this story needs some mending

Alex paused a moment, waiting to see if Darcy was joking with her first question. “Um… Yes. You can set it to say you’re an actor, or a blog, or a company. Stuff like that. It’s super informative. I can help you set it up, if you want!”

Darcy nodded. “I would love any help you want to give me,” she said. Although now she was nervous, having seen Alex’s face when she asked them about account types. “When we get home we’ll get out my laptop and go through it all?” she suggested. She’d have time to Google some Instagram basics before then, at least.

“I get that, but sometimes I mean to watch just a short video, and next think I know I’m on part two of a movie long documentary by that curly haired historian who’s all about Anne Boleyn, you know?” She let out a laugh.  “No way! Though, it is like the supreme colour. Colour of royalty, you know. Also my favourite teletubby was Tinky Winky so, that probably explains everything.”

“Things to remember: if I want to watch documentaries, I’ll go find Miss Will Lorraine,” Darcy said with a smirk. She smiled. “I don’t think I had a favorite teletubby,” she admitted. “But I bet you were absolutely adorable as a little baby. Did you have high pigtails? You seem like a high pigtail kind of toddler.”

“Yeah! I watched some youtube video about it, and it was really interesting.” She found it easier to pay attention and withhold information with sound and visual- while Will had read only one biography, she had watched a few informative videos and documentaries to learn about the Tudors. “You think so? Thank you!” Will smiled back at her. “It’s my favourite colour.”

Darcy smiled. “Youtube is so great,” she said. “I do not have the patience to sit through a whole documentary, but informational ten minute videos? Those I can do.” She found herself giggling when Will said that her favorite color was purple, which was also Darcy’s. “I do think so,” she said, and then asked, “Really? It’s mine too.” 

“Okay, I don’t even know whatever that was,” Alex said with a chuckle. “First things first, do you have your own account set to a business account? Because if not, you should. It lets you see your insights and demographics and stuff.”

Darcy paused. “There are different types of accounts?” she asked. “Should we reschedule until I can get a notebook and highlighters or something?” She laughed to hide her embarrassment at being so bad at this.

“Thanks, Darcy.” She grinned at the woman’s compliment. “Well, it’s all because of my green sleeves, obviously,” she said with a laugh, giving a shake of her head. “Did you know Henry probably didn’t even write that song? So I could have been purple, how cool would that be?”

“Oh, i read about that!” Darcy said, perking up. “One theory is that the green sleeves were a color choice meant to symbolize sexual promiscuity, so the song is basically his way of slut shaming her, even though she wouldn’t sleep with him.” Darcy grinned. She’d enjoyed her research when she started with this show. Then her grin softened into a smile. “I bet you’d look really pretty in purple,” she said.

“You think so?” Will asked with a grin. “I think a one woman show of For Good is one of my go-to shower songs.” She let out a quick laugh. “And Defying Gravity is a bop.” She started fiddling with the items on her makeup desk. “I never thought green would be my colour, but it appears it is.”

“Of course I think so,” Darcy said, chuckling with a vague incredulity. “You’re incredibly talented.” Darcy grinned. She looked over at the container of glitter that Will was fiddling with. “Not quite what they meant when they said we should go green, but you pull it off,” she mused.

“Of course I wouldn’t mind.”  The smile remained on Will’s face as she spoke. “I doubt you’d mess it up. I just find it relaxing, you know?” It was her favourite part of her pre-show routine, doing her hair and makeup. “Putting the green glitter all over my eyes? Best way to get ready for a show.”

Darcy smiled and moved to sit on a clear counter space near Will. “Green glitter looks good on you,” she said, and it did. “Give it five or ten years and you’d make a great Elphaba. I’m sure that show will still be running by then.”

“I think alcohol can make practically anyone a mess. But you were fine, great even. Great company.” Will gave Darcy a smile. “I think I’ve got it down pat- unless you want to help out with something? Or even just, just hang out while I do it or something?”

Darcy nodded, finally meeting Will’s eyes. “I can just hang out, if you wouldn’t mind me here,” she said, after a moment of considering. “I wouldn’t want to mess up something.”

