He's here, the Phantom of the Opera!

The response Astrid gave her genuinely surprised her. She raised one eyebrow and let an amusing smile play on her lips. “I never heard that one before. I’m flattered, but I don’t swing that way. Plus, I’m sure there’s someone else that you would rather kiss.” Stephanie threw Astrid a playful wink, feeling surprisingly at ease with Astrid’s exclamation of wanting to kiss her. It was entertaining to watch how Astrid then came into a fit of hysterical laughter at her own words. She didn’t question it, it was probably some sort of joke on Astrid’s end that Stephanie didn’t get. “Exactly. All you have to do is give her the space and time to read it. Don’t pressure her into reading it and don’t mention anything about the letter either. Otherwise she will still feel pressured.” She smiled softly.

“Yeah, it’s not only good for Brooklyn, but also for yourself. It’s not good to keep everything inside, it helps to write it out on paper and say everything you want.” Stephanie spoke from experience. She had kept a diary for a few months after Emily’s father left her and wrote all the thoughts she had at the moment. It helped her deal with stuff in some way. The brunette leaned forward and hugged Astrid gently, slowly rubbing her back as she did so. “Oh, you don’t have to. It’s kind of my second job to listen to complaints and give advice around here. Sometimes I feel like the mother figure around here, y’know?” She joked, pulling away from the blonde before the hug got too long and would turn awkward. “Besides that I think it would be much more fun if you took Brooklyn out for dinner. Don’t tell her, but I’m already shipping you two.” Stephanie chuckled.

Astrid had her serious doubts on the matter of Stephanie’s sexuality, but now wasn’t the time or place for that. (Well, okay, it was never the time and place to question someone’s sexuality other than your own, but still. Now was especially not the time for that.) Instead, she just gave other two finger guns and a wink, complete with a smile that was even halfway on its way to being sincere. “Sure, sure. Just don’t come complaining when you realize that you missed a golden opportunity,” she joked. And it really was a joke, she realized. Her feelings for Stephanie were — well, okay, more than a little complicated, but when she compared them to how she felt for Brooklyn? There was no comparison. She just hadn’t let herself think about it.

Still, the other woman’s hug was warm and appreciated, and she was a little sorry when she finally pulled away. When she made a shipping comment, she groaned. “Please tell me I won’t find graphic real person fic in your files if I look,” she said. “But no, seriously. Thank you.” She squeezed Stephanie one more time before letting go. And after Stephanie left, she got to work. She typed things out in the notes on her phone so that she wouldn’t waste too much paper. Once she was finished, she grabbed a pen and paper and wrote:

Brooklyn,

I’m not mad or upset with you. I sort of wanted to get that out of the way first. I get that what happened between us is confusing, and I want you to know that I’m not expecting anything from you. Whatever you need me to be to you, I’ll be that. If you need me to be your friend, I’ll be the best damn friend you ever had. If you need me to be something more, I’ll be that, too. If you want to try at something more and then decide we’re better off friends, I’ll be totally 100% fine with that, no hesitation. If you need us to not be friends at all anymore ... that will hurt, of course it will. But I’ll do that for you, too. But what we’ve been doing, the way we dance around the topic, the way we can’t even hold conversations about the weather anymore ... I really don’t want to keep doing that. I do want some sort of answer. Even if that answer is an “I don’t know” or a “I need more time to think,” you know? Just some sort of step forward, something to break this horrible awful awkwardness between us because I HATE it.

I’m not going to come after you for an answer tonight, don’t worry. I’m going to give you your space all tomorrow, for as long as I can (we do have a show to do that night, eventually ...). But at 4 PM, I’m going to be at that pretty park we drove by in the tour bus. If you’re ready to talk, you can meet me there. If you aren’t ... I guess that’s sort of an answer, too? I don’t know. Ultimatums are shitty, and I don’t want you to feel like 4PM tomorrow is the ONLY TIME WE CAN TALK ABOUT THIS EVER, CASE CLOSED. It’s not. It’s not like I’m going to stop talking to you or being your friend if you don’t show up, but ...? I’d really like you to show up. Because I do want us to start moving past this. Whatever direction we go is totally up to you. As long as we’re going somewhere ... you know?

