Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The roller rink was abuzz, much more than it usually was on a Monday evening. It had been closed to the public for the night, and girls sat in the lobby, lacing up their skates and stretching. The air held a heavy feeling of excitement, anxiousness, and so much energy all at the same time.

“You ready?” Daya asked, leaning against the sidewall of the rink. 

Kori made a face, “I don’t know… I’ve never run tryouts, I’m not used to breaking hearts I guess,” she laughed nervously.

“Looking like that you should be,” Daya teased, smacking the other girl’s arm. “You’ll do great.”

They watched as the girls got onto the rink for a free skate to warm up. Girls flew by them, some of them skating in patterns, others just doing circles around the rink as fast as possible. Daya watched closely, her eyes following a few of the girls’ every move. “Do you have your eye on anyone yet?” She asked.

Kori hardly heard her at first. Her eyes were focused on a girl, who couldn’t have been very tall, and who had the brightest blonde hair with hot pink streaks. She went flying around corners, ducking under and around other girls, and finally just slamming into a wall to stop herself. “Uh, no… not really.”

“Yeah? Cause it looks like you do.” Daya teased. “I’ve heard she’s a good one. She’s a feisty little thing, huh?” 

“Yeah..” Kori watched the girl as she started up again, lowering herself close to the ground and flying through a group of girls with no problem. “Yeah she’s good…” 

“You ready to start? I think these are all the girls we’re gonna get,” Daya asked. Kori nodded, looking over to the stack of cards that sat up on the half wall between her and Daya. “Why don’t you do the honors?” She gestured to the stack.

Kori nodded, “okay, tell me when,” she said, pulling out a card and carefully reading over the number and name that was scrawled across the laminated paper.

“Ladies! Ladies! Everyone off the rink, go ahead and take a seat! We’ll begin calling out names now. When you hear your name, step on up and be ready to show us what you’ve got!” Daya announced excitedly, a big smile on her face. They watched as girls cleared off the rink and congregated into small clumps throughout the lobby. “I’d recommend sitting! Some of you might be here a while,” Daya added with a quiet laugh. 

She motioned to Kori, who cleared her throat before reading out her card. “Number 49! Lydia Kollins! Lydia honey, step on up!” She yelled out, looking at the crowd to see who moved.

When the girl with the blonde and pink hair skated up from the crowd Kori could’ve sworn she felt her heart drop. 

Fuck. Her first? Really?

The girl came to a stop when she stood in front of them on the rink. Sure enough, she had a big 49 pinned to her side that Kori hadn’t noticed before. So her name was Lydia.. good to know.

“Hey Miss Kollins!” Daya grinned when the girl got up close to them. It was obvious that she wanted to see her too, just for… different reasons. 

“Hey Daya!” Lydia grinned, of course she knew Daya, that girl was known throughout the local scene. Kori on the other hand… “and hi! Uh.. what’s your name?” 

She felt those big blue eyes stare right through her. And she felt stupid.

“Huh? I- Kori… I’m Kori,” she said, cringing from the way Daya laughed at her response. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Kori,” the girl grinned, and it was infectious. She felt like she was burning up.

After a glance at Daya, who gave her a certain look, Kori felt like maybe she had a little more courage. “The pleasure is all mine-“ she cleared her throat. Daya chuckled again. 

“So you finally decided to try out… It's not like I’ve been telling you you should for literally forever! Why don’t you give us a demonstration of why you deserve a spot on the team?” The other girl asked. Okay, so she was a little better at this. But she had to be, being the team captain.

“I thought you’d never ask,” Lydia joked, “you want me to start with showing you how fast I am? Or just go straight into knocking the two of you over?”

Kori felt like she was about to choke right there, on absolutely nothing. Okay so maybe confidence was very sexy . And maybe Kori really really really wanted Lydia to knock her over. 

“Y’know..” Daya’s eyes shifted over to Kori for a moment. She had a look that Kori didn’t like, a mischievous look, that look that said she was about to be a little shit. “I actually don’t remember your speed. Go ahead and do some laps, I’ll time you,” she said, pulling out her phone.

“Okay, make sure you get it down to the second,” the smaller girl smirked at Daya before turning around and just taking off. Kori swore her skates looked like they had no wheels with the way they moved so quickly. They just became a blur of colors, pink, purple, blue, going so fast at one point that even the colors began to blur together and become swirled. Her hair, which was pulled up in a spiky looking ponytail flew behind her, the blonde and pink glowing so brightly in the lights as it moved at the almost inhumanely fast pace. God, she was beautiful . If Kori could take a picture of Lydia right now she’d print it out and frame it, carry it in her wallet like a soldier at war. 

Suddenly, the girl skidded to a stop right in front of them, nearly knocking herself down as she did. She was low to the ground and one leg was out farther than the other. She wobbled for a moment before finally regaining her balance and standing up on her pale, toned legs. “I gave you five laps, easy to divide by five,” she explained, her full lips parting slightly as she fought to catch her breath. 

“I’ll run your exact numbers later, but I’ll tell you one thing,” Daya grinned, Kori knew she would recruit Lydia, she had to. “You might be even faster than I remember.”

“Nice!” Lydia grinned. Kori just couldn’t get over how cute she was. “Now let me knock you down!”

“You are not getting me! I’m sure Kori would gladly let you topple her over, but not me.”

Kori could feel her face burning, “Okay! Daya- enough.”

Lydia laughed again, “you’re cute,” she said, looking up at Kori again. Her eyes were like mirror glass, reflecting the bright lights of the rink, the swirling colors painted on the wall. If Daya did recruit her, Kori didn’t know if she’d ever be able to focus on the rink again. “Fine, then I’ll go for Kori’s ankles, now let’s go!”

The girls skated out onto the rink, Daya motioned Kori closer to her before calling back to Lydia, “we’re gonna try to block you! You’re gonna try to break that block, alright?”

“Yep!” Lydia called out simply. She started off slow, skating up behind them, gaining some speed, lowering herself closer to the ground like she had before and then…

“What the fuck-“ Daya squealed as she felt herself lose her footing. She’d hardly even noticed Lydia slipping right between her and Kori’s legs, until her wheels were skidding on the floor and the other girl was reaching for her desperately to avoid falling over.

“Make it harder next time!” Lydia called out, turning around to face them as she slowed herself down. She couldn’t help but giggle while she watched the girls clinging to each other as they nearly fell over. Daya shook her head as she looked at the girl, a big smile still on her face. “You want me to do anything else? Or are you ready to give me my spot on the team?” 

“You know I love you, Lydia,” Daya grinned, skating over to the girl to pat her on the back. “Go get some water, hun. Welcome to the team.”

Lydia pumped her fists, a big smile on her face. Kori thought she was just precious. And even as the girl skated off of the rink, she couldn’t stop herself from just staring in the direction she’d gone. 

“Alright, next!” Daya called out, reaching for a slip of paper herself this time. She’d had enough fun making Kori flustered, now it was time to actually get down to business.

They ran through the rest of the tryouts at a fairly quick pace. Admittedly, starting off with Lydia didn’t make it very fair for the other girls, saying yes to her was the easiest decision Daya had ever had to make. But there were still some other very talented girls after her. The team didn’t need many blockers, they already had Daya, Kori, and Crystal, and they did a good job. But their main goal was to get some pivots and some blockers. So they looked for girls who were the fastest, the most flexible, and the strongest when it came to pushing past the others. 

In the end, they had a few girls who stood out. There was one girl, Olivia, who was very quick and also had an easy time weaving through the pack. She wasn’t as fast or nimble as Lydia, but she would serve as a good pivot to back the other girl up. Then there was a pretty small, fiery girl, Denali. She was fierce on her skates and had a lot of power in her legs, making her not only extremely fast but hard to knock over as well. She also didn’t mind doing a little pushing and shoving, which made her the perfect option for another pivot. Then there was Jewels, a taller, pretty girl who seemed very unassuming at first. Daya didn’t expect much fight out of her, but she proved to be pretty vicious. She showed more promise as a blocker, as she had a very easy time getting in front of girls, pushing them back, and psyching them out. But she was good enough at breaking through the pack that Daya decided to keep her as a pivot too, in case they were ever really fucked. 

Aside from the four though, Daya and Kori didn’t see much that piqued their interest. Sure, it was funny to watch a few girls fall on their faces, or just miserably fail at pushing past them. But by the end of the tryouts, they were tired of watching girls who looked like newborn calves on roller skates. 

“Okay okay!” Daya announced finally, skating over to the wall of the rink to look out at the lobby full of girls. They all looked so eager, so hopeful. It made Daya feel a little bad, but with this being her third round of tryouts as team captain, she’d gotten pretty used to seeing some disappointed faces. “I think I’ve made my decisions. Now, remember, we weren’t looking for many girls to begin with, so I’ve chosen a small group. That being said, don’t be too discouraged if you weren’t picked. There’s always next year!” Kori skated up to her side to hand her the cards of the four girls they’d selected for the team. The skaters waiting in the lobby became noticeably more nervous when they saw just how slim the stack of cards was. 

“Nice job today, ladies!” Kori called out, looking out into the space and immediately spotting a blonde with bright pink streaks who sat alone against the wall by the skate rental counter. She stared up towards the rink, the two of them nearly locking eyes before Kori became too nervous and quickly looked towards the other side of the lobby.

“Now, without further ado,” Daya held up the stack of cards so she could make a big show of reading them out, she always liked to do that. “I’d like to introduce your brand new members of The Bad Bettys . Put your hands together for Miss Jewels Sparkles!” She let the girls clap for a moment before speaking again, “Miss Denali Foxx!” She pulled out the next card, “Miss Olivia Lux!” She smiled as she watched the girls out in the lobby get excited, seeing the smiling faces helped balance out the disappointed looks. “And last but absolutely not least. I don’t even need to read off the card for this one, bitch! Meet, Miss Lydia Kollins!”

Kori watched the girl from across the room as she grinned wide, perfect white teeth showing from behind her glossed lips and a hint of a pink blush across her cheeks as Daya drew the attention towards her. Oh, she was so beautiful. Kori knew for sure now that she would never be able to focus during a match ever again. 

