Vulnerable [Frollie]

Prologue

Frankie remembers the first time she saw Mollie like it was yesterday. It was September, and really warm. She was minding her own business, walking back to her dorm. She was looking down at her phone, distracted; when she glanced up to make sure she wouldn’t walk into someone. Her eyes locked on a girl, slowly ambling towards her, chatting to some girl with black hair. Frankie stopped, eyes unable to move off this girl’s face, her pink lips and her eyelashes and the way the light fell on her hair to make it shine just so, and dear god, the way her perfect lips curved up into a grin that lit up her already glowing face… Frankie was paralyzed. She had to have her. Frankie shook her head, forcing the thought out of her brain. No, she did not. She didn’t even know her name. She’d never seen her before and besides, what would a gorgeous girl like her want with a worthless kid like Frankie, anyway?

But Frankie kept seeing her. She would be doing something completely normal, not thinking about the girl at all, absolutely not, and boom; there she would be, standing in front of her. Her hair perfectly tousled and her cheeks flushed a light pink, and her sea blue eyes sparkling in the mischievous way Frankie had grown to recognize on her. Frankie would stare, entranced by the tinkling sound of the girl’s laugh, the way she threw her head back and grinned, until she realized she was staring and would walk away, shaking her head. She had to know her name.

It was two weeks later; the eighth time Frankie saw her that she knew she had to do something about it. So she waited until the girl was done talking to the black haired girl that Frankie was beginning to know from her Physiology class. After she walked away, and Frankie tried desperately hard not to stare at her ass as it sauntered away, that Frankie approached the kid.

“Hey, Rochelle?” she called, hesitantly. Rochelle turned, confusion on her face until she recognized Frankie.

“Oh, hey Frankie! What’s up?” she grinned, and Frankie smiled. Easy enough.

“Er.. I know this is a bit weird, but what’s that girl’s name? The one you were just talking to?”

“Mollie?” Rochelle asked, and Frankie turned the name over in her head. Mollie. Frankie nodded and Rochelle smiled, “Mollie King.” Frankie thanked her and left, headed back to her dorm. Mollie. Mollie King. Mollie, Mollie, Mollie King. Mystery girl had a name.

And it was perfect.

It was a few short weeks later when Frankie bumped into Mollie again, but this time she actually bumped into her. At the time, Frankie had laughed at how cliché it was that she had actually walked into Mollie, but was soon distracted by Mollie’s warm hand on her arm asking her if she was okay. Yes, Frankie wanted to tell her, she was okay, she was so much more than okay but she instead she smiled and introduced herself, and soon as Frankie heard Mollie’s name roll of her tongue, she knew she had to hear more things come off that tongue.

And so she did.

Frankie remembers the first time Mollie kissed her like it was yesterday. It was the morning after a particularly bad night, when the nightmares and flashbacks were too much for Frankie, and Mollie noticed as soon as she came to her dorm to pick her up so they could walk to their classes together. She had taken Frankie’s hand and pulled her to a little cafe on campus, and they talked for hours and everything came out. Frankie confessed to Mollie about her stepfather. She shared everything with Mollie, and it was the first time she’d really come out and say it, confess to everything that her stepfather used to do to her. Mollie sat there and took it, took it as Frankie cried, got angry and got sad, got scared and got embarrassed. She held Frankie’s hands in hers and when Frankie was finally done she wiped away her tears and asked Frankie if she could kiss her, and Frankie said yes. And she did.

Frankie remembers the first time Mollie told her she loved her. Again, it was after a particularly bad night, and they lay sprawled across each other on the campus green in the pale yellow light of morning, and Mollie said it so quietly Frankie almost didn’t hear. And Frankie cried because it was the first time in her life someone told her they loved her. It was the first time she was ever loved, and Mollie cried because that broke her heart. But she held Frankie and kissed away her tears and told her how strong she was and how proud of her she was and just how much she loved her, and that she would love her for the rest of her life

And so far, she has.