Stephanie raised both of her eyes at Astrid’s fustrated comments. That was not exactly what she was expecting from the blonde, but she understood that she was feeling frustrated. She listened to Astrid’s rant, nodding every once in a while to show her that she was still listening. She was feeling a bit at loss herself as well, how was she supposed to help when she had never gone through something similar? Yet, Stephanie felt responsible for helping the two girls. They were her friends after all. “Listen, I’ve got an idea. It might be a bit strange, but it’s just an idea. You don’t actually have to do such a thing if you don’t like it.” The brunette leaned forward and showed the dancer an apologetic smile, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly before leaning back in her seat.

“How about you write her a letter? Write everything you just said to me, tell her how you feel about this. Tell her that you don’t want to push her into anything, but that you’re there for her whenever she needs you. Maybe at the end you can ask her to meet you somewhere. Pick a place where you both feel comfortable and have some privacy so you can talk things through if she shows up. Leave the letter right here when you know she’s going to be alone in your dressing room.” She smiled softly. “Trust me, she will read it. Everyone would be curious if they found a letter adressed to them, that doesn’t exactly happen every day.” Of course there was still a possibility of Brooklyn not showing up if Astrid asked her to show up, but for some reason Stephanie thought Brooklyn would definitely show up. “A letter will give her time to read it and think things through. It won’t be as much of a confrontation than a real-life conversation and it’s a much better alternative than some lame text. A letter is more personal, you know?” She wasn’t expecting Astrid to agree with her, but Stephanie was just trying to give her a nudge in the right direction.

Astrid wasn’t really expecting Stephanie to have a solution. She didn’t want to ask one of her, because she knew she would be being unfair. She just wanted someone who would listen to her complain. So she was pleasantly surprised when Stephanie did come up with a solution. “Stephanie, I could literally kiss you right now.” She paused, then wrinkled her nose. “Whoo, poor choice of words.” A giddy, semi-hysterical laugh crawled up her throat, and she tried and failed to disguise it as a cough. But she did feel relieved. It felt like a relief to have something to do. “That’s a really good idea, is what I’m trying to say. You’re right, it will give her a chance to hear what I have to say and think about it without feeling like I’m waiting for her response or judging her or anything. It’s a really good idea.”

Stephanie nodded. Of course she could keep a secret. Astrid made it sound like something horrible had happened, like they had hidden a dead body. Now, Stephanie wasn’t sure what she was expecting to have happened, but when Astrid said that Brooklyn had kissed her, it all made sense. It took her some time to process everything that Astrid said to her. About losing Brooklyn in particular. It was something Stephanie couldn’t imagine happening. The two girls were inseparable, that’s why it stood out to Stephanie that lately they hadn’t been so close. “You won’t lose her, Astrid. Like you said, she’s your best friend. Best friends don’t leave each other like that, they stick around longer than you think. I bet she has at least thought of you ten times today. Wondering how you were feeling about what happened.” She spoke softly, a small smile on her face. She didn’t know what Brooklyn was thinking about everything that happened and that wasn’t making any of it easier.

“Maybe she’s taking some distance from you to give herself and you some time to think about what happened. Maybe she’s trying to protect your friendship.” The brunette crossed her legs, her hands resting on her knee. “You shouldn’t worry about being the one to apologize, you didn’t do anything wrong. It was her who kissed you first and it’s like an immediate reflex to kiss back. That’s not your fault. What matters is if you wanted to kiss her back or if it was indeed some sort of a reflex.” Her eyes scanned Astrid’s face for any sort of hint. “Personally, I think you should wait until she comes to you. Don’t try to push her into talking cause then it might frighten her. Try to keep the conversation light between you two, talk about the show, make-up or even the weather.” She let out a soft chuckle. The weather really was a lame subject to talk about. “But when she’s ready to talk, then let her know you’re there for her and that you’re not going anywhere. And that you respect any choice she decides to make, even if she wants to take some time off your friendship. I know it might be hard, but she needs to know that she can confide in you.”

Best friends don’t leave each other like that. “Except they do, Stephanie! I’ve had it happen, before ... Ugghhh!” She made a frustrated noise, burying her face in her hands, because she felt like she was just going to lose it and she needed to do something to vent that feeling that didn’t involve sobbing until she made herself sick. She hated crying, she could never stop once she started, so she tried to avoid it whenever she could. Even though she had sort of felt like crying ever since Brooklyn just decided to up and stop talking to her. She hated it, especially since they couldn’t just avoid something like you could avoid a drunken hookup in college. Not that she wanted Brooklyn to avoid her, because of course she didn’t. But that would almost be preferable to this awkward cold-shoulder stuff she was putting her through.