“Girls, you all did great today! Even if you didn’t make it onto the team, go home and get some good rest!” Kori called out to the room as she watched the girls begin to stand and pack up. 

“Or go get drunk! You’ve earned it!” Daya added, giggling as she watched Kori pull a face. “Alright, as for my four lucky ladies, you can go ahead and meet me and Kori in the locker room, we’ll have your jerseys and helmets there!”

The two waited for a moment for the girls to clear out of the lobby so they wouldn’t have to fight through a sea of women to get all the way back to the locker rooms. Daya leaned against the wall as she watched all of them start packing up and leaving. She turned to Kori, that same mischievous smile on her face again, “Lydia’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” she asked, catching a glimpse of the small girl standing by herself and talking into her phone. 

Kori’s eyes followed Daya’s instantly. Not that she’d ever let herself lose sight of Lydia to begin with. The two stared at the girl together, Kori just nodding slowly at first. “Yeah… yeah, she’s pretty,” she commented, her nails tapping on the wall as she leaned against it. 

“Mhm…” Daya hummed.

“What? Do you like her or something?” Kori asked, feeling a little deflated for a moment before Daya laughed.

“Lydia? No, girl. She’s an old friend, and also not really my type.”

“Right right, sorry. I forgot, you like girls who are mean to you.”

“Hey! I never said that,” Daya shoved her friend’s shoulder playfully while Kori laughed at how red the tips of her ears turned. 

“No, you didn’t, I just gathered.”

“What I was saying is,” Daya rolled her eyes, “I don’t like her like that, but I think I know someone who does.”

Kori shot her a look, trying her best not to show how flustered she was. That would only lead to more teasing. “Please, I just met her!”

“And you’ve already spent how long staring at her and tripping over your words?”

“Okay? And? I can see a beautiful girl without just falling head over heels for her right away,” Kori insisted.

“Can you?” Daya asked, an incredulous look on her face.

“Yes, and I’ll prove that to you when we go talk to Lydia right now and I act completely normal.”

“Alright,” the girl skated away from the wall, pushing Kori to go in front of her, “go get em’, tiger!” she teased.

The crowd of girls had definitely shrunk by the time Daya and Kori made their way out onto the main floor. But Daya still grabbed onto her friend to make sure they didn’t get separated on their way to the locker room. Finally, once they made it there, they found their four new recruits standing huddled around the doorway waiting for them. “My girls!” she grinned, pushing the door to the women’s locker room open. “Come on in, we’ll have a little chat, I’ll give you a few things, and I’ll tell you what to expect for tomorrow.”

When they made their way into the locker room Daya went to the back counter to grab a handful of jerseys, throwing them over her arm, “Kori, can you get the helmets, please?” she asked as she looked over her shoulder at the other girl, who immediately nodded. They both made their way over to the girls, who all sat on the bench together, looking up at them. “I have a few jerseys of each size, but all you girls will probably want smalls, bitches,” Daya joked. She grabbed out four jerseys, passing one to each girl before holding out her hands to Kori to take two of the helmets. She looked at both of them. Currently, they were just purple with pink sparkles and small hearts, and neither had the big pink star on it, so Kori must’ve been holding that one. “You guys can customize these however you want, they just have to stay purple and pink, and any design choices must be run by me and Amanda first. You’ll meet Amanda tomorrow, I’ll introduce her.” She passed one helmet to Jewels and another to Denali. “And Lydia, sweetie, Kori has your helmet, make sure you take the one with the star on it, and don’t lose it, that’s just yours,” she said.

Lydia’s eyes widened a bit, “wait, Daya, really?” she asked, staring up at her.

“Yes! You’re our main jammer, get used to it!” Daya replied, teasingly ruffling the girl’s bangs since the rest of her hair was still pulled up.

“Are you sure?” 

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve been waiting to get my hands on you since I became captain!” Daya motioned to Kori to give her her helmet.

Kori held the helmet with the big pink star on it out towards Lydia, “congratulations!” she said, her pupils wide as she looked down at the other girl. With the look on her face, Daya was never going to let her live this down.

“Thank you..” Lydia said, her eyes quickly shifting over to Daya, “and thank you ,”

“Don’t mention it, you deserve it,” she shrugged, motioning for Kori to pass Olivia the last helmet. 

Lydia couldn’t help but smile as she held the helmet in her hands, turning it over, her fingers running over the smooth surface. She’d thought about trying out for so long and now she was here, getting to do what she loved, and with the exact spot she wanted on the team. She couldn’t say she didn’t expect Daya to give her a spot on the team, but being the main jammer was a huge deal. Maybe she and her roommate would have to celebrate tonight.

“Alright girls! Tomorrow I’ll have a game and practice schedule ready for you and you’ll meet our team manager, Amanda!” Daya announced, staring at her girls. This was going to be a good season, she could feel it already. “Be here tomorrow at 7pm, sharp! And be ready to be here late, we have a lot of work to do, and I expect you all to show up ready to train your asses off!” 

All of the girls nodded and vocalized small words of agreement, bright smiles on their faces. This is the part of the season Daya just loved, seeing the new recruits so excited. They always brought so much new energy and life into the team. 

“Okay, perfect! That’s all I needed from you today! See ya tomorrow, fresh meat ,” she teased, blowing a little kiss at the girls as she waved them out of the locker room.

Kori opened her mouth to say something to Lydia as she was leaving, but her mind went blank, and no words would come out. So instead she just turned back to Daya, letting out a loud, exaggerated sigh once she was sure the room was empty. “I’m fucked,” she announced.

Daya turned to look at her, that cocky, amused look on her face. “What else is new?”

Chapter Text

“Okay, so I was thinking we could start off with a little scrimmage, that way I can get to see how you all do in a match. Sound good?” Daya asked, watching the girls as they sat and laced up their skates. All of them nodded along, looking just as eager as they had the day before

“You know you guys can talk, right? Don’t be so shy,” Crystal teased, picking up her can of Monster and drinking half of it in one go. 

The four girls on the floor spoke up now, voicing small bits of agreement and finally starting to, briefly, talk amongst each other.

“Perfect! Well then, you girls will be a team, and you’ll be going against a few of our veterans,” Daya motioned to herself and the three other girls standing behind her. She turned back to one blonde girl who stood beside Crystal, helping her tie her hair up. “Gigi, you’ll be our jammer for this one,” she said, watching as the other girl nodded along. She turned back to the new girls, “That means me, Kori, and my sister Crystal over there will be the blockers.”

After a few more minutes of preparation, the girls got out on the rink, organized as if it was a real match, and Daya took off to get things started. 

It wasn’t a terrible scrimmage. Of course the new girls weren’t as good as the older girls, they had more experience behind them. But they still put up a really good fight. 

Lydia had been put as their jammer for the scrimmage, and her talent really started to shine through. Daya could feel the weight off of her shoulders when she got to watch how the girl weaved through the three of them with minimal effort. She knew she had made the right decision. Kori seemed pleased with her choice too, she looked like she was on the verge of passing out every time Lydia pushed past her. In fact, she hardly even fought back when she did.

As for the other three, they did decent enough. They didn’t put up as much fight as a blocker should. But it was a good starting point for Daya. She could teach them to be more mean, that wouldn’t be hard.

“Okay, girls, that was nice!” Daya said, grabbing her water bottle off of the wall and taking a long drink out of it while she thought about what to do next. “But I think my blockers could stand to be a little meaner.”

The other three girls nodded, with Gigi speaking next, her energy drink in her hand as she pointed to Denali, “that one was pretty fierce. But I got past the rest of you girls with no problem!”

“Right, which is why I’m gonna do a little blocking exercise. What I want you guys to focus on is really just being a little rougher out there. Push, shove, don’t be afraid to shoulder-check a bitch!” 

A few of the girls cheered at Daya’s statement and she smiled. Kori spoke up from beside her, “who do you want to be the jammer for this one?”

Daya thought for a moment before replying, “I’ll go ahead and have Gigi do it. Lydia, you can get some water if you need, you earned a break,” she said, turning to the other girl who nodded and thanked her.

The three girls lined up, trying to get nice and close to each other. Daya, Kori, and Crystal filled in between them, “here, we’ll help you girls out, but you gotta do most of it, okay?” Daya asked, looking between the three girls as she spoke. 

“You guys ready?” Gigi called out, a hair tie between her fingers as she re-tied her long blonde hair into a new, more neat ponytail. The other girls nodded and yelled back to her, a little mixed response of “yes”s being heard from across the rink. 

And then they took off, with Gigi immediately trying her best to get past the girls. She lapped them easily the first time, and with barely more effort the second time. “Come on!” Daya yelled out from beside them, “I know some of you were mean bitches in high school, don’t be afraid to shove!”

The next time Gigi came around to try to lap them, Jewels reached out an arm and pushed her back, moving out to skate directly in her way. “There we go!” Gigi yelloud out to her, a big, excited smile on her face. She tried to slip past Denali next, who, as expected, shoulder checked her and wouldn’t let her pass. It wasn’t until she made it over to Crystal that she was finally able to duck through the group and lap them again. “Guys, I’ve gotten three points on you in like, ten minutes. Step it up!” 

It went on like this for probably ten or fifteen more minutes, with the team getting better at it as they went, ultimately they blocked Gigi for most of the time. She only managed to get one more point on them, and that one was entirely Crystal’s fault again. 

“Okay okay ladies, I’m gonna switch it up this time!” Daya called out, coming to a stop on the rink. “Those girls you go up against aren’t gonna be as nice to you as Gigi is! Plus, Crystal keeps getting distracted by her girlfriend” she said.

Crystal gave her sister a little shove. Gigi laughed, skating over closer to the girls. “So I get to take a break?” she asked, looking up at Daya.

The other girl nodded, “yeah, go sip on your drink. Or please, for the love of god, have some water,” she teased, letting the other girl skate off of the rink and into the lobby. “For this next practice I’m gonna have Lydia come in as the jammer. And she’s not going to hold back,” Daya looked out over a few of the girls who, reasonably, had nervous looks on their faces. “Yeah, I’m not gonna lie, this might be a humbling experience. But just fight back as hard as you can against her! She won’t get upset if you push and shove, I promise.”

