizabeth giggling together and licking at their matching mint chocolate chip ice cream cones. At the end of the day, it was her family that kept her going.

Anne looked up from her cone and shared a quick glance with Cathy. They both smiled at each other before returning to indulge in their sweets. Cathy watched as Anne took a napkin and wiped Elizabeth’s mouth that was covered in melted ice cream. Cathy took a mental picture of the sight, wanting to remember that moment forever.

It was these little moments, small gestures and soft looks, that Anne and Cathy had built their home around, like the soft lining of feathers that keeps baby birds safe and warm in their nest. Cathy knew that no matter how far she flew during the day, she would always have a loving home to return to each night with her two favorite people. Anne and Cathy had built a sturdy nest together, interwoven with the love they shared for each other and with that, they knew that they would never have to worry about any storm or threat that came their way.

[my-major-is-k-howard]

Lover

Inspired by “Lover” by Taylor Swift. We made it to the last chapter!! I am so happy that I got to share this story with all of you. It was super fun to write and I am so grateful to everyone who has read it. Each of you fills my heart TO THE MAX with love. Feel free to send me asks anytime if you want; I promise I don’t bite! I am also working on a few different projects so stay tuned! But for now, enjoy the last chapter of “Lover.” 💚💙

Word Count: 2142

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5 Ch. 6

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Ch. 7 - Forever and Ever

Anne smiled fondly at the memories of her honeymoon. It had been a little over a year since their trip and it still held some of the most magical moments of Anne’s life.

Anne passed a couple more pictures before coming to a halt at an empty clip. Anne sighed happily before glancing down at the photo in her hands. It was an ultrasound scan from their appointment earlier in the day.

It had been around Christmas that the couple had sat down and talked about having a baby, and decided to start the process as soon as they could. After a few discussions, they decided together that Cathy would carry the baby and began their research.

The first few months were hard, trial after trial with no success, but they were determined to keep going. A week before their anniversary, they received the news that they were expecting and they were over the moon with excitement.  

Anne had immediately wanted to tell everyone but was persuaded by Cathy to wait until further along in the pregnancy to announce that they were expecting. Their doctor advised them to wait until after the 12 week ultrasound to share the big news with their friends.

The days seemed to drag on in Anne’s mind as they slowly approached the milestone. Each day, Anne did her best to take care of her wife, whether listening to her cry about a cute dog she saw in the park or creating weird concoctions of food to satisfy Cathy’s cravings.

Finally, the day of the appointment arrived and the two of them were eager to see their baby for the first time. As Anne looked down at the ultrasound in her hands, she was overcome with emotion knowing that the little grey outline of a human was really the same baby that was growing inside of her wife. 

Anne admired the little head with its tiny button nose, the faint outline of an arm that looked like it was shielding its face from the camera, and the little leg that was lifted up and bent slightly. Anne adored every part of her baby, her little bean. She closed her eyes as the memories of the day flooded into her mind.  

~~~~~

Anne took a deep breath as she pulled the car keys out of the ignition. She turned to see Cathy, who had her eyes closed and a hand resting gently on her abdomen. Cathy had recently started showing but it wasn’t anything that one of Anne’s jumpers couldn’t hide at this stage.

“You ready?” Anne asked, giving Cathy an excited smile.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Cathy replied and returned Anne’s smile.

The two got out of the car and headed inside the clinic. They were led to a small room with a bed and a machine that looked suspiciously like the controls of an alien spaceship. A couple screens were set up around the room, one connected to the alien machine and one opposite the bed.  

The door opened again as their doctor entered the room, a small middle-aged lady with a kind smile on her face.

“Anne, Cathy, good to see you again,” the doctor greeted them. “Are you ready to meet your baby?”

“I’ve been looking forward to it since we found out Cathy was pregnant,” Anne admitted as she took Cathy’s hand and gave her a quick smile. 

“That’s good to hear,” the doctor responded. “Cathy, would you mind laying down and lifting your shirt for me?”

Cathy did as she was instructed, trying to get as comfortable as she could on the bed. She lifted her shirt to give the doctor access to her small baby bump. She looked up to Anne who was staring back at her with eyes that reflected a kaleidoscope of emotions - love, adoration, hope, and so many others swirled in her irises. 

Cathy reached out a hand that Anne immediately took in her own. Cathy intertwined their fingers and mouthed a quick “I love you” before turning her attention back to the doctor. 

“Alright. I’m going to apply a little gel to help get a better picture,” the doctor explained before rubbing the blue gel on Cathy’s lower abdomen. She let out a squeak at the sudden cold sensation, and Anne squeezed her hand and flashed her a comforting smile for support.

“Perfect. I’m going to start the ultrasound now, if you’re both ready.” The doctor waited from the couple to nod before taking the transducer and pressing it to Cathy’s stomach. 

The image on the screen before them moved quickly, corresponding to the rapid movements of the doctor, until it finally stilled. Anne’s breath caught in her throat as she took in the sight of her baby for the first time. Cathy squeezed her wife’s hand and they shared a momentarily look of pure joy before fixating their gazes back on the screen. 

The little grey outline moved around, lifting little legs and hands slightly. Anne cooed as she watched in pure adoration of the little life forming inside of Cathy. “Look, it’s our little bean!” Anne exclaimed as she turned to look at Cathy.   

Cathy had tears in her eyes as she looked back at Anne. “That’s our little bean, love.” 

They continued watching for a few more minutes before the doctor spoke up again. “Everything looks good so far. I’m going to play the heartbeat and make sure it's strong and steady.” The doctor clicked a few buttons before the fast thrumming of the baby’s heartbeat sounded from the machine.

Anne felt tears prick her eyes at the sound before she commented. “Wow! It’s so fast!” Anne pressed her free hand to her own heart for comparison. “Like way faster than mine.”

Cathy laughed and the doctor joined in with a small chuckle. “Fetal heart rates range from around 110 to 160 beats per minute at this stage of pregnancy. Yours right now is probably around 60 or 70 bpm.” 

“Cathy, did you hear that? Our baby is twice as active as I am!”

“I didn’t think that was even possible,” Cathy mused and squeezed Anne’s hand lovingly. Anne squeezed back before looking up to the screen once more to watch the baby move, squirming around and stretching limbs in all directions.

“Can you feel the baby move?” Anne questioned and turned her head back to her wife. Cathy shook her head and looked to the doctor. 

“Should I?” Cathy asked timidly.

“Most women don’t feel the baby move until around 20 weeks,” the doctor answered. “It also depends on a variety of factors. I would say you have another month or so until you start feeling the baby.”

“Okay,” Cathy breathed out and looked back to the screen, admiring the small movements inside her.

“I’m going to take a picture and I think we’ll be all done. Everything looks good. The baby is healthy and developing well.” The doctor waited a few moments before capturing the photo and handed it to Cathy after it printed. “We’re all set.”

The couple thanked the doctor as Cathy wiped off the remaining gel on her stomach. They left the clinic a few minutes later and walked back to their car. Once inside, Anne let out a sigh of contentment. She turned to look at Cathy who was looking back at her with a small smile on her face.

“That was amazing,” Anne said after a few moments of silence. “It all feels so much more real now.”

“Speak for yourself. The morning sickness was what made it real for me,” Cathy joked. Anne let out a small laugh before Cathy continued. “But seeing the little bean move and hearing the heartbeat for the first time, that made it so much more real. We’re going to be parents, Anne.”

Anne turned in her seat to face Cathy and pressed a firm kiss to her temple. She placed her hand on her wife’s bump, caressing it softly with the pad of her thumb. “I love our little bean so much already and I promise I will be the best mother I possibly can. You’ll be the best mom too, Cathy, I just know it.”

Cathy turned and kissed Anne softly before resting a hand on top of Anne’s. “I love you, Annie.”

“I love you more.”