Stephanie had arrived early to make sure Matthew and Natasha got their costumes on time. She was positive that she was the only one at the theater…until she heard a loud whine as she passed Brooklyn and Astrid’s dressing room. She curiously raised an eyebrow and turned her head around the corner to see what was up. It was Astrid. And it looked like she was throwing a tantrum the same way Emily did. Stephanie found it surprisingly entertaining until Astrid stated that she needed to talk to someone. Despite it being entertaining to see how Astrid throwed a tantrum, Stephanie was still a mother and cared about everyone of the cast. Astrid being one of the few that she cared most about. 

“Yes, of course!” the brunette quickly replied, stepping inside the girls’ dressing room and closing the door behind her. She had nothing else to do anyway and even if she did, Astrid would come first. “What’s going on?” the woman sat down in Brooklyn’s chair that was close to Astrid’s, turning her body to face her friend. “Does it have something to do with Brooklyn?” She had noticed that Astrid and Brooklyn hadn’t been as close lately, in fact it seemed like there was some sort of tension between the two girls. Even though Stephanie didn’t like interfering with other people’s lives, she was still wearing her mom pants and wanted to help.

Astrid’s eyes widened as the other guessed Brooklyn right off the bat. She had been planning on keeping her friend’s name out of it -- she didn’t want to out Brooklyn to anyone or make the situation worse. But she knew that if she tried to step around it, Stephanie would see right through her. “That’s ... a complicated question,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. “But -- you can keep a secret, right? I just -- If Brooklyn finds out I told anyone, it might hurt her more. And I don’t want that. I’m not telling you to gossip or anything, I just -- I don’t know what to do, and I need someone with a level head. So, yeah. Just know that I don’t feel great about telling you this without her permission, and -- and keep that in mind. Definitely don’t tell her I told you or try and use this information when talking to her later. Just, entirely, pretend you don’t know. Even if you mean well, that’s just going to make things worse. If any good end is going to happen, Brooklyn needs to come to terms with it on her own, no nudges or anything like that.” She knew people who did that, and she didn’t want that for Brooklyn.

She sighed dramatically when Astrid told her she was disappointed. “You have such high expectations of me, how am I supposed to fulfill those?” She playfully stuck her tongue out at her friend. “I guess I could give you a lap dance.” Brooklyn sat up and settled in Astrid’s lap, her legs on either side of the dancer’s body and her head resting against the other girl’s shoulder. “But I’m not going to give you that satisfaction.” She whispered, her mouth close to Astrid’s ear. Their friendship came with a lot of laughter between them. Whenever Brooklyn had a rough day, Astrid always managed to put a smile back on her face. She was her best friend and Brooklyn couldn’t wish for a better one. Astrid was her person. Just like the two doctors on Grey’s Anatomy always said.

Brooklyn brought her hand up and played with Astrid’s hair absentmindedly as she got lost in thought. Thoughts that were about Astrid. How amazing she was and how lucky Brooklyn felt with having her as her best friend. She felt comfortable around her, she made Brooklyn feel loved like nobody had ever done. Even though they loved to tease each other, Brooklyn knew that at the end of the day they had each other’s backs. She admired it. She admired Astrid. In a moment of pure adoration for her best friend, Brooklyn sat up straight. She wrapped her arms around Astrid’s neck and blue eyes stared deeply into Astrid’s orbs. For some reason, Brooklyn leaned closer and her eyes flickered to perfectly shaped lips. She didn’t think about what she did next, she just did it. The blonde tilted her head a little and closed her eyes, leaning closer until her lips met Astrid’s. And for the first time in a long while, Brooklyn felt butterflies in her stomach.

At first, Astrid thought this was just the natural extension of trying to fluster her. Which, if it was, was totally working. Her brain pretty much short-circuited the second Brooklyn’s lips touched hers, so that she couldn’t even react. But then, she realized that this wasn’t just a playful peck meant to tease. This was a kiss. A real kiss. Brooklyn was kissing her.

... Alright, then.

“Steak can be great though! I’d rather have a good steak than a horrible dessert, if you catch my meaning.” She threw her friend a wink, a chuckle escaping past her lips. Brooklyn felt comfortable like this. Her and Astrid sharing a room, complaining about men and sharing the worst sexual innuendos. Of course, that’s basically what they did in their dressing rooms, but there was always the idea of someone eavesdropping while they could speak freely in a hotel room. As long as they didn’t start shouting, because then chances would be high that one of them would be placed with someone else. Their director had warned the two of them before. They had been laughing too loud and disturbed other cast and crew members by doing so. Brooklyn and Astrid had promised to be less loud, but they couldn’t help it that they were having the best times of their lives while sharing a room.

