black & gold

Chapter 3

Grace puts her headphones in and blasts her bootlegged download of Lady Gaga's Art
Pop, starting with Applause. She'd always told people that she wasn't really into music
as her excuse for strictly listening to songs off of the Top 100 pop charts, but she actually
loved it. She just happened to prefer Carly Rae Jepsen and Taylor Swift to Bon Iver or
Sigur Rós.
Grace runs until her calves ache. Though she was best at sprinting, she'd always
preferred running long distances. She liked to get lost in the drum lines of ridiculous pop
songs and focus more on how fast her feet were moving than the shit that was going on in
her head. And there was usually a lot of shit going on up there.
"HEY!" Grace is suddenly snapped out of her little world by a loud yell. She jumps and
tears out her headphones, turning to look at Mamrie who was struggling to catch up with
her. "Slow down, Helbig."
Grace smiles and slows her pace, letting Mamrie run alongside her, "Hey, Mames."
"I've been chasing you for two minutes. Let's take a break, alright?" Mamrie asks, her
voice heavy with strain.
Grace shakes her head, "Can't. Sorry. Gotta get in two miles today."
"Christ," Mamrie groans and struggles to keep up, "Well, I'll make this fast. You know
my friend Mitchell, right?"
"The weird guy with the gauges?" Grace questions, slowing her pace down just a bit
more so that Mamrie doesn't kill herself.
"Yeah, that's him. What do you think of him?"
Grace glances over at Mamrie and shrugs, "I really don't know him too well. He seems
nice, though."
"Well, you'll get to know him a whole lot better. He asked me if you wanted to go out
with him sometime," Mamrie grins at her friend, an entire set of teeth showing off in
excitement.
Grace frowns, "I don't know, Mames..."
"Why not?" Mamrie groans, "Come on, he's really cute and funny and adorably awkward
just like you. I know you two would hit it off. Just give him a chance, alright?"
Grace knows by now that there's really no point in arguing with Mamrie, so she nods
reluctantly, "Fine."
"Yes!" Mamrie jumps, stumbling slightly when her feet hit the ground, "You'll love him, I promise. Are you free tonight?"
"I have plans," Grace responds near immediately.
Mamrie raises an eyebrow, "What do you have to do that's so much more important than
forming a love connection?"
Grace cringes at the sentence and shakes her head, "I, uh... my brother Tim is having this
piano recital thing tonight that I have to go to."
"Tim plays the piano?" Mamrie responds, fairly certain that the younger Helbig was only
a member of the Kennedy High JV marching band.
"Yeah, it's... it's his new thing. He's pretty into it," Grace explains, struggling to make
her lie sound believable. "But, uh... I can get together with Mitchell another time."
"Alright, fine. I'll talk to hi-"
Mamrie's sentence is cut short when Grace pops her earbuds back in and speeds up her
pace, leaving the redhead in her dust on the track.
-
"So I was thinking that tonight we could go to that new club that opened up downtown. I
think it's called Next Generation or something... I don't know. Anyway, my friend
Lance got a gig working security out front so he said he could get us in without a
problem," Tyler suggests through a mouthful of omelet.
Hannah looks up from her iPhone and shakes her head, "Sorry, Ty. I have plans."
"You have plans?" Tyler laughs, "Since when do you have plans that don't involve me?"
Hannah laughs, "I have other friends, you know."
"Yeah, alright," Tyler rolls his eyes, "So what're you doing?"
Hannah shifts in her seat and puts her phone down, "I, uh... I'm going out with that
Kennedy girl."
Tyler nearly chokes on his hash browns and takes a long sip of water to calm himself,
"No shit. Oh my God, Hannah, that's amazing. Have you learned any filthy details that
you can use against her, yet?"
"It's not like that," Hannah sighs, "She's kind of, like, a genuinely amazing person. I... I
like her."
Tyler raise an eyebrow and drops his fork to his plate, leaning back in his chair and
folding his arms, "Hold up, did Hannah Maud Hart just say that she likes someone?" "Don't make this into a big deal, alright?" Hannah warns, taking a bite of her own
spinach omelet.
"Have you ever even dated someone before?" Tyler asks, leaning forward and resting his
chin in his palms, staring at Hannah in fascination.
"Jesus, Tyler, just drop it," Hannah groans and stabs her fork into her omelet in irritation.
Tyler sighs, "Fine, okay. Moving on. We can go clubbing another night, whatever. Ditch
me for your girlfriend if you must."
"She's not my -" Hannah stops herself and takes a breath, "Another time would be great."
-
It's different for Hannah to see Grace outside of her track uniform. Similarly, it's
different for Grace to see Hannah outside of her red gym shorts and golden t-shirt that
says 'MANAGER' under the right pocket. For the evening, Grace had settled on a red
baseball tee and frayed denim shorts while Hannah had on a pair of black skinny jeans, a
grey button-up, and-
"Is that a snapback?" Grace immediately comments when she slides into the passenger
seat of Hannah's car.