~~~~~

Anne was snapped out of the memory by the sound of a toilet flushing from the hall bathroom. She quickly took the ultrasound scan and hung it up on the empty clip in front of her. A soft smile spread across her face as she admired the new addition to their hanging photo collection.

The sound of feet shuffling in the hallway made Anne smile even brighter as she turned to see Cathy enter the bedroom. She made her way over to where Anne was standing and rested her head on her shoulder as Anne wrapped an arm around her waist. 

“I swear you have to pee every five minutes, babe,” Anne joked.

“Oh hush,” Cathy scolded and rested a hand on her stomach. She looked at the ultrasound scan hanging from the string of lights and smiled. “It’s perfect,” Cathy whispered. 

Anne pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “It’s almost the same size as a regular Polaroid so I thought I would hang it up too.”

Cathy turned to face Anne with a soft smile gracing her features. For a moment, Anne was left speechless by the beauty in front of her. Cathy never had to try when it came to her looks, which Anne found very unfair. She wore very minimal makeup and still looked absolutely stunning. Her hair formed perfect curls that framed the sides of her face ever so elegantly. Her hazel eyes reflected the expanses of the universe, an infinity that Anne could easily lose herself in. Her smile was like the first sip of hot cocoa, a warmth that emanates from the inside out. Every part of her made Anne swoon and filled her with a love she never thought could be that strong. And for some reason, this breathtaking woman had fallen in love with her too. 

“What are you thinking about?” Cathy whispered, her eyes dazzling in the light of the setting sun.

“I’m the luckiest person in the world,” Anne whispered back, choking with emotion. “I fell in love with the most beautiful woman on the planet and I get to spend the rest of my life with her. We’ve been on so many adventures together and we’re about to start our most exciting one yet. We’re adding to our family and I just can’t wait to meet our little bean.” She finished speaking and placed both of her hands on Cathy’s bump, caressing it slowly with her thumbs. 

She looked down at her hands with a tearful smile before meeting Cathy’s eyes once more. A silent conversation passed between them before Anne kneeled in front of Cathy and pressed a feather light kiss just below her navel.      

She began whispering to the tiny human forming inside Cathy’s womb, a daily custom that made her feel connected to the baby. Anne expressed how amazing the appointment had gone earlier that day and her excitement at the thought of holding her baby in her arms in a few short months. She promised to create a home, safe and sound, and to protect her bean from all harm. She whispered how in love she was already and how she would never stop loving her little bean, no matter what came to pass.

She continued whispering her thoughts and promises as Cathy ran her fingers through her hair, overwhelmed with emotion at the sight of her wife talking to their unborn child. Anne finished speaking and pressed another kiss to the bump before standing up. She wrapped her arms around Cathy’s waist and pulled her in for a loving kiss. 

As she pulled away, Anne quickly glanced over her shoulder at the string of fairy lights that adorned the room. She glanced over the silly Christmas Polaroid, the picture Kat took during their movie night, the club photo, the Polaroid of their proposal, their wedding picture, the photo they took during their honeymoon, and finally the ultrasound scan. She smiled when she noticed there were still a few clips that were left empty, more spaces to fill with memories that had yet to be made.

She turned back to face Cathy with a new determination in her eyes. She was going to make every moment count for the rest of their lives. She was going to spend every day falling deeper in love with Cathy. Her wife. Her best friend. Her inspiration. The love of her life. Her muse. Her biggest supporter. The mother of her child. Her favorite person. Her lover. Her Cathy.