Brooklyn groaned dramatically when Astrid said it wasn’t going to work. “What am I supposed to do now? It was my only plan…” she let herself fall forward, her forehead resting against Astrid’s shoulder and her arms just hanging beside her body. The actress dramatically slumped down Astrid’s body until her head was resting in the other girl’s lap, her ankles hanging off the edge of the bed and her shirt riding a bit up her stomach, her bare skin showing. “I might as well die now in the arms of the only person I have ever loved. Hold me, Romeo! Don’t let your precious Julliet die like this, hold her one last time.” Somehow, she managed not to burst out in laughter. Instead she put on her most dramatic facial expression, placing the back of her hand against her forehead. “Please…” Brooklyn whispered, her blue eyes staring up at Astrid.

“Girl, I feel you.” She loved sex as much as the next person, sure, but that didn’t mean that was all there was to the relationship. Why else would people talk about how fun the beginning of the relationship was? That was when you were really getting to know each other, connecting with each other on a real level. Like how she and Brooklyn were always learning new things about each other! It was just as important as doing anything physical. Astrid always did her best to communicate and have fun with her partners on top of giving physical affection when they wanted it. That sometimes led to her putting way more work into the relationship, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

After the few weeks of touring Astrid was the one person Brooklyn had spent the most time with. Not only did they share a dressing room, they also went out for coffee together, hung out after the show, went for walks together and now they even shared a room. It almost felt like they were dating. They cuddled as much as they could and flirted with each other as well. Brooklyn had heard people whisper about her friendship with Astrid behind her back, but Brooklyn knew better than them. She and Astrid were best friends, nothing more. In fact, the dancer had a crush on Stephanie and Brooklyn couldn’t be happier for her. She even teased her about it, but deep inside there was a slight sense of jealousy. Why couldn’t Brooklyn be the one to find love? She needed someone in her life to show her that relationships were fun and filled with love, not with her crying herself to sleep almost every night and feeling miserable. There was no doubt in her mind that the person who got to date Astrid would be the luckiest person in the world. Brooklyn felt blessed with a friend like her.

The actress stared at the wall as she listened to Astrid explaining what it was like to kiss a girl. “Guys want one thing only and that’s sex. They kiss you because it leads to sex and that really frustrates me. They need to keep it in their pants. A kiss is meant to show love and yeah, it can be passionate but you know….at least to me sex shouldn’t be the real reason behind a kiss.” Brooklyn said quietly, her hands resting in her lap. She smiled a bit when Astrid told her that she was biased. “I know you’re biased, babe. I know your fantasies about Steph, about how much you want to kiss her.” The blonde pulled away from her friend, sitting on her knees and placing her hands on either side of Astrid’s waist. “As long as I’ll stay your number one like you said, I’ll ship it. If not….then I’ll tickle you to death.” Her lips formed into a smirk as she slowly dragged her fingers over the dancer’s waist, softly tickling her over her clothes.

Astrid snorted a little at Brooklyn’s analysis of men. “Right? It’s like rushing through a filet mignon to get to dessert. Like, I get it, dude, dessert is awesome, but why don’t you shut up and savor your steak for a second?” She was happy to go along with this -- this was what girls who were friends did, after all. They complained about men, can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em. Except Astrid ... Well, she could live without ‘em. And the more Brooklyn talked, the more it sounded like she could as well. Or was she reading too much into things? Was she getting her hopes up? Wait, no, she wasn’t hoping for Brooklyn to suddenly go for girls, ugh, that made her sound like some sort of anti-gay cliche. Or like one of those awful friendzoned dudebros, maybe. But ... If Brooklyn decided to explore that part of her sexuality ... she wouldn’t exactly be unhappy ...?

