concordia

twenty four

word count: 2.5k

date written: 5.8.19

verse: canon-divergence; fix-it

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she'd been backed into the very recesses of a corner, pressed against the wall with no way out and no choice but to swallow her pride. things were falling apart quicker than connie could ever hope to salvage them, and she was playing fire with time as it ran between her fingers like sand. she needed help, and there was only one person left for her to turn to.

or so she'd thought. 

stood at the end of elle's street, she wasn't quite so sure anymore. after the things she'd said and done to her, why would elle help her now? she had more of a right than anyone to slam the door in her face, but connie knew that if she was ever going to come out of this mess with even a shred of life left in her, she at least had to try. 

so she took a deep breath, swallowed her nerves and pride and everything else that was fighting to convince her to turn around, and walked up the path to elle's house. 

she didn't know what she was expecting. or what she was hoping for, really. if elle turned her away, connie knew it would be the final straw. the thread she'd been hanging on by would break even quicker than her heart, and she wasn't sure what she might do when she truly had nothing left to lose. 

she paused at the edge of the driveway, feeling even smaller than usual in the shadow of elle's house. it had been weeks since she'd last seen her -- maybe even a month, she hadn't been able to keep track -- but the last real thing she'd to elle was still scored fresh into her memory. 

"in what twisted little universe are you and i friends?" 

she grimaced, forcing herself to approach the front door despite wanting nothing more than to walk away. she almost felt lost when she stopped on elle's doorstep, even though it was exactly where she needed to be, and raised a trembling hand. she shook her head when she hesitated and knocked several times before she could change her mind. panic settled in immediately -- she hadn't thought she'd get this far -- and when the door opened, her heart stopped dead. 

elle was the same as ever, wild curls and dark lips, unchanged from weeks gone by except she now looked as though she'd seen a ghost. connie had missed her when she'd gone, slowly descending into despair and self-destructing beyond control in her absence, but it was only now they were face-to-face again that she realized just how much. 

"i'm sorry," she blurted out before elle could slam the door in her face, staring up at her with wide eyes. she'd always gone to great lengths to hide her vulnerability in the past, but it had finally broken free of its shackles. if anybody was ever going to see her like this, it was always going to be elle. "for what i said. what i did. i-" she cut herself off when her breath caught in her chest, already able to feel the familiar sting of tears forming in her eyes as the emotions she'd spent months bottling up suddenly descended upon her like a kettle of hungry vultures. 

she closed her eyes, trying to steady her breathing before she panicked completely, but jumped sharply when elle placed a hand on her arm without warning a moment later. she immediately withdrew it, looking guilty, and wordlessly held out her hand instead. it was an open invite, free of judgement, and connie knew it was more than she ever deserved. it was only natural that she hesitated, nervously pausing several times before she finally took elle's hand.