The other girls nodded along, their eyes a little wide as they watched Lydia skate back up to the rink. They had all watched her tryout the day before, and seen how she skated during their scrimmage earlier. They knew how fierce she was, and they could only be relieved that she was on the same team as them. 

“Alright, time to show them what you’ve got, Kollins,” Daya said, patting Lydia’s shoulder.

“You wanna see me knock them over?” she asked with a grin.

“Well… I don’t want any injuries before the season starts…” Daya contemplated for a second, “but don’t think I’m telling you to hold back. Now come on, let’s go!” she added, almost laughing at the nervous looks the other girls gave each other.

The next part of practice was a little more harsh. Daya had told Lydia to go all in, and she didn’t disappoint. She flew past most of the girls easily, unafraid to throw an elbow at them or just push through them until they were near falling over. A couple times she noticed Kori or Daya having to help the other girls stay upright after she pushed past, and it almost made her laugh when she’d notice Gigi standing on the side of the rink grimacing. 

When Lydia circled back around to the group of girls for the fifth or sixth time, she immediately looked for a weak spot in the pack, quickly finding one between Kori and Denali. She skated up to them, prepared to put in some work, since Denali had been the toughest of the new girls she’d had to deal with so far. However, despite the new girls’ best efforts Lydia snuck past surprisingly easily, turning around as she lapped them one more time. “Come on! What was that?” she called back to them. 

“Kori!” Daya snapped, giving her friend a frustrated look as she came to a stop on the rink. “Get your head in the game, please, you’re supposed to be setting an example.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t want to knock her on her ass, she’s small!” Kori replied, motioning to Lydia.

The girl rolled her eyes, “I almost knocked you on your ass yesterday, so I think I’m fine,” she said, arms crossed over her chest.

“Way to go, Kori, very charming,” Crystal whispered, her tone sarcastic as she leaned in closer to her.

Kori just glared at her, not bothering to respond. She turned back to Lydia, her facial expression softening a bit, “I didn’t mean it like that,” she insisted, “I just didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I can handle myself, Kori,” Lydia replied, shaking her head.

Daya could sense the tension, and she wanted to get rid of any of that immediately. She couldn’t have her team fighting this close to the start of the season. If one thing was going to keep them from winning it was going to be infighting and bickering. “Hey, hey, hey,” she said, holding her hands up. The two girls looked up at her immediately, and she felt kind of like a mom punishing her children. She looked back towards the skate rental counter, seeing that Amanda had emerged from the back room. Maybe that would just have to be her way out. “I’m gonna call it for today, alright? I’ve seen all I need to,” she added, watching all of the girls immediately breathe out a sigh of relief. “I need to go talk to Amanda so you’re all free to go,” she waved her hand to motion them off the rink, “if just a few of you would stay and help make sure the place is cleaned up I’d appreciate that.”

Kori and Lydia both opened their mouths at the same time, each of them responding with, “I will” in nearly perfect unison. 

Daya sighed when she noticed the way that Lydia glared at Kori, meanwhile the other girl just stood there with a nervous attempt at a smile. “You know what… That’ll work, I need to go have my meeting,” she shook her head, rubbing her temples with her fingertips. Kori had given her a hell of a headache, and she didn’t know if she was going to need Advil or vodka to deal with it, but one or the other was going to be essential when it came to getting to sleep tonight. “I’ll see you girls tomorrow. Amanda and I will have a game plan ready!” she announced, finally skating off of the rink and up towards the counter. 

The other girls followed her, going out into the lobby. Lydia and Kori ended up at the back of the group, skating off of the rink beside each other while avoiding eye contact like their lives depended on it. Lydia went to sit on a bench next to Crystal and Gigi while she took off her skates. Kori swore she could hear the other girl complaining to the two in a hushed tone, but she did her best to ignore it. 

She went up to the counter, standing next to Daya as she stood on one foot, pulling the skate off of her other one. 

“Kori, I’m trying to talk to Amanda,” Daya said, barely glancing at her friend as she leaned against the counter. Being team captain really did make her feel like a mother sometimes. 

“I know, I just had a quick question,” she replied, relaxing once she got both skates off of her feet. 

“What?” the other girl asked, her elbows on the counter as she looked over her shoulder at Kori.

“Can you still give me a ride home? Jane is gonna have my car like, all night.”

“Yeah, sure, that’s fine,” Daya shrugged, “you’re on my way home anyways. Are you okay with waiting a while though?”

“Yeah, it might be a minute, because we need a pretty good game plan to save you girls,” Amanda joked, laughing as she watched the annoyed look come back to Daya’s face. 

“That’s fine,” Kori nodded, “I just don’t want to take the bus again.”

“Oh yeah… creepy guy,” Daya said, finally fully looking at Kori. She got annoyed with the girl sometimes, sure, but that was still her friend, “yeah, don’t take the bus. Wait here until I’m done.”

“Yes ma’am!” Kori replied jokingly. 

Daya shook her head, “go help Lydia clean up already,” she said, rolling her eyes. 

“I’ll see you after your meeting,” Kori said. She started to walk away before turning back to add, “if she doesn’t kill me.”

Lydia had started to clean up already, walking around the lobby of the roller rink and picking up bits of trash off the floor. Kori approached her slowly, seeing a candy wrapper on the floor that the other girl must have missed. She leaned down to pick it up, looking over at Lydia, “hey,” she said softly, smiling, “you missed one.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” Lydia replied sarcastically, gagging as she picked up a wrapper that had gum stuck to it. 

“Here, that looks gross, I’ll take it,” Kori offered, holding her hand out.

Lydia walked right past her, barely holding the wrapper between the nails of her pointer finger and thumb, “I’m fine,” she replied, walking over to a trashcan and dumping what she had picked up so far. “You know, this place doesn’t look too bad, I can clean it myself.”

“Well I can’t leave until Daya does anyways,” Kori shrugged, “she’s my ride while my sister’s using my car so I gotta stay. But you can go home if you want to,” she offered.

Lydia looked around the lobby, trying to see if any of the other girls had hung around. Nobody had. “No, it’s fine,” she shook her head, “I don’t wanna walk to my car alone, I had to park kinda far.”

“Oh, yeah, there’s a bunch of weirdos around here,” Kori nodded her head, starting to do another lap around the lobby. 

Lydia looked over at her, her eyes running from the girl’s head to her feet. She quirked an eyebrow and laughed softly, “I know, I’m looking at one right now.”

“Hey!” Kori was caught off guard but she just had to laugh. “You know, you’re pretty funny.”

“Thanks,” Lydia smiled, and even if it was just barely there and it didn’t reach her eyes, Kori still counted that as a win. “You’re…” she pondered for a minute, trying to come up with something to say, “persistent.”

“Bitch,” Kori laughed again, shaking her head. “I’d say determined.”

“Sure… determined to piss me off,” Lydia replied, stepping onto the rink so she could pick up some of the equipment Daya had set up for practice, just small cones and things. 

Kori followed her like a dog yet again. “Forgive me for thinking you’re cute when you’re mad,” she said. As she walked alongside Lydia she picked up cones too, doing anything she could to catch a glimpse of her face.

Which was worth it when she saw the way that her comment brought a bright pink color to the girl’s cheeks. Lydia just shook her head, taking her stack of cones and starting to walk it over to the storage room near the skate rental counter. “You just have a comeback for everything, huh?”

“So do you.”

“...You’re not wrong.”

After the two left the storage closet they spent a couple more minutes looking around the place, but it looked pretty spotless by that point. “Well, it looks like we’re done,” Kori said, looking over to Lydia who simply yawned and nodded.

The other girl looked up towards the counter again, seeing Daya and Amanda talking and looking at something on Amanda’s laptop. “Well, it looks like they’re gonna be talking for a while.”

“It’s Daya, of course they are,” Kori said, practically grinning from ear to ear when Lydia laughed. 

“Yeah, that sounds about right, “Lydia nodded, taking a seat on one of the benches once again. Kori was hesitant for a moment, but she sat down next to her, keeping at least a foot in between them. She didn’t want to seem too forward, especially when she was trying her best to get Lydia to warm up to her. It was kind of like handling a skittish cat, you had to approach them more slowly, get them to trust you. And Kori would move as slowly as she possibly could if it meant convincing this girl to trust her.

The two were quiet for a moment, with Lydia tapping her feet against the patterned carpet and Kori picking at her fingers around the edges of her manicured nails. Finally, Kori turned towards the other girl, trying not to become completely captivated by her big blue eyes, her beautiful eyelashes, or how the pink streaks in her hair were just the perfect shade for her.

She must have been staring for a little too long though, because finally Lydia looked back at her, cocking her head slightly, “what?”

“Oh! Uh-” Kori snapped out of it quickly, feeling a little embarrassed that she had been caught staring. “I just wanted to ask, how long have you known Daya? Because, I mean, I”ve known her for a while but I’ve never seen you until yesterday.”

“Oh, me and Daya?’ Lydia smiled just thinking about her friend. “We go way back! I went to school with her and Crystal. I mean, she was a couple grades above me, and Crystal graduated my freshman year. But we did theatre together so we stayed close,” she explained.

Kori stared at Lydia while she spoke, but she tried her best not to be distracted by her beautiful face. “Oh really? That’s sick, I never knew that!”

“Yeah! I mean, we used to all skate together back in high school too! It was me, Daya, Crystal, my best friend Dawn, Gigi…” she opened her mouth to say something else but paused, making a face like she was really considering if she should say what she was thinking or not. Her final expression said that she had decided against it, “...probably some other girls too.. Yeah, there were a bunch of us!”

Kori would’ve pried about what Lydia wasn’t telling her, but the girl went back to smiling quickly, so she decided to drop it. Instead she just nodded along, “that’s awesome! Well, now I know why she was so excited to see you at tryouts.”

Lydia giggled, “yeah, I haven’t seen her as much the past couple of years but I love Daya.” She thought for a minute before asking, “how long have you known Daya? I know she’s brought up your name a couple times but I haven’t heard much.”

