Ready? Not Really.. (Fem USUK) •IN EDITING•

Alice

a/n
guys I've written this chapter so many times I just give up.
it all is much better in my head
I'll probably post an entire little drabble of just shit that I've cut out from this story cause there is a LOT
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Amelia showed up at my door the next morning with bright eyes and good intentions.
"What the hell are you even doing?" I asked, rubbing my eye with the heel of my palm. It was probably eight in the morning, and yet here she was, fully awake. "Why are you here?"
She shrugged and smiled cheerfully. "I dunno. I woke up early and thought maybe you'd want to, like, get coffee and start to move your stuff into my room?"
I squinted.
Was she serious? I was still in my pyjamas. Hell, I wasn't even wearing a bra! I crossed my arms over my chest self consciously.
"Why did you actually get up this early?" I asked. There was no way she just bounced awake. I could see remnants of circles under her eyes.
"...Nightmare."
"I figured."
Amelia smiled sheepishly. "So, you up for it?"
Up for driving around with the girl I was in love with and moving all of my shit into the room I was supposed to share with her?
"Sure."
"Awesome," Amelia said as I looked up at her. She looked beautiful, as usual, and she didn't even try. Her hair was pulled up in a bun that kept falling down and she was wearing a school shirt and sweatpants, yet she was still the prettiest person I'd ever seen. "You know I don't mind taking you."
My throat felt tight. "I suppose it'll be good for us."
"Well if you 'suppose,' then I think we should do it!" She beamed. "It'll be fun!"
I rolled my eyes. "Alright. Just don't expect me to pay for your gas."
Amelia just laughed, grabbed her keys from her lanyard, and dragged me along behind her.
I don't think anything could ever possibly dampen her mood.
~•~•~•~
Amelia's car was just as shitty as you'd expect it to be.
It was a piece of junk with the paint peeling off and the leather on the centre consul scratched up. An old fast food bag was on the floor of the passenger's side, and an orange order number she'd stolen from a Whataburger restaurant was hanging from her mirror.
"You're a slob," I said.
"Eh." I was about to open my door, but Amelia came up behind me and put her hand on the handle, pulling the door open for me.
I glanced up at her, my face heating up. "I can open doors by myself," I said. I prayed that it wasn't totally obvious that I was flustered. Who even opened doors for other people anymore? I know people used to do that for their partners, but then why the hell was Amelia doing it?
"It's my car. I can do whatever I want." Amelia looked slightly embarrassed as well, her eyebrows scrunched together and her eyes wide. Her knuckles were white where they were wrapped around the door handle. "Just get in the goddamned car, Alice."
I decided to just do what she said.
She didn't even let me close it on my own. But soon enough, she was in the driver's seat, buckling herself up, and that was the end to that conversation.
I wrinkled my nose. It smelled like old French fries and perfume. Not the best combination. "Do you ever even clean your car?"
Amelia raised her eyebrows. "I'm lucky to even have this thing, man. I had to beg my mom for a year and a half to buy me a car."
I rolled my eyes. "Well you should fucking clean it. It smells."
She glared at me from the corner of her eye and started the engine. "You should be grateful we aren't walking."
It was times like that I wished I had my own vehicle. My parents had told me I would have to work and get money for my own car if I really wanted it. They wanted to teach me responsibility or whatever. Instead, they just taught me how to get rides and hitchhike occasionally.
Hey, cars were expensive!
"You're an asshole," I said simply, leaning back in my seat as Amelia pulled out of the student parking lot and onto the street. As soon as the car was out of reverse, her hand found its way into mine. I couldn't help but melt at her touch. She had never said why she held my hand, but I hoped it was for the same reason I held hers. Her fingers twined with mine. I probably should've been worried if she was a good enough driver to navigate the car with one hand, but my brain wasn't exactly functioning at that moment.
A pop song came on the radio with a horrendous beat and too much autotune. I reached forward to turn it off, but Amelia slapped my hand away.
"Dude, I love this song! What the hell is wrong with you?"
I wrinkled my nose. "Your music taste is awful. Get your hearing checked." I tried once more to turn the volume down, but Amelia immediately blocked the knob. "I swear to god-" She laughed at my pain. Asshole.
"It's a good song!"
"It's just about big asses or whatever! I don't give a fuck about the size of some girl's ass!"
Amelia rolled her eyes and grinned, not bothering to argue as she turned a corner. I wanted to punch her, but instead I decided to just turn my back to her. It was probably a better choice than injuring the driver of a moving vehicle.
~•~•~•~
By ten, we had our caffeine, and I was semi-awake.
Amelia stood beside me in her- soon to be our- room. One hand was holding her coffee cup, and the other was tangled in her hair. "I dunno, Ally," she said. "I have so much shit. Where the hell are you going to sleep?"
I raised my eyebrows. She was definitely telling the truth. There was stuff pushed up against the wall where I was supposed to be living. Amelia's current roommate had disappeared off planet earth, so her bed wasn't even made and instead just had some of Amelia's clothes on it as well. "You do realise I own my own things?" I picked up a pair of underwear from the other bed and flicked it across the room with a grimace. It wasn't fucking clean. "Like, a lot of my own things."
She shot me a glare. "Well if you've had a room all to yourself..."
I narrowed my eyes. "Well if every single girl at the school didn't know I was lesbian as they do now, we wouldn't even be in this situation." Amelia flinched away from me. Alright, low blow, but I was telling the truth. "Sorry," I mumbled half-heartedly after a moment.
"'S alright." She shoved her hands in her pockets and kicked at the floor, not looking me in the eye. "I'll clean your side up for you, if you need me to."
"Thanks."
"Uh huh."
After a few beats, she leaned down and pressed a kiss on my forehead. I felt my body grow tense under her touch. What was she doing? What even went on in her head? All I could feel were her heated lips and her eyelashes fluttering against my skin. Since she was taller, I felt a little small in her wake. She towered over me by a few inches, and while I usually hated the height difference, I couldn't help but feel protected during the rare times she acted tender and caring.
My legs trembled. I wanted her. More than just a kiss to the cheek or her hand brushing against mine. I wanted, wanted, wanted her. She had to be mine.
The whole thing lasted a few seconds, but it felt so much longer. Amelia stepped away, and I swear her cheeks had turned so much redder than before. "Um," she began. "We can start moving your stuff in this afternoon, I guess. I'll clean up your side."
I nodded weakly. "Okay."
We stood in the exact same spot for a second.
Amelia smiled down at me. "You know that means you can leave?"
"Fuck!" I blurted. "Yeah! Sorry!" I was such an idiot! "I'll, uh, do that." I spun on my heel and started to walk to her door, but I froze when I felt a touch on my back. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Amelia's hand outstretched to usher me out.
"Sorry," she said quietly.
"It's fine."
As soon as we were in the hallway, she enveloped me in her arms. That took me by surprise. The whole hand holding and kissing thing was weird enough, but she never hugged me. I knew girl friends- err, female friends did that often, but we weren't really friends, were we? Only recently had we started to actually talk to each other. None of it made sense. I didn't know what to think. She couldn't like me, could she? What was even likeable about me? Nothing I could think of.
"I'm glad we're going to be roommates," she murmured.
I just nodded.
She backed away a few steps, still holding onto my shoulders, and smiled sheepishly. "See you later, okay?"
I nodded again.
I didn't think much of it at the time, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Amelia zoom over to her bed and fiddle with the mattress, lifting it up and checking under it.
Strange.
Then again, what wasn't strange around this school?