Brooklyn comfortably laid her head against Astrid’s shoulder, her arm loosely lying over the other girl’s stomach. There was something natural about the way they laid there. Brooklyn was used to being cuddled up against someone else, the guys she dated were all taller than her. Even though she was taller than Astrid, she was perfectly fine with lying just like this. “Well, you’ve got plenty of months to get used to this. Unless you’re going to get it on with Stephanie soon and share a room with her.” She teased, but deep inside there was a bit of jealousy. Whenever she was Astrid and Stephanie together, her stomach tightened. Brooklyn had tried to shrug it off, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

The actress looked up from her spot against Astrid’s shoulder, her bright eyes meeting the dancer’s. Her eyes - again - flickered between her lips and eyes, but this time she didn’t panic. Instead she wondered. She wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl, not necessarily Astrid, but a girl in general. “What’s it like to kiss a girl? Casper told me that it’s soft and gentle, but let’s be honest here. Surely girl on girl is different, right?” Brooklyn didn’t know what had washed over her. Of course she had thought about kissing a girl just to see what it would be like, but she had never spoken her thoughts out loud. She knew, or at least hoped, that Astrid wouldn’t judge her for being curious. “I’ve thought about trying it. Just for once. Like…I know I’m straight, but kissing a girl….that’s something everyone should try sometime. I guess. Or am I being weird again?” The blonde scrunched her nose up at her own words, pulling her arm away from the girl and instead just sitting next to Astrid in her embrace, her own hands fumbling with each other.

Astrid nuzzled her face into Brooklyn’s hair, grinning. “You know you’ll always be number one, babe,” she said. And she meant it. Relationships were important to her, but so were friendships. She wasn’t the type of girl who got a new partner and promptly forgot all of her friends existed until the inevitable breakup crying sessions. Maybe ... Maybe that was why it was so easy for her to shrug off the idea of Stephanie right now, as attractive as she was. Maybe it was a little pessimistic, but Astrid couldn’t see a future with the two of them in it. They’d be able to have fun, for awhile, but ... Stephanie couldn’t be her forever person. They were just too different. And usually that didn’t bother her -- Astrid was a live-in-the-moment kind of girl -- but it was sort of hard not to think about when she was pretty sure that she was holding her real forever person here, in her arms right now. Like ... like those two doctor BFFs on Grey’s Anatomy, or something. You know. Platonic forever people.

Brooklyn listened carefully to Astrid’s words, feeling bad that Astrid had gone through that stuff. She wasn’t going to make her suffer again. “Babe, I really have one line. As long as you don’t get grabby in intimate places, you’re good.” She smiled softly at Astrid’s next words. “And I don’t want to lose you either.” She gently rubbed Astrid’s shoulder for a short moment. “There’s nothing wrong with a bit of spooning, right? I mean….as long as you don’t snore and keep me awake all night while you sleep peacefully.” Brooklyn joked, playfully bumping her shoulder against Astrid’s. “And babe, you know I’m all-in for flirting and would definitely return the favor.” To prove her point, the blonde threw the other a wink. This night was supposed to be fun, like a sleep-over between two best friends. Except, they would sleep since there was a rehearsal the next day and they had to get their dressing rooms ready. “So, now that you know my line. What do you say about that cuddling?”

The actress crawled further upon the bed, still in her normal clothes, she could always change into her sleepshirt later. “What are you waiting for? Cuddle me!” She chuckled softly from her spot against the headboard. Brooklyn was glad that the mood between the two of them had lightened up. They could always talk to each other about serious matters and Brooklyn was glad that Astrid had told her about what had been bothering her. Yet, something still felt off. Probably on her own part. She had been the one who had stared at Astrid’s lips and had made the girl panic. She had no idea why she had done that. Maybe she had been too caught up in the moment. Maybe she was so desperate for love that Astrid seemed the right person in that moment. But Brooklyn was straight, she had never had feelings for a girl before and that would probably never happen. Her and Astrid were best friends. Being best friends came with rumors of being gay, especially when one of the two has a history with girls as well as boys. Brooklyn laughed about it, knowing very well that she and Astrid were nothing more than close friends. The people who saw more between them were wrong.

Astrid giggled, shaking her head. “Ain’t nothing wrong with a little cuddle sesh!” She sang out cheerfully. She was glad that the other was being so cool about all of this. it made it much easier for her to grab the comforter and fling it over the two of them, obligingly wrapping her arms around the other. Brooklyn was actually a little taller than her, which was unusual -- Astrid was pretty sure every girl she had ever dated had been shorter than her. But, still, it was in her instinct to take on the more “dominant” role, letting Brooklyn rest her head on her shoulder while Astrid sat propped up by pillows. Somehow, that was just what felt most comfortable.