“I met Daya a couple years ago when I started working at the cafe she manages,” Kori said, glancing over at her friend from across the room and laughing as she saw her deep in thought, making faces while Amanda talked to her. “She told me that her roller derby team needed more members, and I wasn’t doing shit other than working and getting drunk with my roommates on the weekends, so I tried out. That was back when Amanda was team captain, before she hurt her ankle really bad and gave the spot to Daya.”  

Lydia was the one nodding along while she stared at Kori now. “Yeah, I remember her telling me about that, she was so excited to be captain,” her smile dropped just a bit, “I think she was happy to be on a team that really valued her.”

Kori was a little taken aback by her words, her brows furrowing. “Well yeah! Of course we value her, we love her.”

“I’m glad. All the girls on the team do seem really nice…” Lydia nodded and the two went quiet again for a few minutes.

“Hey,” Kori said finally, looking up at Lydia again. She rested her palm on the bench between them, closing the space a little bit.

“Hmm?” Lydia hummed, looking towards the girl cautiously.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier, you know.. About knocking you down,” she smiled a bit, watching the blonde roll her eyes more playfully this time. 

“It wasn’t that big of a deal, it just annoyed me.”

“No, that’s fair,” Kori nodded. “But for the record, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t think you’re weak or anything… I think you’re really really cool actually, and talented! Your skating is crazy.”

Lydia laughed, “thanks, I’ve heard that a couple times.” She really took the chance to look at Kori now, and she had to admit, even though she had found the girl a little annoying so far, she was also really beautiful. The bleach blonde color of her hair looked so nice on her, curls falling around her face perfectly and bringing out the rich honey tone in her dark eyes. Her skin was so smooth, she couldn’t find a single imperfection. And her lips looked so perfect with the gloss she had on, they weren’t the least bit chapped. Lydia could get used to staring at her from time to time.

“It’s true! You’re insane out there! That’s why I didn’t want to risk getting you injured,” she leaned in a little closer, “between you and me, I think you’re kinda our only hope at doing good this season… And I think Daya would actually murder me on the spot if I hurt you. Plus I’d feel bad.”

“Well thank you for your apology… But I trust you’re not going to hurt me,” she giggled a bit when she thought of what to say next, “so Daya will have to find another reason to murder you.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’ll find one,” Kori shook her head with a laugh.

Suddenly, as if they had summoned her, Daya walked up behind the two. “Kori! Lydia! Pack it up, I wanna get the fuck out of here,” she said. She stifled a yawn before chugging what was left of her energy drink in two big gulps. 

The two girls nodded and stood, making sure they had all of their things and then following Daya and Amanda out of the roller rink. Once they were outside they all seemed to relax more, enjoying the warm summer breeze. “Is that anyone’s car all the way over there?” Lydia asked, pointing down to the far corner of the parking lot where an SUV was parked right beside her own car.

“That’s mine! Here, you can walk with me,” Amanda offered, motioning for the girl to come with her as she stepped off of the curb into the parking lot.

The two pairs of girls said goodbye and went their separate ways, with Kori and Daya walking off towards Daya’s car. “So, you two were getting along well.”

“What?” Kori asked, feigning confusion while she looked up at Daya.

“You know what I’m talking about. You and Lydia,” the other girl replied, pulling out her key fob and unlocking her car.

“Oh,” Kori went around to the passenger side, getting in. “Yeah, I mean, I think she thinks I’m a little less annoying now.”

“Wow,” Daya started up the car, pulled out of the parking lot and started to head towards Kori’s apartment. “How did you manage to do that?”

Chapter Text

“So what’s wrong with your car now?” Kori drummed on her steering wheel with her hands, growing impatient while she sat at what felt like the longest red light in the world. The salon she was supposed to be taking Jane to was damn near twenty minutes from their apartment, way out of the way from all the errands she was supposed to run that day, and to make matters worse, they were still about ten blocks away and the traffic was almost completely stopped. 

“They said something about the internal engine something, I don’t know,” Jane shrugged. She was much more relaxed than Kori, looking in the mirror on the passenger side visor as she touched up her lipstick. 

“The internal combustion engine?” Kori asked, an alarmed expression crossing her face as she looked over at her sister. 

“Something like that,” Jane replied, tucking her lipstick back into her purse and putting the visor up. “He says they can fix it, well… replace it, they just have to wait for the part.”

Kori sighed, looking down at her navigator and seeing that her predicted arrival time was still seven minutes out. “So when do they think you’ll have it back?”

“It’ll probably be like, Wednesday?” 

“Girl, it’s Friday…” Kori’s eyes widened. “You know, I can’t make Daya drive me forever. I said I’d pay for her energy drinks if she did and I swear I’m spending a fortune.”

“I know, I don’t have too much to do this week so you can have your car most days,” Jane said, thinking through her week for a moment, “I think I really just need it Monday and Tuesday.”

“Okay… I can have Daya drive me to practice those days, and I think we work together anyways,” Kori nodded while she spoke, really she was just trying to reassure herself that she wasn’t going to go crazy. 

Finally after a couple more minutes just driving and catching each other up on how their weeks had been Kori turned down the street and saw the salon. She pulled into the parking lot, finding a spot right up near the front. The original plan was just to drop her off and drive away, but it seemed like Jane had other plans.

“Come inside with me and at least just talk to my stylist, please,” she said, just sitting and staring at Kori after she unbuckled her seatbelt.

“Why?” The girl asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Because you stress me out by bleaching your hair at home, you’re gonna melt it off.”

“I am not!” Kori argued.

“Come on, just get a vibe for the place and consider letting them do your hair for once,” Jane said, obviously trying to bargain with her.

“Fine, I’ll come in for like two minutes,” she said, watching her sister smile as if she’d won some prize. “But I have a box of bleach and a bottle of toner waiting for me at home so don’t get your hopes up,” she added, laughing as she saw Jane’s smile immediately drop.

“Fine, just don’t cry to me when you end up bald,” she sighed, getting out of the car and waiting for the other girl to follow her up to the doors of the salon.

“What? You’re seriously saying you don’t trust Suzie to do my hair?”

“No, no I do not.”

“Wow, glad to know my sister has so much faith in me,” Kori said, an exaggerated, sarcastic tone in her voice.

“You’re ridiculous,” the other girl replied, pushing the door to the salon open and immediately smiling when she looked up at the young girl at the front desk. She had been there the last couple times Jane had come in, it had become a part of her routine at this point to see her. “Hey girl,” she grinned even wider when she caught a glimpse of the girl’s hair, “you did the pink streaks! I told you it’d look good.” 

The girl behind the counter smiled just as wide when she saw Jane. “Yeah! I finally did it a couple weeks ago,” she said, running a hand through her blonde and pink hair and letting it fall over her shoulders so it was easier to see the streaks. 

“Ugh, you’re gonna make me want to do pink in my hair,” Jane shook her head.

“Do it! I can tell Kerri to mix up a good pink shade for you,” the girl offered, looking across the salon to see where Jane’s stylist was.

“No, no, I don’t think it would look as good on me,” Jane insisted. She turned around to Kori, who had just been standing behind her scrolling on her phone. “Hey, do you think I should try a pink color like this?” she asked.

“Pink?” Kori cocked her head, replying to one more text before looking up at her sister, “since when did you want to dye your hair pi-” she stopped in her tracks when she looked up and finally saw the face of the receptionist sitting behind the desk. “Oh- Lydia, hey..” she said.

Jane gave Kori a look, nearly laughing at how flustered the girl had turned in a matter of seconds. 

“Hey Kori,” Lydia said, smiling. She looked down for a second, clicking her pen again and again sort of rapidly. “Are you here getting your hair done too?” She asked when she looked up again. 

“Oh, no no no, definitely not,” Kori replied, laughing as she shook her head. 

Jane rolled her eyes, “my car is in the shop so we’ve been having to share a car,” she explained, looking back towards her sister with a look that said: do you see what I have to deal with?  

Lydia laughed, nodding along like she perfectly understood the difficulties of having to handle Kori. “So you two are sisters! I didn’t know that,” she replied, looking back and forth between the two.

“I didn’t know you knew Kori,” Jane said, watching as Lydia quickly typed something into the desktop on the counter.

“Sorry, I just had to actually let Kerri know you’re here,” she laughed, hitting enter before shifting her attention back to the two girls. “Yeah no, I just joined The Bad Betty’s actually.”

“Oh god, the roller derby team,” Jane laughed, rummaging through her purse. She hoped she’d have enough cash that she wouldn’t have to pull her card out at all. “Get ready to get real tired of Kori. I don’t know how Daya handles her for that many hours a day, I did that enough when we were growing up,” she said. But with the way that both girls giggled and playfully shoved each other, it was obvious they were just messing around. 

“ You had to handle me ?” Kori asked, raising her eyebrows to feign shock. “Says the girl who still won’t admit she stole my Barbies.”

Jane faked a gasp, looking just as shocked as her sister. “I did not !” She insisted, “those were all mine, girl.”

“Malibu Barbie was mine, ballerina Barbie was yours, you literally can’t argue that,” Kori motioned between the two of them like it was just too obvious. It was hard for Lydia to keep herself from giggling too much. 

“They were both mine,” Jane shook her head, a grin on her face that said she knew she was wrong, but she was going to keep fighting anyways. Kori was used to it, that was just the way she was.

“Just because they were both in your room doesn’t mean they were yours, I always had more Barbies than you, I’ve been a collector since day one bitch-“

Kerri emerged from around a corner, looking only slightly disheveled, “well damn! It got real noisey up here real quick,” she laughed. “Hi Jane, sorry it took me so long, hun,” she shook her head, finally breathing out a sigh that it seemed like she’d been holding in for a while.

Lydia looked up at her from the desk, “what color did Willow want today?”

“Purple,” Kerri held up her gloved hands and sure enough, the gloves were stained with a light, lilac purple colored dye. “I mean, it looks good on her but,” her eyes widened and she shook her head as she finally pulled the gloves off.

