Zapped by an Apple | An Appledash College AU Fanfic | Human Characters

⓶⓵ 『 Party 』

"She said yes!" Tiana beamed with a flicker of ardor Rain had only before seen from her over an academic grade higher than a 90. 

     "Really? How'd you do it 'ana?! How'd you convince the demon biker?" Piper surpassed the nerdish woman's level of enthusiasm, though by her own standards, this behaviour was just normalcy. 

     Tiana took to a mild defensiveness, pursing her lips slightly with a faint--yet playful--consternation. "I told you, she isn't a 'demon biker' Pie, stop calling her that," she urged, "Like I've told you, she's actually really nice." 

     Piper caught a cheeto in her gaping maw and crunched on it loudly. "Does she ride a motorcycle?" she quizzed through her chewing, to which Tiana reluctantly drew out her vocals, "Yeahh...?" A clear lack of understanding for the query's relevancy reflected through her testing tone. Rain watched the pink-haired lass then pop in another puffed bite of cheddar before prodding further, "And she wears a leather jacket with a flaming devil-horned skull?" 

     Tiana hesitated through rotations of an open and then closed pair of lips, and then began, "Yes, but Piper, that has nothing to do wi--"

     "DEMON BIKER!" Piper accused jauntily, her curls bouncing as she lurched towards Tiana from accross Rain's freshly wiped counter-top, pressing into its edge. At the other end of the surface, Tiana rolled her eyes, and spun to face Rain, who was--one by one--removing stacks of solo cups and cardboard plates from a plastic Dollarama bag placed atop the stove. 

     Rain braced for the egghead to request her backup on the matter--which she had placed herself in no position to fulfill--but the doorbell rescued her. "Someone's here!" she announced jumpily and limped over to the entrance to her dorm, wishing she could sprint across and glide on her socks like she used to.  She fit her fingers over the handle and pulled open the door--Fae, Rachel and AJ stood between its frame like a picture, all with grins twinkling in pre-party jitters. 

     Dashie's eyes fell upon the cowgirl first, studying her as though they were meeting for first time. AJ wore a forest-green dress which was belted around the waist, complimenting her figure--and especially her eyes--quite alluringly. She had apparently opted out of crowning herself with her iconic cattleman. Unlike usual, her flaxen hair was tamed only with a brush, not coiled into the braids Dash had grown so accustomed to seeing her in. 

     Rain was brave enough now to--at least internally--admit to her fervid doting for the girl. She was both relieved and mortified at her agency on the rooftop the other night, but if she were to be honest, she hadn't even fully registered the whole ordeal yet. It was complicated. There were still so many additional questions that had been left un-asked, and due to the guilt which had ruptured through her skin and sown its seeds as a result of Rain's less-than-ideal behaviour prior to her and AJ's resolution, the athlete was--for once--quite reluctant to answer to her own impatience and prod further. She had put the farmer through more than enough already. And besides, it would be crazy awkward to outright ask something of AJ that she knew would be declined. 

       So, what Rain had attempted the other night at Earthquest, was asking the freckled blonde indirectly; that is, she had covertly alluded to the truth of her secret. Though, she still wasn't sure whether the cowgirl had taken the hint--nor was she sure whether she even wanted her to. An idealization of fearlessness alongside furthering her relationship with AJ was what had driven the jock, but mousey, disturbingly deplorable fears had obstructed her abilities. What a paradox it was: the distress surrounding the act of self-conviction. Was it more loser-ish to stifle feelings behind bulwarks, or to get right into the mushy-gushy stuff and confess outright? 

     The athlete blinked herself back into the current time-sphere as Rachel and Fae took turns greeting her with friendly hugs and salutations. AJ wrapped a single arm around her shoulders in a half-hug, and said, "Hey, Dashie," before continuing past her into the kitchen behind the others.