She could feel her face burn at Darcy’s words- it had to be obviously red by now. Pretty. “Yeah, I get it.” Will nodded her head.”Like, same. I can be super awkward-” As if she couldn’t tell- “You weren’t in any means a nightmare, I don’t know what would make you think that at all.”

Darcy wasn’t looking at Gem. She was too embarrassed. “I just, can be sometimes,” she admitted, “with alcohol. I’m glad you didn’t think so.” She shrugged. Come on, Darcy, she thought, just buck up and ask her out. But Darcy kept her mouth shut. “So do you need help with your hair or makeup or anything?” she asked instead.

“Me, teaching you about a great and popular platform.” They let out a quick laugh. “Only the best information of your life.”

“And here I thought that was the YouMeScript extension for Google Drive,” Darcy said, matching their laugh. “But alright, teach, whenever you’d like, let’s get class in session.”

“No!” She shook her head. “God no, you were fine. Good, you were good.” Will chuckled a little at herself. “I mean, if you think you were a drunken idiot, what was I?”

“You were good,” Darcy said, and then realized that sounded kind of lame, so she rephrased. “Seriously, you were fine. I’m just kind of awkward day to day around pretty girls and then add alcohol and it can be a bit of a nightmare, so I just wanted to check.” She shrugged. She knew she’d just called Will pretty, but she could talk her way around it if need be. It could just be a perfectly platonic compliment. 

She smiled back at Darcy, before looking away, chewing lightly on the inside of her cheek. “Yeah. It was nice. To spend sometime with you- hanging out and stuff.”

“I, um,” Darcy started as she sat down. “I hope I didn’t make too much of a drunken idiot of myself.” She could feel herself blushing now, embarrassed at her actions the other night, and tried to ignore it.

“Yeah! They’re like short snippets, and they only last a day, unless you save them.” Alex grinned at the mention of a lesson plan. “Oh my god, I could so do that. I’d give you screenshots and diagrams and everything. It would be so cool!”

“I mean I know of them, I just haven’t used them,” she clarified, laughing at Alex’s enthusiasm. She shook her head at them. “Oh goodness, what have I just agreed to?”

She nodded her head, setting her phone down. “That’s good.” Will nodded her head. “I-” She paused a moment, before continuing.. “I had a great time the other evening. It was fun.”

Darcy walked into the room as Will spoke, and then stopped short. “Yeah? Me too,” she said, giving Will a smile, and then continued to a chair while deftly staring at the floor. 

Steven snorted as he laughed and bumped his shoulder against Darcy’s, “Well shoot, I should’ve heeded the warnings about holding hands with girls. Cooties and all that.” He looked at the list of names, “I really hope you aren’t thinking of naming our immaculately conceived child Doris.That’d be a rough life,” He scanned the list some more, “And I mean Mary’s way too on the nose.” 

Darcy laughed. “Way too on the nose for our little cootie-catcher,” she said in the lilting voice of a mom-to-be, patting her stomach. She grinned and him but then sighed. “The only name that appears in the list for 1935, 1965, and Victorian London is Margaret, and I dunno, I just feel weird about naming my character Margaret. I dunno if it’s right for her.” 

Will had been sitting on her chair, scrolling through her phone, when she heard a familiar voice. “Hey.” She smiled as she looked up from her phone. “It’s going alright, good. It’s going good, What about you?”

Darcy shrugged, finding herself unsure of what to say. She hadn’t really known what she wanted to say when she walked up to the door, but she thought she’d figure it out when she opened her mouth. “I’m good,” she sad. “You know, things are good.” 

Steven carried his newly purchased pack of Twizzlers through the theater as they were on break. He called out for Darcy, wanting to chill with her for a bit. When he heard Darcy reply, he followed the sound toward his roommate. Steven eyed Darcy’s computer as he sat down next to her. He held a bag of Twizzlers out to her “Um… what’s with the baby names?” He asked, his voice riddled with confusion.

Darcy smirked at her friend as she sat down. “I’m pregnant,” she said, matter-of-factly. “It’s a girl, and yes,” she added, taking a Twizzler from him, “you are the father.”