“That bad?” Lydia asked, making a face. “I thought purples weren’t usually that hard to work with.”

“They shouldn’t be, but I’m still fighting that black box dye she used in high school,” Kerri shook her head.

“God, I know how that goes,” Lydia giggled, sighing. “Oh by the way, Jane wants pink this time.”

“Really?” Kerri perked up, an obvious look of excitement in her eyes.

Lydia nodded quickly, trying not to laugh, “yeah! She says she wants to twin,” she replied, running a hand through her own hair again.

“I never said that,” Jane pointed a finger at Lydia, watching as the other girl giggled, “she is a liar.”

“Well we will discuss colors when I take you back. How about that?” Kerri asked, motioning for Jane to follow her.

The other girl obliged, starting to walk with her towards the back, “but don’t be disappointed when I tell you I just want you to refresh my balayage.”

Once her sister had disappeared into the back of the salon Kori leaned against the counter, her head resting on her arms on the cold granite. She let out a big heavy sigh, hearing Lydia giggle from her spot behind the counter when she did.

“That bad, huh?” The girl asked, typing something in on her computer and hardly looking at Kori.

“No, no, I love Jane,” Kori shook her head, finally standing back up and looking at Lydia. “I’m just really, really tired,” she yawned.

Lydia looked up finally, her eyes running over the girl for a moment. “Yeah, I can see why…” she said, reaching across the counter and turning one of Kori’s hands over to see the back of her hand more clearly. 

Kori felt like she could hardly breathe. Lydia was holding her hand. Well, not really holding. Lydia was touching her hand . She looked confused and probably a little terrified for a moment until the girl spoke again, “I never thought you’d be the type to go to Riot ,” Lydia giggled.

Right , Kori had never taken off her wristband from the club last night, that’s what she’d been looking at. When Lydia pulled her hand away Kori could still feel the burning in her cheeks and the slight way her body shook when she breathed in. Damn, this girl really had her. “Oh, yeah,” she let out a breathy laugh. “It’s not usually my type of place, but Daya wanted me to come with her.”

Lydia nodded, “that makes more sense, she’s tried to convince me to go.”

“Have you ever gone with her?” Kori asked, still leaning against the counter as she just stared at Lydia.

“Oh hell no,” the other girl laughed. “That place scares me. And Daya likes to stay out all night. I’m not built for that.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Kori said, yawning again, “I’m exhausted.”

“And hungover too, huh? You smell like booze,” Lydia replied, her lips quivering as she fought back a smile.

“Do I actually?” Kori asked, bringing the collar of her shirt up to her nose and sniffing it rapidly. She could feel her face heating up again, only with embarrassment this time.

The only thing that took away the embarrassment was hearing the other girl start giggling, that was a sound Kori had really come to enjoy lately. “No, I’m messing with you, I can’t smell anything past the hair-dye smell,” she replied. 

“God,” Kori sighed, shaking her head, “I can never catch a break with you, can I?”

Lydia still had the biggest smile on her face, “it’s just so easy to mess with you.”

The two sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds in the room being distant talking and Lydia typing on the desktop. But it didn’t feel like a bad silence, it was a little awkward, sure, but at least it bordered on comfortable silence. Lydia was the first to speak again, “So are you just gonna stand here the whole time? Jane’s appointments are usually pretty long.”

“No, I have errands to run,” Kori replied, but she didn’t move from her spot standing at the counter. “I told her I’d come back to pick her up when she’s done.”

Lydia nodded, “Makes sense, I’ll see you later, Kori.”

But Kori still didn’t budge. Instead, she looked around the shop, just watching the stylists work, or letting her attention drift over to Lydia. The girl looked beautiful, even more than usual. Kori had never seen her hair down before now, it was perfectly straight and it looked silky, in a way it shined as it fell just barely over her shoulders. Her makeup was heavier than usual too, with a bright pink blush on her cheeks and a shimmery eyeshadow on her eyelids right above the long, thick lashes that accented her big puppy dog eyes so well. Kori hadn’t thought she could possibly look any better, but apparently she had been wrong. After a few minutes Lydia looked up from the computer again, her blue eyes practically piercing through Kori, “you know, you might as well just get your hair done at this point, since it looks like you aren’t leaving.”

“No need, I do my own hair actually,” Kori replied, grinning as she turned her head as if she was showing off her work. “Well, me and my roommate do it.”

“Oh I can tell,” Lydia nodded, unable to hold back her laughter this time.

“Hey!” Kori’s eyes widened and she tried to pretend she was offended, but she just had to laugh at the way that a girl who was so adorable could insult her with such minimal effort. 

“The color looks nice on you,” Lydia shrugged, “but the application looks like it’s from a box, there’s not as much dimension as you’d get if you went to a salon,” she explained.

Kori was a little impressed, for just being a receptionist, it seemed like she really knew what she was talking about. “And I’m assuming you get your hair done here,” she replied, “which of the girls does it? She must be pretty good.”

Lydia immediately got such a bright smile on her face, “actually, I do mine myself too,” she said, resting her chin on her palm as she looked up at Kori. “I don’t think I’ve gone to a salon since I was thirteen or fourteen.” 

“Well, you have an advantage. I’m sure you’re going to school for hairdressing or something,” Kori said, feeling a little shocked when she saw Lydia shake her head.

“No, I mean… I’ve thought about it, just don’t have the time… or the money,” she laughed, but this time it sounded less genuine.

Kori didn’t fully know how to respond, all she came up with was, “oh, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Lydia shrugged. She tapped her nails on the desk for a moment before directing her attention towards Kori again. “You can pull up a chair, you know. Unless you’re finally going to go run those errands.”

Kori thought for only a second before dragging a chair over to the side of the counter. “Are you sure you won’t get in trouble for me just sitting here and distracting you?”

“Do you see anyone walking in here?” Lydia asked, motioning around the salon. She looked out the window for a moment, watching the gray clouds roll in, casting a shadow over the city and draping everything in a gloomy atmosphere. “I think there’s a storm moving in, so I doubt we’ll get many walk-ins. Honestly, we might get some cancellations. I think I’d kind of rather have some company so I don’t go crazy.”

“Well, I’d be happy to keep you company,” Kori said, setting her purse on the floor as she relaxed into her chair. Maybe her errands would have to wait for now. 

“Nobody else is around so, you’ll work I guess,” Lydia teased, turning her chair to face Kori more head on. “So, what errands did you need to run? Since I guess you aren’t doing that anymore.”

“I’ll do it later,” Kori shrugged, “it wasn’t anything urgent. I wanted to get some new laces for my skates, mine are all torn up. I needed gloves for when I touch up my hair,” she thought for another second, “oh, yeah, I need a dress to wear to this thing I’m going to in a few weeks. Maybe I’ll let Jane come with me for that one.”

“Ooh,” Lydia leaned in a little closer, “that’s fun! What do you need a dress for?” 

“Well, my best friend is in this show, it’s some musical at the playhouse. And I guess that’s the kind of thing you’re supposed to dress up for.” Kori explained.

“Your friend is an actress? No way!” Lydia grinned, her eyes practically twinkling. 

“Oh yeah, she has been as long as I’ve known her, she’s been in some pretty cool stuff,” Kori nodded.

“That’s so cool! I go to see shows sometimes, I’ve probably seen her in something before.”

“Oh I’m sure you have, I swear she’s been in every show they’ve done in this city,” Kori laughed, “I didn’t know you were so into it.”

“I was a performer in high school,” Lydia said, still smiling as she looked at Kori. Maybe they had just a little bit more in common than she’d originally thought. 

“You told me you met Daya doing theatre! I just didn’t know you were an actress ,” Kori replied, Lydia nodded along. “Well, I’m sure you were really good! Why don’t you like, sing something for me?” she grinned, absentmindedly scooting her chair a little closer.

“Oh no no no no, you are not getting me to do that,” Lydia laughed, shaking her head. “I haven’t done it in years, I’m sure I’m rusty.”

“Oh come on, I’ll sing for you,” Kori offered, trying to bargain.

“You know, I think I’ll pass,” Lydia said, little giggles still slipping out every so often. Okay, so maybe Kori wasn’t as annoying as she’d originally thought. Actually, she was pretty funny, and a little too charming for her own good. 

“Well, if you’re ever looking for an audience, I’ll listen,” she said.

Lydia chuckled once more, “thanks, Kori,” she exhaled as she relaxed back into her chair. Maybe work wouldn’t be as boring as usual. 

They didn’t realize how much time had passed by as they sat there talking. They had barely even had any interruptions, only a couple girls had come in for appointments, and Lydia had to answer a few calls asking about cancellations or postponing appointments until the storm rolled through. They watched the rain start, splattering off of the sidewalks outside the salon and filling the gutters, rushing past the store fronts like mini rivers. Kori confided in Lydia that she had been so scared of storms as a child, and that thunder still made her nervous sometimes. Lydia on the other hand looked completely captivated by the storm, purple flashes of lightning illuminating her light eyes in such a way that Kori couldn’t help but be transfixed too. Lydia told her that she had always loved rain, that sometimes she liked it even more than the sun. 

Kori had found herself scooting in closer and closer to Lydia while she talked about anything and everything. It didn’t matter if they were talking about roller derby, telling funny stories about Daya, complaining about work, talking about their roommates or their families. Whatever it was about, Kori came to realize that she just adored listening to Lydia talk. Her voice was so sweet, and something about the way she talked was so pleasant, so calming. She had moved her chair closer and closer, her eyes raking over Lydia, really just taking her in up close, becoming mesmerized by the way the white eyeliner in her lower waterline made her eyes look impossibly bigger and more doll-like than they already did. Or the way that her perfume smelled like roses and powdered sugar and something else Kori couldn’t decipher, something that just smelled like pure contentment, like returning home late at night after a long trip and sinking into your bed for the first time in days. It was hard to deny it anymore, she really, really liked this girl. She scooted her chair closer one more time, only a few feet between the two at this point as they talked, giggling and telling each other stories like they were young girls alone in a blanket fort, like nobody else in the world mattered. 

