Alex walked quickly down the hall. She decided this morning--when she'd seen Kara's happy face--that it was the last day she'd let herself feel guilty about Maggie. She stood on her tiptoes and looked over people. She took a corner awful fast and skidded to a halt just as the person she was about to run into did the same.
Maggie's hand fell away from her face, staring up at Alex in awe. Suddenly, the fear that had been telling her to stay away from this woman began to seep back into Alex's mind.
"Danvers," Maggie breathed and Alex blinked, eyelids fluttering slightly.
"Maggie," She replied.
They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Alex knew the bell was going to ring soon. She couldn't give less of a damn.
"I should probably..." Maggie began, but unable to pull her eyes away, she barely took a step.
Alex swallowed and nodded vigorously, "Yeah, right, you should."
"Yeah..." Maggie said, in a daze.
She wanted to tell Alex how beautiful her eyes were. She wanted to go back and forget her words, rewind and start all over. Standing here, in front of this beautiful girl, she wanted to kiss her. She wanted to know the way her lips tasted and the way her hands felt; wanted to know the spaces between her fingers, no matter how corny that was.
"Oh, well," Maggie looked down and started to walk past, "I, uh, gotta go--"
"--Maggie, wait," Alex began, "I, uh, I just wanted to, uh," She swallowed and searched for words, watching her hands as they quivered at her sides.
"Danvers?" Maggie raised an eyebrow, "I have to--I have to go--"
"--Oh! Oh, yeah, right, sorry, go, I'll, uh, I'll just um," She scratched the back of her head, "we'll talk later?"
"I, well, I don't really know if there's anything to talk about," Maggie said slowly, suddenly seeming very uncomfortable.
"Maggie, please." Alex begged and Maggie held her tongue. "When we were dancing, I just... I got suddenly overwhelmed. I've been thinking a lot lately about my--my sexuality, and I just felt so uncertain--like--like maybe the things I felt weren't real, or that somehow it would end badly, or that for some reason we'd get hurt. I realize now that I just ended up self-sabotaging the only relationship that has made me feel this--this way."
Maggie looked back and forth between her eyes and blushed, "I... I feel it too."
"So then," Alex's face began to light up, "is it crazy for us to try again?"
"I--" Maggie swallowed, "--I I don't know if that's a good idea, Alex."
"Why?" Alex asked desperately.
Maggie looked down, wiping her nose again. "You're not--" She swallowed, "--I don't think you're ready to be in a relationship yet, Alex--and that's okay--"
"--No, no, I am," Alex said and Maggie sighed.
"Alex," She ran a hand through her hair, the bell ringing over their heads, "I said a lot of unfair things the other day," she said softly, both of them ignoring or just not noticing the signal to get to class, "And, I... I don't think I can possibly apologize enough for the pressure and stress I put you under. But you were thinking about everyone else over us. You may have been also thinking about all those other, very valid, very important--and frankly relatable--things, but you were still thinking about how we were in public and that you weren't ready for people to know your sexuality. Which is understandable! Sexuality it is--for some people--a very private, and personal thing, and I totally understand that. It's perfectly fine to be in a relationship and want to keep it under wraps. I should not have made you feel bad about that."