Hannah frowns, "You don't like snapbacks?"
"No, they're cool, I've just... you didn't strike me as a snapback kind of person," Grace
laughs and buckles herself in, "Don't worry, it looks good on you."
Hannah feels blood rise to her cheeks and she immediately looks away from Grace
because since when does she fucking blush?
"So where are we going?" The blonde asks, flipping her hair over her right shoulder.
Hannah simply smiles to herself and focuses on driving, refusing to answer Grace's
question.
"You're really not going to tell me?" Grace laughs, raising an eyebrow. She waits for
Hannah to respond, but when the girl remains silent, she continues, "Alright, fine. I don't
think I've ever been kidnapped before."
"Well there's a first for everything, right?" Hannah questions, turning towards Grace and
holding her gaze for no more than a few seconds.
Grace smiles to herself and sits back in her seat, turning up the volume on Hannah's old
stereo. She draws her lips into a faint frown when she hears some indie alternative band
come blaring through the speakers. Grace immediately switches the stereo to FM radio.
"What? You don't like The 1975?" Hannah asks, tapping her fingers on her steering wheel to the Katy Perry power ballad that had replaced her mixed CD.
Grace shrugs, "I'm not into alternative music, really. Or indie music."
"Well that's boring. So what do you listen to?"
"This, mostly," Grace turns up the volume on the stereo as Roar grows louder.
Hannah grimaces, "Really? Pop? That's it?"
"Yeah, I like it. That a problem?" Grace asks and raises an eyebrow in mock defense.
Hannah laughs, "Come on, Grace, this music is crap! Alternative, folk, indie... that's the
kind of music that makes you think. It's not just shitty lyrics put to some repetitive,
subpar beat."
"I don't have a problem with that kind of music, it's just not my style. I prefer my music
to be fun. I don't want to think when I listen to it," Grace shrugs, "Don't be a hipster
asshole about it, alright? Just enjoy it."
Grace spins the volume wheel on Hannah's stereo until Katy Perry is blaring throughout
the entire vehicle. Hannah's eyes widen as she turns to Grace, watching the blonde
scream-sing the lyrics to Roar and throw her head back against her seat.
"Come on, Hannah! You know the words!" Grace yells just before the chorus kicks in.
Hannah shakes her head, trying to stop laughing at the scene unfolding in the passenger
seat of her car. She doesn't join in, instead she just studies Grace as she sings along
(horribly) to Katy Perry lyrics. When Grace reaches the bridge and attempts to hold the
note that "ROAR" ends on, Hannah gives up and laughs whole heartedly at the girl
beside her.
-
"Hannah," Grace groans and Hannah tries not to sexualize the sound that comes out of
her mouth, "Where are we?"
"Will you just be patient?" Hannah retorts, leading the way down a long, paved road
through the outskirts of Malibu.
"Is this a beach?" Grace questions once the sound of waves hitting the shore reaches her
ears, "Are we at a beach?"
Once Hannah turns a corner, the ocean comes into view and the only thing separating
them from endless blue waves is a small, green gate. "I'm not from LA either, y'know. I
was born and raised in San Francisco and I moved here with my family when I was
seven. I hated it, completely hated it, until my dad brought me out to this beach. It's what
made me fall in love with this stupid place," Hannah holds out her arms and walks backwards towards the gate.
Grace glances at the sign near the entrance and frowns, "It says this is private property,
Hannah."
"It's cool," Hannah says and braces herself on the short, green gate before jumping over
it, "These are all summer beach homes. Nobody lives here during this time of the year so
there aren't any security guards around."
"Are you sure this is okay?"
"I've done it hundreds of time. Come on," Hannah says and holds out her hand to Grace.
Grace sighs and grabs onto Hannah's hand, using her other to lift herself over the gate
and onto the sand waiting at the other side.
Hannah wastes no time in pulling off her Converse Chucks and tossing them to the
ground.
"It's kind of beautiful here," Grace says and looks across the empty beach, mesmerized
by the way the moon hits the ocean.
"Isn't it?" Hannah grins, stopping her stride so Grace can stand beside her on the sand.
"Come on, let's go in."
Grace frowns and looks over at Hannah, "I didn't bring a bathing suit or anything. You
should've told me we were comin-"
"You don't need one," Hannah laughs and shakes her head.
Hannah's hands quickly move to unbutton her shirt and Grace watches, eyes wide, as
Hannah drops the fabric to the sand and she's left in a strapless black bra. Hannah
glances over at the blonde as she begins to unbutton her jeans and she smirks, "What?"