That was until Jane’s voice snapped Kori out of her trance, “What? You work here now too?” she asked with a laugh, looking down at her sister, who practically sat behind the counter with Lydia at this point. “How long have you been waiting here?” she asked, sitting her purse on the counter and beginning to take cash out. 

“Oh, um,” Kori stood up reluctantly, moving her chair back to where it had been before, “I never left, actually,” she admitted, feeling a little embarrassed by it.

Jane whipped her head around to face Kori again, almost looking like she was at a complete loss for words, “I’ve been here for like three hours.”

“I know.”

“...Whatever, we’ll talk later,” Jane said, rolling her eyes. 

Kori could immediately feel the heat rush to her face. “There’s nothing to talk about,” she insisted.

“Mhm,” Jane replied simply, handing her cash to Kerri before turning her attention over to Lydia. She completely ignored her sister for now, she’d wait to deal with that until they got back out to the car. “She did such a great job as usual,” she smiled.

“No pink though!” Lydia shook her head. “No but seriously, you look gorgeous! Wanna just go ahead and schedule your next appointment now?” she asked, opening up a tab on her computer.

Jane nodded and the two talked for a moment, just scheduling dates, times, making sure Jane was booked with Kerri and not anyone else. Kori honestly ignored most of it, her heart still racing at the thought of how close she had been to Lydia, the way they had bonded, the way the other girl smiled up at her, the way that it had felt so oddly intimate. 

This had to be what falling in love felt like. Kori wasn’t all too familiar with it, but she just couldn’t get enough of Lydia. 

When they were all done they parted ways, with Lydia and Kori saying goodbye to each other like they were old friends. Jane glanced over at her sister with a suspicious look as they two talked, but the interrogation didn’t start until the driver’s side door closed behind Kori.

“So,” Jane said, immediately pulling down the visor to look in the mirror at her hair. “You and Lydia, huh?”

Kori immediately felt her throat dry up and she had a hard time even knowing how to respond. “What? She’s my teammate now, I wanna get to know her.”

“Right, I’m sure you really want to get to know her ,” Jane said, a certain tone in her voice that made Kori’s entire face and body feel like it was on fire. 

“Hey! I never said anything like that, you’re crazy,” Kori insisted, but the way she was so wide eyed and fidgety didn’t do her any favors when it came to convincing Jane that her suspicions were wrong. 

“Well with the way you look at her you really aren’t subtle,” Jane laughed. “Come on, I could try to be your wingman or something!”

“I do not need a wingman,” Kori shook her head.

“Right, because you have so much experience with women.”

“Obviously.”

“Oh, obviously .”

Chapter Text

“Am I hallucinating or are they actually talking to each other?” Daya asked, her attention shifting from Kori out to the lobby of the skating rink. They had been practicing for over an hour already, so Daya had decided to give them a little break before resuming. What she didn’t expect was to see the girls sitting all together, talking and giggling amongst each other. Up until now practices had been pretty quiet, at least between the new girls. 

“No, it looks like they’re talking…” Kori nodded. But she wasn’t really paying attention, her eyes were fixed on Lydia, her heart beating a little faster as she watched the girl laughing at something Jewels had said to her. Her smile was beautiful, and the way her eyes twinkled when she laughed made it so Kori couldn’t have stopped looking if she tried. 

“Well, that should make tonight a lot less awkward,” Daya continued, glancing between the girls and sighing in relief. All she had wanted in the first place was for them to start bonding. Maybe if she could push that a little farther they could really start making some progress. 

“Mhm…” Kori hummed, sounding like she didn’t even know what Daya was talking about. Because honestly, she had no idea, she hadn’t been listening at all.

Daya shifted her attention over to the girl beside her, rolling her eyes when she saw her standing there, looking like she was daydreaming. “Kori,” she sighed, raising her hand in front of the girl’s face and snapping a couple of times. “Kori, did you hear a word I said?”

“Huh?” Kori reluctantly shifted her attention from Lydia to Daya. “Yeah, I heard you,” she nodded.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” Kori nodded again.

“What did I say then?”

Kori made a face, Daya just stared at her, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You were saying,” Kori began, thinking hard. The only thing that really came to mind was how beautiful Lydia looked today. But she remembered a couple words Daya had said too. “Something about how well the girls are getting along,” she motioned across the lobby towards the rest of the team.

The other girl sighed, “you know what, close enough.” she said, pushing away from the wall. They’d have to resume practice soon, since they’d have to end a little early that night. “I was saying that should make tonight less awkward,” she said, grabbing her water bottle to take one more drink out of it.

“Oh yeah, tonight…” Kori said, smiling. How could she possibly have forgotten about the dinner? From the second Daya had told her about the plans she’d been looking forward to it. 

“Yeah yeah yeah,” Daya laughed, “I already know you’re gonna try to sit next to Lydia,” she teased.

“Woah,” Kori held her hands up in defense. “If there’s a seat open next to her then I mean…”

Daya laughed even harder now, shaking her head, “you’re ridiculous, you know that?” she started to skate towards the main part of the lobby where all the girls were. “Come on, we’re gonna tell them about tonight and then it’s back to work,” she said, watching Kori nod along as she began to follow her.

“Ladies, I have one little thing to talk to you about before we continue,” Daya said, watching as the girls immediately went quiet, looking away from each other to stare up at her. Their eyes shifted uncomfortably amongst the group, then back up to Daya, who stood there with an unreadable expression. “I think that when it comes to doing well in matches, having strong relationships with your teammates is one of the most important things. Right?’ she asked. The other girls nodded, all sporting confused faces as they looked up at her. Lydia and Kori both shifted their eyes towards each other for a moment before looking away again, not acknowledging it in any way. 

Kori nearly choked on the air. She turned back to Daya, trying to subtly regain her composure, “you gonna tell them already or are you gonna drag it out all night?” she teased.

Daya shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Okay, Kori is allergic to suspense and fun,” she said, grinning as she looked over at her friend. “So I guess I’ll just tell you guys.” Daya glanced back towards the skate rental counter, getting a smile and a wave from Amanda, who watched the group intently. “So Amanda and I pooled some money… And I hope you all have your schedules cleared after practice tonight, because we’re having a team dinner!”

Daya felt so relieved as she watched all of the girls perk up, bright smiles on their faces as they cheered and muttered to each other. She was almost worried that she wouldn’t care that much, or that they wouldn’t want to go. But now seeing them so happy just erased all of those fears. 

This could be their best season yet.

“I’m glad you guys are excited!” she absolutely beamed as she spoke to them now. These were the moments that made all the stress and gentle-parenting of being a team manager worth it. “Okay so, the plan is just to get ready in the locker room before we head out, and then we’ll meet there. It’s the Italian place down the street, it’s got some fancy name… I’ll send the address in the groupchat!”

——————————————————————

The rest of the practice went better than any of the ones they’d done before. The girls’ times were getting faster, they were getting more confident,t more aggressive. And most importantly, they were working together, helping each other out, pushing each other to try harder. Daya couldn’t help but feel like it proved her point that the closer the girls are, the better they would do. She always preached team bonding and developing friendships within the team, and now Kori could understand why. 

She found Daya on their way to the locker room after practice, looking to the other girl with so much pride and contentment. “You know, I understand your whole ‘team bonding’ thing now.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, I mean,” Kori motioned around the lobby as the girls talked and loudly giggled, some of them racing to the locker room while others discussed rides or what was on the menu at the restaurant. “It seems like the more they get along, the better they do in practice.”

“You’re actually admitting I know what I’m doing?” Daya asked, feigning shock.

“You’re team captain for a reason.”

——————————————————————

Kori was on the far side of the locker room when Lydia approached her. She had been sitting on the counter by the sinks, looking into the mirror as she touched up her mascara and put on some lip gloss. And she could feel her heart start to beat faster as she watched the blonde in the mirror, walking up shyly. 

“Hey Kori?” She asked, her voice soft. She stood there beside the counter, wearing a short, fitted dress that was the same bright pink shade as her hair, a black leather jacket thrown on over it. Daya must’ve tipped her off about the dinner so she’d bring a cute outfit. It seemed a little bit like a scheme to Kori, but with the sight in front of her she wasn’t complaining. How could she ever? 

“Yeah? What’s up?” She replied, her eyes running up and down Lydia no matter how hard she tried not to let them. She just looked too damn good.

Seeing her outside of practice was something Kori could definitely get used to. 

“Could I please borrow your perfume?” She asked, leaning against the counter and making pleading eyes at Kori. As if she even needed to try to be adorable. “I forgot mine at home and I forgot I took my backup out of my purse and…” Lydia realized she was rambling and cut herself off, licking her lips as she looked back up at Kori again. “Anyways, you smell really good so…” 

Kori eyed the other girl, watching as she bit the inside of her cheek and shifted her weight from foot to foot.

She said she smelled good.

And now she was standing there fidgeting. 

Was Lydia starting to feel nervous around Kori?

And more important: was Lydia flirting?

Kori didn’t even realize she was standing there looking like a deer in the headlights until she heard Daya laugh from where she was standing just a few feet away. “Thanks,” Kori said finally, the slightly scared look on her face being replaced by a smile, “yeah, here,” she reached into her bag, rummaging through it for a moment before pulling out her perfume. It was something really sweet and warm smelling, like spun sugar and toasted coconut. Something Daya had bought her for her last birthday actually. 

Damn, maybe she was the ultimate wingwoman. 

“Use as much as you want!” she added, holding the bottle out towards Lydia. 

The other girl thanked her and sprayed a generous amount before making her way back over to a couple of the other girls who all giggled and started to tease her in hushed voices. Kori watched intently in the mirror. Noticed the way that Lydia grinned and covered her face when they’d lean in to whisper things to her. Or the way that she would hold her sleeve up to her face and smell the perfume on it, seeming to relax for a moment when she did. The way that her eyes seemed to literally sparkle every time she was happy. 

“Someone seemed kinda nervous,” Daya commented, glancing up at Kori with a makeup brush in her hand. 

