Gossip Column (Carmilla Fanfic)

Chapter 19

Danny was right, Danny was right. Carmilla was just playing with me. I should have listened to my friend and stayed away from Carmilla. Of course a girl like her would never be serious about me, who was I kidding?

Laura was walking aimlessly after hurrying away from Carmilla's apartment. She was getting weird looks from people on the streets because of her overflow of tears, but she didn't care. All she could think about was how she was planning on telling Carmilla that she loved her and how much she would probably have laughed at Laura for that. However, other, unwanted, thoughts were intruding on her mind. Thoughts of Carmilla's soft smile as she looked at her babbling about a new article she was writing; thoughts of flower bouquets and closed restaurants; thoughts of the sound of carefree laughter when Laura did something dorky; thoughts of stars and a voice whispering their secrets in her ears. Laura couldn't believe that all of that had been just a game, Carmilla must be an exceptional actor in addition to being a great musician.

Laura wanted to believe that everything had been real for Carmilla too, that she felt all the things Laura had felt every time they were together, or simply texting one another. But she had heard Carmilla herself say that it was all a game, and she believed it. She believed it because Carmilla had never talked about her feelings, she had never even called Laura her girlfriend, which, she recognized, was a bit unfair of her to blame the singer since she was guilty of the same omissions. But Laura had never said it was a game, Carmilla had.

After walking for a long time, Laura found herself standing in front of Perry and Lafontaine's place. Her subconscious must have guided her to the friends she knew she needed more than ever right now. When LaFontaine opened the door they were excited to see Laura.

"Hey L. Finally gave in to the gossipers uh?" they laughed and then stopped abruptly when they noticed Laura's face. They pulled Laura inside the apartment before asking, "What's wrong Laura?"

Laura opened and closed her mouth but no words came out. Instead a fresh flow of tears started falling down her face. She threw herself at her friend and let the tears run their course while LaFontaine tried to calm her down. By the time she managed to control her crying, Perry had joined them, looking very worried at Laura's distress.

"Do you want some hot chocolate and cookies?" she asked.

Laura nodded, trying to clean her face from the remaining tears. LaFontaine guided her to the sofa, where they sat in silence while Perry prepared the hot chocolate for Laura. When the journalist had had a sip of her warm drink and a bite of a chocolate chips cookie, she finally started telling her friends what had happened while Perry and LaFontaine shared worried glances.

"Look L, I know that it seems like Carmilla is a bitch that was just using you." Laf said, "But maybe you should try to talk to her. We don't know what really happened, maybe she has an explanation for all of this."

"What else could she say to make it more clear LaF?" Laura spat, bitterly. "I heard her saying I'm just a game for her."

"Sweety, she must have had a reason to say those things." Perry interfered, "I'm not saying it was right of her, but you should give her a chance to explain. Remember, communication can solve a lot of problems."

"Yeah, you're right. Communication." Laura laughed humorlessly, "If she'd told me from the start what this was all about maybe I could have kept my heart safe."

"I'm sorry L." LaFontaine said, 'But I think Perry is right, you have to talk to her. Someone that closes a goddam restaurant just to have dinner with you doesn't strike me as someone just playing a game. She is famous, rich, hot, she could get anyone she wanted with a lot less trouble than she had with you."