The Basketcase and The Princess

CHAPTER 5

"Do you want your scarf?"

"I want to-"

"Do you want your scarf?" Aubrey spoke slow. With purpose. Ignoring what Stacie had said.

Stacie's eyes bore into her own. Aubrey returned the gaze, unfaultered. Strong.

If she could convince Stacie she didn't care, maybe, just maybe she could convince herself. She had saw Stacie as a random one time hook-up. And somewhere, really quickly, it had turned into more. For her. Clearly not for Stacie. So she wouldn't care. Wouldn't let herself care. Or want more. Nope.

"I-"

"I thought you were gonna ring me, but that didn't happen." Aubrey blinked. Slow. She forced her gaze to stay strong. "Are you still in?" A loaded question. Aubrey swore to herself that she wasn't even going to mention that Stacie hadn't called her. But it just slipped out. She shouted at herself to get it together in her head.

Weakness.

She didn't want to care about that. She didn't want Stacie to know she cared. Because she didn't. She hadn't even noticed that Stacie hadn't called. Like. At. All.

Whatever.

Keep telling yourself that. Maybe it'll become true. Repeat a lie long enough.

Right?

Wrong.

Aubrey clenched her jaw.

Prevent another tirade of words she didn't want to exist. Chin tilted a little high, she stood shorter than Stacie but she wanted to be able to look down at her. Look aloof. Strong. Always strong.

"I want to take you out tonight." Stacie's tone determined. Undeterred. Her eyes softened as she blinked and held the word sorry. A small smile, the muscles in her face were pulling to smile wide at Aubrey. At how cute an unravelling Aubrey was. She held the muscles tight. She didn't want Aubrey thinking she was mocking her.

In any way.

Aubrey saw the small smile pulling at Stacie's lips though. And she did think this was a joke to Stacie. It stabbed a pain in her chest, she needed to be gone. Now.

Aubrey pushed the scarf down into Stacie's hand. She couldn't help her hand resting in Stacies for a beat too long, but the rush she felt made her light headed. Oxygen gone? Too much oxygen flooding the blood pumping through her? Either way she felt wrong. Not wrong. Different.

Stacie caught, and smirked at the way she saw Aubrey's lip tremble at their brief contact. She loved having an effect like this on Aubrey. Strong Aubrey going weak. Because of her.

"Take it." Aubrey took her hand away and walked past Stacie. Again composed. Head high, shoulders back.

Strong.

Always strong.

"I'll pick you up at 8." Stacie called over at Aubrey who had caught up to Chloe, linked her arm and was leaving the auditorium.

"You got a date tonight, Blondie?" Fat Amy asked. Aubrey didn't respond. Clutched onto Chloe. Chloe could always ground her. Make her feel. Right.

Chloe felt the way her friends fingers tightened on her forearm. She hadn't seen her friend act like this around anyone since one year at camp and she'd gotten all overly girly and giggly about a camp counsellor called Jayne. But only to her. When Aubrey had been anywhere near Jayne she had been all aloof, like he would even notice. Or care.

Stacie smirked. So Aubrey was pissed because she hadn't rang her, but it had been like a day, and Stacie knew they would see each other at rehearsals, which they had. So why the big deal? It had been awkward enough for Stacie to fit in todays rehearsal around one of her classes. Stacie had to make the time up in the lab tomorrow for skipping out on it today. But it was worth it to see Aubrey. Even if it hadn't gone so well. It had gone fantastic. Yeah Aubrey was pissed at her now, but that was a strong emotional reaction. And a strong reaction, good or bad, was always good. It meant Aubrey cared.