“Okay, at least I wasn’t the only one thinking it-“ Kori exhaled finally, both hands mounted firmly on the counter as if she was trying to anchor herself down. “But like, do you think she’s actually like, interested or is it like, that play flirting? Like, you know, what all the straight girls do with their friends in high school-“

When Kori finally paused her rambling to take a breath Daya had to fight hard to hold back howling laughter. She simply replied with, “I was talking about you.”

——————————————————————

When they made it to the restaurant the girls filed in in one big group, talking and giggling amongst themselves.  

Daya and Amanda made their way to the front of the group so they could check in. They were there right on time, thank God.

Amanda looked around, the restaurant was nice. A little hipster-ish, maybe, but still pretty upscale. Of course, it was in the nicer part of the city so that was to be expected. There were big ornate light fixtures hanging everywhere, paintings done by local artists hanging on the walls, plant boxes under the windows and in corners for a touch of greenery. “I like it here,” she commented, looking at the girl beside her. “You know, if this goes well, we might be able to arrange some more team bonding activities.”

Daya perked up immediately, smiling as she looked over at Amanda, “really?” She asked, having to hold her excitement back when the other girl nodded. “Good to know, good to know.”

“Just make sure the girls all get cut off before they wreck the place.”

“Mhm.”

“That means you too.”

“Mhm.”

“And Kori.”

“I… will try my best,” Daya said, shifting her eyes back towards her friend, who, as expected, had already started talking to Lydia.

Amanda’s eyes drifted over to the two girls too, but they were preoccupied in their own little world, so much so that they didn’t even notice. “We got puppy love on the team again, huh?” She commented. 

Daya nodded her head, “yeah, Kori tries to act like it’s less intense than it is but… I mean, look at her.”

Amanda laughed, “it’s kinda cute, in a disgusting way. I haven’t seen obvious flirting like this since Gigi and your sister.” 

“Oh, God, yeah,” Daya nodded her head. She looked to the back of the group now and was not at all surprised to see Crystal with her arm wrapped around her girlfriend as she talked to Denali, seemingly giving her some tips on blocking. 

“What a reminder to us, huh?”

“Reminder of what?” Daya asked, meeting eyes with her sister and giving her a smile and a nod before turning back to Amanda.

“That we’re like, co-presidents of the lonely hearts club,” she responded, laughing dryly.

“Oh like I care about being ‘lonely’,” Daya rolled her eyes. “Just means I have an unlimited pass to flirt with as many pretty ladies as I want.”

“Right,” Amanda said, her tone sounding like she wasn’t fully convinced.

“I’m serious!” She insisted. She looked up and saw the host walking up to them, a tall, blonde woman with striking eyes. 

Exactly Daya’s type.

“Like this,” she added, glancing over to Amanda before directing her attention back at the beautiful blonde. She leaned against the counter, smiling up at her. “Hey, gorgeous,” she said, hearing her friend audibly gag from beside her. 

But, much to Daya’s satisfaction, the host smiled at her, letting her eyes linger for a moment before replying with, “Hi there!” she seemed to be at a slight loss of words for a moment before adding, “do you have a reservation?”

The other girl was all too happy to butt in, "Yeah, it should be under Amanda,” she said, rolling her eyes as she looked over at Daya and saw that stupid prideful look on her face. 

“Amanda… Oh! You’re upstairs, perfect!” The host said, grabbing a large stack of menus before turning and motioning for the group to follow her through the crowded restaurant. 

“You just had to kill the mood, didn’t you?” Daya asked, glancing over to Amanda.

“Yes, because you would’ve been insufferable all night otherwise.”

——————————————————————

They were only half an hour into the dinner and the bar was already struggling to keep up.

“And so I told her-” Kori exclaimed, finishing her third drink and sliding her empty glass back onto the table. “If you sing that song one more time I swear to God I will shove that tap shoe up your-” 

“Kori!” Daya put a hand over her friend’s mouth, laughing with her eyes wide. 

Lydia put her head in her hands, giggling hard. Maybe Kori was actually really funny. Or maybe it was the fact that Lydia had agreed to ‘match her energy’, or drink just as much as her. Which, in retrospect, was not a good idea. But it did make her stories so entertaining.

“I don’t know,” Gigi started, just finishing up her first glass of white wine. She was more of a sipper, as opposed to Kori who just gulped her drinks down in seconds. “I like Suzie’s singing, it’s nice. Like Broadway quality!”

“Just don’t tell her that, babe, she’ll never give it up,” Crystal joked. She stirred her soda with her straw, resigned to the fact that she had agreed to play designated driver for both her girlfriend and her sister that night. 

“It’s not nice at one in the morning!” Kori insisted, shaking her head with an exasperated sigh. She looked around for a moment before seeing the bar empty, which had hardly happened since they got there. “Someone come get a drink with me, please!”

“Girl, another?” Jewels asked, her facial expression looking like a mixture of friendly teasing and genuine concern. She had been watching and listening to Kori the whole time as if it was reality tv. Hence why she had chosen the best seat in the house, right across from Lydia, which put her diagonal from Kori. Far enough that her eardrums weren’t about to bleed, but close enough to get the full experience. 

“I’ll go with you!” Lydia offered, eagerly standing up and grabbing her purse off the back of her chair. 

Gigi leaned over to Jewels, muttering, “of course she will,” with her glossed lips upturned into a giddy smile.

“What’d you say?’ Lydia whipped around, feigning ignorance.

Gigi giggled, reaching for her purse and pulling her card out of her wallet. She held it out across the table towards the other girl, “I said, will you get me another prosecco, hun?” She asked, clearly lying through her teeth. 

“That’s not what I heard…” Lydia replied, jokingly narrowing her eyes before giving in and just laughing with her. “Yeah, yeah I will. Just one?”

Gigi looked at the other girl wide eyed, “‘just’ one?” she mocked her playfully before reiterating, “yes, just one!”

“Sorry, I thought maybe you wanted to get on our level,” she said, motioning to her and Kori. The other girl just grinned. She stared at Lydia with a look in her eyes that was about to send the entire table into yet another fit of laughter.

“Babe, I don’t want to be on your level, and I do not ever want to be on her level,” Gigi said, unable to hold back from snorting in laughter when she looked at Kori again. “Go to the bar already, before you trip over your own feet!”

——————————————————————

By the time things were dying down it was nearly midnight, the bar was starting to close, and Daya had somehow completely lost sight of both Kori and Lydia. Gigi and Crystal were getting ready to leave, with Gigi rummaging through her purse for her wallet so she could leave a tip, and Crystal simultaneously helping her girlfriend put on her jacket. Daya looked around again to do a headcount, but still came up short by two people. She knew she had had her fair share of drinks, but not so many that she’d forgotten how to count.

“You coming with us, Day? I think Gigi’s just about ready for bed,” Crystal said, turning to her sister as she passed Amanda the bill so she could file it into her neon green folder labeled ‘team expenses’. 

“Yeah.. I just can’t find Kori or Lydia,” Daya replied, her eyes drifting around the upper level of the restaurant.

“Interesting…” Crystal mused. Gigi just burst into a fit of giggles. 

Neither of them even had to say anything else for Daya to scrunch up her nose, “gross,” she said, before adding on, “well I think Kori is supposed to be coming with us, so I need to find them.”

“Maybe check the family restroom,” Amanda snickered as she tucked the team credit card back into her wallet before chucking it in her purse. 

“Kori doesn’t have the balls to do that,” Daya asserted.

“She did drink enough that the bar is probably gonna have to order a whole new shipment in so…” Crystal shrugged, “might be worth checking.”

“Well, I’m gonna walk around up here first, but thanks for the suggestion.”

As Daya was walking away she could hear the other women giggling again, barely catching Gigi as she replied with, “Yeah, give them some time to make themselves decent first.”

——————————————————————

On the opposite side of the rooftop bar was a balcony area with no chairs, just an open brick deck with a view looking out onto the city. There sat a concrete wall with planter boxes and some multicolored flowers blocking off the ledge that otherwise would’ve had Lydia and Kori’s drunk asses stumbling all the way down to the back alleyway down below. 

Lydia leaned on the concrete wall, admiring some of the pink and purple flowers in the boxes. Meanwhile Kori hung her head over the edge, looking out at the city, and smelling the cigarette smoke from some bored kitchen employee standing by the trashcans below them. 

“You know, Kori…” Lydia started, shifting her weight from foot to foot in such a way that she looked like she was not on a rooftop, but rather a cruise ship.

“Hm?” Kori listened intently, feeling her breath grow stagnant in her lungs as she hung onto every sound Lydia made, every direction her hazy eyes rolled in. 

“You can really handle your liquor.”

Kori let go of the breath she’d been holding, letting all the air come out in a big laugh. “You calling me a drunk?” 

Lydia shook her head quickly, then looked like she was about to fall over from her own sudden movement. “No no no! Just… I drank just as much as you and- I feel like the room is spinning- do you feel like the room is spinning?”

Kori took a long hard look at Lydia. Big, sparkling, slightly dazed blue eyes met her own as the girl looked up at her expectantly. A bright pink strand of hair fell over her face and Kori could barely help herself from reaching forward and brushing it away. Finally, she responded, “yeah… yeah, kind of…”

Only, she didn’t really feel like it was the liquor having an affect on her head.

Lydia sighed, her chin resting on the cold concrete of the ledge in front of her as she leaned forward and directed her attention out towards the city lights and the bustling traffic. “Okay good, it’s not just me.”

Kori nodded her head, her hands resting on the ledge and her nails tapping some frantic tune on the cold hard material. 

“Hey Kori?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I might’ve been just a little wrong about you.”

Kori shifted her gaze over to Lydia again, losing her train of thought for just a moment before recovering. “Really?” she replied.

“Mhm.”

“In what way?”

Lydia tilted her head slightly, her cheek now resting against the ledge as she looked at the other girl through half lidded eyes. “Well, when I first met you I thought you were kinda…”

“Annoying?” Kori filled in the blank, a grin blooming across her face.

“No! Well…”

“You thought I was annoying, got it,” Kori teased, her smile never once faltering.

