Gossip Column (Carmilla Fanfic)

Chapter 9

After their fight on the day following Carmilla's concert, Laura and Danny had not talked to each other. Deciding to extend the olive branch and end this silly fight, Laura asked Danny to meet her for pie after work on a Wednesday.

"Hey Hollis, how are you?" Danny said, joining Laura at her booth.

"Hey Danny! I'm fine. How are you?"

"I'm fine too." She answered.

They were interrupted by the waiter that came to take their orders. When he left, there was a brief uncomfortable silence until Danny started speaking.

"Look, Laur, I'm sorry about that day. I think I overreacted, and it wasn't really my place to tell you what to do. It's just that I worry about you."

"It's okay Danny. But really, you can't go on trying to tell me what to do with my life. I can take care of myself. I'm an adult and I'm entitled to make my own choices."

"You're right, I'm sorry." Danny said, looking down at her hands at the table.

"Hey" Laura took Danny's hands in hers so that she would look up again. "I appreciate that you worry about me and want to take care of me, really, I do. But I already have a dad to do that. You don't have to do it too. Just being my friend and supporting me and helping if I ask for help is more than enough."

Danny smiled at that and got up from the booth, putting Laura up too and giving her a bone-crushing hug. Laura disentangled herself from her friend laughing.

"You and Kirsch really need to stop with these hugs before you send me to the hospital." She said.

Danny just grinned at her and they sat back down to eat their pies that the waiter had just brought over.

"So, I've noticed a lack of news about you on the newspaper. Seems like punk girl was right, after all." The tall ginger said.

"Yes, although I'm not sure it's really over yet."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, she is on tour so the universe didn't really have any chance to play another trick on us these last few weeks. I don't know what will happen when Carm is back." Laura said.

"Carm?" Danny questioned, eyebrows raised. "What? Are you friends with her now?" She said, her voice had an edge to it that brought Laura's defenses back up.

"Yes, I am her friend. We've been talking, or rather, texting. She is a really nice person."

Danny snorted.

"Nice? Come on, Laura. That girl has "trouble" written on her face. Didn't you google her? Didn't you read about what happened with her ex..."

Laura cut Danny off at this point.

"Stop right there Danny." She said angrily. "We've just talked about this and you're doing it again. Don't tell me who to be friends with, you don't know Carmilla so don't judge her."

"But Laura, she is not a good person, it was all over the news..."

"No" Laura said, putting her hands up to stall Danny. "I don't want to know. You know how I hate gossip and I think that what happened to me should serve us as an example not to believe what we read in gossip columns. I don't want to know what they published about her, if she wants to tell me about it, she will. I want to learn about her and her life from her, no one else." She stopped to take a deep breath. "You know I'm a curious person Danny, I didn't become a journalist by chance. But I have my values and I believe in speaking the truth to people, and that's not what usually happens when it comes to gossip."