Blue eyes followed the dancer’s movements around the room. Astrid seemed nervous, like something was going on and when she spoke up, it all made sense. She was worried about Brooklyn. Worried that she was getting too physical for Brooklyn’s liking. “Babe,” she held both of Astrid’s hands in her own. “I know I can tell you anything and you should know that you can always tell me if I get too touchy feely or say things you don’t want to talk about.” She squeezed the other girl’s hands. “You know I’m a physical person. That I would much rather just cuddle up with someone instead of talking about what’s going on. And you’re the one who’s willing to give me exactly that in our friendship. We don’t have to talk about it. Sometimes a hug is enough.” Brooklyn let go of Astrid’s hands, leaning back on her hands instead as she looked at her friend. “And in the rare case that I don’t want to hug…trust me, you’ll notice. Don’t worry.” She assured her friend, flashing her a soft smile.

In a short period of time Astrid had grown to be her best friend, a person she could tell everything to. The person that could sense whenever she needed a tight hug or kind words from someone. Those hugs and sweet words had been happening more often lately. Brooklyn wasn’t sure why, it just all came natural. “I can be overwhelming at times and if I am and you need a break from me…just let me know, okay?” She said softly, sitting up straight on the bed, her feet swinging over the edge. The urge to hug Astrid was high, but right now Brooklyn was afraid to make the move. Maybe Astrid was giving her a silent hint that she didn’t want Brooklyn to cuddle with her or let alone hug her. “You know…if you want me to…” she nodded towards the small couch at the end of the room. “I can sleep on the couch, you can have the bed. You need to have a better rest anyway, since you have to dance and stuff.” She shrugged.

Astrid shook her head. “Babe, no! It’s not that I don’t want to! I’m always down for cuddles, seriously. It’s just, you know ...” She shook her head a little. It was stupid to think that Brooklyn was going to read anything more into this than just a friendly cuddling session. Which was great! Astrid didn’t want her to think of this as anything more, because that would cause a problem. “I guess I’m just not used to, well ... I’ve had a lot of straight girl friends, who I’d be all touchy with and they’d act like it’s fine. But then one day I’d cross this invisible line that I didn’t even know existed, you know? And then they’d stop talking to me, and I wouldn’t understand why, and then like months later I’d learn that I creeped them out and they thought I was flirting even though I didn’t realize I was, and, I don’t know. I guess I just worried that something like this ...” She gestured to the bed they sat on awkwardly. “Would be your line. And you’re my best friend, and I don’t want to lose you. But I’m being pretty stupid, aren’t I?”

After a bus ride that took longer than expected, Brooklyn was exhausted. The cast and crew had to pair up together for a hotel room so they could save some money. When everybody had gotten their keys and left to go to bed, Brooklyn and Astrid were the only ones still sitting in the lounge because apparently there was no double room left. “Why does this always happen to us?” The actress whined, throwing her head back against the leather chair she was sitting on. The words had only just left her mouth when someone came over with a key, saying that they had figured stuff out and got them a room. “Thank you! Lets go, babe!” Brooklyn was a little too excited to have a sleepover with her best friend. They had spent the bus ride next to each other for hours, but they couldn’t discuss the things that were happening between Casper and Stephanie since Casper was sitting behind them. Now that they would have some privacy, all things could be discussed.

Brooklyn made her way into the hotel room, dragging her suitcase behind her and placing it near the door before taking a few more steps inside the room. One thing immediately stood out. There was only one double bed. This while the director of the tour had specifically asked for two single beds, so there would be no weird things happening. “Looks like we’ll be getting our cuddle on tonight.” With a playful smirk she looked over at Astrid. The two of them hadn’t spoken about what almost happened at the after party. Brooklyn kept telling herself that she just got caught up in the moment and that it meant nothing serious. She tossed the key onto the small table near the end of the bed and hung her coat over a chair, stretching her arms over her head and falling face first onto the bed. The blonde let out a playful moan at how good it felt to be finally near a bed. “I could totally fall asleep like this, but I shouldn’t! We’ve got some cuddling to do first.” She turned around and sat up straight, undoing her shoelaces and kicking her shoes off.

There was something different between her and Brooklyn. It was impossible to pretend that there wasn’t. Ever since the afterparty, glances lingered a bit too long, hugs were a bit too tight. And as much as Astrid wanted to pretend that it wasn’t happening, she found herself seeking reasons to touch Brooklyn -- to latch onto her arm or to stroke her hair. It was fun, in a way, knowing that it wasn’t serious. And every time she tried to warn herself, This is how crushes on straight girls start, she just couldn’t muster up the will to be worried. Because it was Brooklyn. And no matter what, she didn’t think that Brooklyn would hurt her. She just couldn’t imagine a universe where it happened. In fact, she often worried that the girl was putting on an act, pretending to be more okay with the affection than she was, just to keep from hurting Astrid’s feelings.