“Not annoying!” Lydia insisted, shaking her head. She couldn’t help but smile when her eyes met Kori’s again. “Whatever… I wasn’t a big fan of you, when we first met… Okay?”

“Where are we going here? Because right now I’m just hearing that you think I’m annoying and you hate me.”

“Kori!” Lydia laughed hard, reaching a hand out and clasping it firmly over the other girl’s mouth, “Listen-”

Kori was definitely listening now.

“But now I’m really starting to like you!” the girl giggled, her hand never once moving from Kori’s mouth.

Now Kori was definitely not listening.

She felt like she could faint.

Lydia stayed there for just a little too long, until Kori’s heart was thundering like the drums at the rock show Daya had taken her to last weekend. Then, she pulled her hand away like she had suddenly realized. “Sorry! You can talk now.”

Kori blinked hard, trying to determine if her double vision was from the vodka, or the lingering smell of Lydia’s delicious vanilla hand lotion she always used. “I uh… I really like you too,” she replied finally.

“You do?” Lydia grinned, her eyes widening. 

Kori reminded herself again and again that the girl was drunk, that she should take everything she said with a grain of salt, and not jump to stupid conclusions.

It wasn’t like Lydia actually liked her or anything.

It would be stupid to even think that.

She was absolutely wasted. She probably wouldn’t even remember this tomorrow.

Which also meant that Kori could say what she wanted…

“Yeah,” Kori nodded her head, “I really, really like you.”

Lydia looked up at her, blinking slowly like a cat.

“You know… you’re just so nice.. And you’re so good at skating, like, actually scary good.” Lydia let out a soft laugh and covered her face, egging Kori on to say more, go a little bit further, “and you are so pretty…”

Daya turned the corner just in time to hear the last part of what Kori was saying. Her eyes widened and her heart went up into her throat. “Kori! Kori, hey…” she said, trying to interrupt whatever was about to happen. She couldn’t let her friend humiliate herself like this. 

Kori whipped around, brushing bright blonde strands of hair out of her face as the wind blew it over her eyes. “Oh, hey Daya…” she said, both looking and sounding like a kid who’d been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. 

“Hey…” Daya replied, “I missed you, girl! When’d you sneak off over here?” she asked, both of her arms wrapping around Kori to give her a big hug.

The other girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, “uh, like twenty minutes ago? I don’t kn-”

Daya cut her off, leaning in and whispering to her, “what do you think you’re doing? Writing her a sonnet? Pack it up, Shakespeare.”

“Writing who a what? Huh?” Kori replied, trying to squirm away from Daya.

The other girl tightened her grasp. “I was making a… it was really fun-... forget it. I’m here to make sure you don’t make an ass of yourself or get your heart broken,” she explained.

Kori finally jerked herself away, patting her friend on the back. “Thanks for checking on us to make sure we weren’t being hit on by creepy men or whatever but we’re fine.”

Daya rolled her eyes, “well I’m so glad. But I also wanted to tell you it’s time to go. I’m sure Crystal is already packing up the car so…”

Lydia perked up, “Oh, yeah! Kori, I was gonna tell you you can come with me,” she offered.

“Who’s picking you up?” Daya asked.

“My roommate! I think I saw her car pull up like, three minutes ago maybe…”

“Well, if she’d your roommate I’m sure she wouldn't want to have to make the extra stop at Kori’s…” Daya said, subtly trying to pull her friend away. It was scary thinking that once the girl was out of her sight, she could make any stupid choice she wanted.

“No, it’s okay! You’re on the way, I think,” Lydia said, looking up at Kori.

The girl nodded quickly, “yeah, I am!”

She had no idea where Lydia lived. Not one clue.

Daya looked between the two girls, just sighing. “Well, let’s head out then,” she said, turning and letting the other two follow her to the front door of the restaurant.

——————————————————————

Outside the restaurant by the curb was a girl with curly ginger hair, standing and talking to Amanda. 

“Who are you looking for?” the team manager asked, squinting her eyes as she looked around at the girls who were pouring out of the front doors.

“Her name is Lydia,” the girl replied.

“Oh, yeah, Lydia!” Amanda replied, “well I haven’t seen her yet, but I can stand here and wait with you! What’s your name, gorgeous?”

Before she could reply Lydia came barrelling through the group, “Dawn!” she exclaimed, grabbing her friend in her arms and rocking her back and forth.

“Oh jesus… you smell like booze-” the girl muttered before starting to rub Lydia’s back, “hey, Lyds… how do you feel?”

“I feel great! My stomach kinda hurts.. Oh, can we take Kori home too? Please?”

Dawn stood there for a moment, just blinking hard. She shifted her attention back and forth between Lydia and Kori before just shrugging her shoulders, “sure, why not? Now can we head to the car? Xunami’s coming early tomorrow for breakfast.”

Lydia agreed quickly and the three girls left to walk to Dawn’s car.

Daya stood beside Amanda, a cocky grin on her face. “Now who’s trying to pick up chicks?”

“I was not-”

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” Daya mocked, giggling when Amanda turned bright red.

“Whatever. Better find Crystal’s car before she leaves your ass.”

——————————————————————

“God, I feel like a fucking Uber driver,” Dawn complained. She reached into the back seat to grab her phone back from Kori, pressing the big ‘start’ button on the navigator app. Only ten minutes, maybe up to twelve or thirteen with traffic. That was how long she’d have to deal with the two girls giggling and ogling each other in her back seat. She just turned on some music, something with a vibrant, pop type of sound, and did her best to ignore whatever she heard.

For now, at least.

She was sure she’d tease Lydia about it the next morning, or afternoon, or whenever she woke up.

“Jesus! Why is your purse so heavy?” Lydia asked, giggling at the offended look on Kori’s face.

“I just carry a lot of stuff! I’m a very prepared girl, okay?” she replied.

“Like what? What do you need to take with you?”

“Well, there’s my wallet, gum, my perfume that you used, thank you very much. Then there’s my charger, my makeup bag,” Kori listed off items as she dug through her purse. Maybe Lydia kind of had a point, maybe she should clean out her bag soon. The same went for her roller derby bag too.

Suddenly, the girl’s eyes lit up. “Woah! Your makeup bag is huge!” she laughed, “what do you have in there?”

“Uhh… great question! Let’s find out,” Kori replied. She pulled the pink and orange bag out of her purse and unzipped it, starting to remove items one by one. She held each one up for Lydia to look at. “My blush, my backup mascara, my lip gloss- oh, but I didn’t use that today, actually,” she rummaged through the bag a little bit more, “here’s the lipstick I used today!” she said, holding up the tube of NARS lipstick.

Lydia’s eyes shifted from the orangish red case up to Kori’s lips and lingered there a long, long time. Kori caught her gaze and let her eyes become fixed on Lydia’s face as well. 

“That color is really nice on you…” Lydia mused, focusing on Kori’s full lips, where most of the lipstick still managed to cling on despite how many drinks the girl had had since she put it on. 

“Oh, thanks-” Kori said, suddenly feeling like she’d climbed twenty flights of stairs. It was hard to find where her breath had even gone. “If you ever want to use it just… let me know.”

“Thank you,” Lydia replied, looking down for only a minute to hide her red cheeks. She quickly turned her attention to Kori again, “I wish I could make reds look good on me… I feel like they never do.”

“Really” Kori asked, watching the other girl nod, “I think this color would look great on you.”

“You do?”

“Mhm..” Kori nodded. First, she simply imagined Lydia with the lipstick just on her lips. Then, her mind started to wander a bit. Soon enough, her head was full of images of the girl with the lipstick on her forehead, or her cheek, the corner of her mouth, maybe smeared a little bit past her bottom lip, even on her jaw or her neck, a warm shade of red painting her pale skin like it was the most smooth canvas… 

Kori needed to stop. She really really did. For her own sake. 

“I don’t know,” Lydia said, finally saving the girl from her own thoughts. “I think you’re just being nice to me.”

“No! I really think it would look good!” Kori thought for a moment, looking down at the tube and twisting the lid back and forth a couple of times. “Here,” she said, reaching the lipstick out towards the other girl, “try it on and we’ll see who’s right.”

Lydia didn’t hesitate, reaching out and grabbing the tube from the girl. “I need a light,” she said, her big grin never once leaving her face.

“Here,” Kori replied, using the last little bit of battery life her phone had to turn on her flashlight and shine it on Lydia, who held up a little compact mirror she’d snatched out of Kori’s makeup bag. 

“Thanks,” the other girl grinned. She pulled the cap off of the lipstick and held it to her mouth, her uneasy hand slowly and methodically painting the bright vermilion color onto her pouty lips. 

Kori’s eyes focused, hard. Lydia was holding her lipstick, the same one that had touched her own lips many, many times. And it was tracing all around her own lips as she filled them in with the color. 

It was like kissing.

Almost.

Just kissing the girl would have been preferred. But if Kori could barely hold herself together just watching Lydia use her lipstick, she was sure she would never survive a kiss.

Plus Daya would kill her.

So she wouldn’t kiss the girl now.

But next time she wore that lipstick, Kori knew all she would be able to think about was the phantom feeling of Lydia’s lips against her own.

“Okay… do you actually think it looks good?” Lydia asked, closing the lipstick with a soft click sound. She looked up at the other girl, pupils blown wide, eyes twinkling in the bright white of Kori’s flashlight.

Kori looked down at the girl, the way her rosy cheeks and the bright lipstick looked together. She kind of looked like a kid playing in her mom’s makeup, given the shaky application, and the fact that the color just wasn’t something she would typically imagine Lydia in. But damn, if this wasn’t proof that she could look good no matter what…

“I think it looks perfect…” Kori said, her voice soft, hardly reaching above a murmur. 

“Maybe I’ll get some for myself,” Lydia grinned as she handed the tube back to the girl. Kori doubted she would, but the suggestion still made her heart leap like it was jumping rope. “What’s the shade called? I didn’t look,” she asked.

Kori flipped the tube over, her eyes scanning quickly over the orange plastic. She’d had it for a while, and the label was mostly worn off, so she had to squint. But after a long, quiet moment, she was able to read the letters.

“‘Kiss me Deadly.’”