"You're... what are you doing?" Grace asks, her mouth feeling suddenly dry.
Hannah laughs, "Did you really think we'd come to a beach and not go swimming? Don't
be a prude, Helbig. Do yourself a favor and take off that ridiculous baseball tee," Hannah
pulls her jeans off and tosses them aside, revealing a pair of navy blue boy-shorts. As
soon as her clothes are shed, Hannah sprints towards the ocean, spinning around once the
water hits her ankles, "Grace, come on!"
Grace takes a shaky breath. What are you doing. Why are you doing this. Stop, Grace.
Don't. Grace pushes her thoughts aside and shuts her eyes as she pulls off her signature
red and white shirt in one swift motion, followed by her frayed shorts. When she looks
down at her appearance, she silently curses herself for pairing a white, lace bra with pink
underwear that spell out 'GEEK' on the back. Smooth move, Grace. Hannah makes her way out into deeper water, stopping only to submerge herself
completely. When she comes back up, she runs a hand through her soaking hair and turns
back to see Grace awkwardly making her way into the ocean.
It's not the moment that you fall in love with someone, but it's the moment that you
realize you could. Because as uncomfortable as Grace looks clambering into the water,
there's something sort of breathtaking about the way the moon shines off of her tanned
skin and her hands curl at her sides. Hannah thinks she would be happy enough just
wrapping up Grace in her arms and holding her there forever, in the middle of a beach in
Malibu.
"How are you not freezing?" Grace mumbles, wrapping her arms around herself for
warmth.
"You gotta go under," Hannah says with a laugh as she watches Grace tiptoe towards her.
Grace groans before pinching her nose and dipping herself under the water, coming back
up with a gasp, "Shit."
"You okay?" Hannah asks, smiling as Grace moves wet hair out of her face.
"Yeah," Grace grumbles and moves nearer to Hannah, "So what made you want to share
your secret Malibu beach with me?"
Hannah shrugs, "You looked like you could use a reason to like LA."
"Well, thanks. It's sort of perfect out here," Grace looks past Hannah at the endless sea,
"It makes me want to swim away."
"Where would you swim to?" Hannah asks, finding Grace's wrist under the water and
wrapping her fingers around it softly.
Grace doesn't think much of the gesture which makes her think about it even more. She
was used to jumping away from anyone that so much as laid a hand on her. Physical
contact was definitely not one of her favorite things, but when Hannah's small fingers
trace a vein on her arm, she lets herself melt into the touch.
"I don't know. I would just swim until I couldn't see California anymore. Until I couldn't
see anything anymore," Grace responds and looks back at Hannah, suddenly aware of
how close the shorter girl is to her. She figures that their heads can't be more than eight
inches apart.
"Could I go with you?" Hannah asks, her breath tickling Grace's lips.
Grace feels her throat run dry and she simply nods, finding herself more interested in the
deep blue of Hannah's eyes than the infinite azure of the ocean.
"Good," Hannah whispers before closing the space between them and pressing her lips to Grace's.
Grace's eyes immediately flutter shut, letting Hannah's lips move slowly across hers
while her hand tangles itself in long, blonde hair. It's nice. It's not earth-shattering, not
passionate, not electric, but it's nice and slow and sweet and everything that a first kiss
should be, really. Grace cautiously raises a hand under the water and rests it on the toned
skin of Hannah's stomach and the shorter girl moans in appreciation. It's not loud, but the
noise that Hannah produces is enough to snap Grace out of the haze her mind was in. She
exhales sharply and pushes at Hannah's stomach, putting a foot of distance between the
two of them. When Hannah's eyes fling open, Grace is staring back at her with a mixed
look of panic and horror and, most of all, fear.
"Grace..." Hannah whispers and reaches out for her but Grace steps back.
"Take me home," Grace says quietly, looking away from the blue eyes burning towards
her.
"Come on, let's talk about this," Hannah soothes, taking a step towards the blonde.
"Take me home," Grace repeats and Hannah falls silent as she sees tears find their way to
Grace's eyes. "Please take me home."
Hannah nods, "Yeah... yeah, okay."
-
The car ride back is a long one, overcast by a heavy silence. Hannah glances over at
Grace every minute or so and she's always greeted with the same image - Grace, arms
wrapped around herself protectively, staring out her passenger window.
When Hannah parks in Grace's driveway after nearly forty minutes of silence, she tries
again to break through to the blonde.
"Grace, listen, I'

m really sorry if I upset you. It won't happen again, I swear," Hannah says, remorse and
guilt spread across her face.
Grace simply nods in return and unlocks her door, sliding out of Hannah's Hyundai,
"Goodnight."
Hannah watches Grace pace towards her house until she's safely inside. As soon as her
front hall light flicks on and comes shining through a window, Hannah sighs and slams
her head down on her steering wheel.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.