𝔥𝔬𝔞𝔯𝔰𝔢 𝔯𝔞𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔰

   first impressions, musings on love & some conclusions about how she feels about her 

     a hand grabs her water bottle as she moves lower, breaks habit by making noise as her feet hit the floor. “ i bet harvard’s looking really dull in comparison now, huh ? ” @lucefrs​

      she sits up and swivels around on her bum like an amateur break dancer, legs falling to either side of the bleacher, using the balls of her feet to scoot closer. she adores fashion trivia, her brows perk with delight at having another fact in her arsenal she’ll be able to pass on whenever anyone brings up either the brand or the song. truthfully, apart from their iconic logo, the only other reference to the brand she has is when tyler the creator singlehandedly invented romance when he sang this parka is comme, you’re my favourite garcon. decides then and there, that she loves the brand, purely because it’s entirely enveloped in love. ‘   aw, i love that.   ’ honeyed words fall, it’s either apt or trivial that clothing makes her so soft. of course, the brand’s way out of her usual price range, and if she’s asking for gifts from special someones she’ll selfishly go higher than need be, more alongside the range of marc jacobs or molly goddard ( ready to wear not couture because she’s neither mad or a monster ).

     the palms of her hands rest atop georgina’s thighs, forging closer still. her pointer fingers wisp figure eights against her skin, like the skater’s jumping from the ice every time her nail flicks upwards. ‘   i slept with kass.    ’ she’s gotten into the habit of assuming everyone knows who she is anyways, so she doesn’t take the time to describe how she’s simply the best. her gaze lifts, because she’s no coward and if there’s any judgement cast she wants to feel it’s spell, the confirmation that she fucked up. there’s a glint of anticipation, as though georgina’s punishment, however mild, would be the only one that’d mean anything. it’s why she doesn’t correct her when she says lucie instead of luce. ‘   i just like, sometimes i wish desire didn’t have to be wrapped up in all the other stuff. that it could just be desire.    ’ she enunciates the last three words, just to prove her point, that if words could exist in isolation, so could feelings. ‘   kinda screwed the pooch on answering your question. teachers would always be writing on my tests, read the question carefully ! you did not answer the question !   ’

      ALL ACTIONS HAVE MOTIVES — every touch, every subtle word choice swimming with some sort of intent, however shallow it may be. it’s hardwired into her to try and make sense of it all, to know the game before it begins and make sure she’s never at the losing end. she feels the touch on her thighs, dancing fingers on warm skin making it hard to ignore. she hears the talk about sleeping with students, and gears shift in an instant, because in her world, friendly gestures are rarely just friendly gestures. the bill simply doesn’t come ‘til later, when the charges have been racked up, so georgina plays along ‘til then. “ it can just be desire. ” words slip effortlessly, so incredibly simple and straightforward as if everything comes this easy for her, switches lined up conveniently to choose which one to tick off. she mirrors luce’s movements, scoots a little closer ‘til bent knee meets the blonde’s thigh, a sign that’s as far as she can go. “ people just like to over-complicate things, ” she half-whispers with a soft lean forward, like it’s a secret they now share. words convince that they’re different, that she and her, luce and georgina, are the only exceptions to the rule.

      “ what’s your point, luce ? ” georgina’s impatience steals a peek, but her voice stays sweet with the promise that her barks come bearing no bite. “ because i doubt you’re sharing to kiss-and-tell, and frankly i’m not interested in hearing about how vanilla kassandra is in bed. ” no barriers exist to filter her thoughts ; while kass is hot ( and georgina neither blind nor an idiot to refute that, ) it’s hard to imagine a sutton as anything other than blah in the sack, in the same way it’s hard to imagine luce as the type of girl to be satisfied by blah in the sack. “ or maybe you’re here for relationship advice, which again i doubt, because anyone can see that nothing about me screams i’m the go-to-girl for that. ” amusement drips from her tone, like there’s nothing georgina wants more in this moment than to make sense of luce, the little trip ‘round wrong guesses a necessary buildup to match. she knows it’s possible to read too much into things, to think more of a touch when it’s just a touch, but there’s rarely any fun to be had in taking things as is. if spies had an inkling of aversion to patching two and two together, how ever big of a reach, they’d all be out of business. “ let me ask again, because you didn’t answer my question, ” she practically parrots luce’s impersonation of her teachers, gives her a smile so big it’d put the cat from wonderland to shame. “ what do you want ? ” the question sounds like a promise, that if there’s a secret to be kept, she’d keep it, and anything she asks for will be wrapped up in red and left on her doorstep faster than saint nick ever could.

   in all honesty, nobody’s errands are of particular interest to miles, and about halfway through her explanation he starts looks over to see where another handful of students are heading. at least until her comment brings him right back “ watch it. ” he says, shooting her a pointed look. even if it was anyone else’s business, it’s not a conversation he’s in the mood to be having. “ keeping an eye on you kids is what i should be doing. there’s a few others going that way, plenty to keep me busy. ”

      DISCOMFORT ON FULL DISPLAY only fuels georgina further, brings a teasing skip in her step as they walk around the town. “ isn’t daddy-ing such a fun hobby ? gotta have something to keep you busy now that you’re fired from the brotherhood or whatever. ” there’s no trace of passion at the mention of the group ; georgina doesn’t talk about the brotherhood the same way most students do, seemingly detached from the threat, a position afforded by viewing herself above it all. “ hold a memorial for your pal cecil yet ? my deepest condolences, by the way. who knew gallagher was such a violent place ? ”

– “WELL, I’M NOT ON MY OWN,” AYLIN ADDS WITH A COY SMILE, “ not if i’m with my new friend. ” because thirty or not, georgina can totally be her new friend if she gets her into the bar ! granted, it’s just a pride thing at this point. “ anyways, it’s only in AMERICA that i’d have this stupid problem, ” she huffs with a wrinkled nose, grateful to fall into step with the older girl and she won’t say it out loud because that would be tacky, as georgina puts it, but she’s sort of in awe of her. she draws her fingers over her lips in a locking motion, tossing an imaginary key over her shoulder. she winks as she looks up at her, “ say no more. ”

     UP AN UNMARKED STAIRWELL not too far from where they are leads to the speakeasy in question, but georgina slows down before they get there. “ you up for a little challenge ? ” brow quirks up, corners of red lips curl into a sly smirk. “ take on an accent when we get inside. boston, preferably, or if you’re ballsy, tennesee. ” she didn’t know much about the younger girl, her major one of the few things she was sure of. “ they might not know if you’re butchering it, but i will. ” a gentle push of door brings them to the bar, hush conversations a stark contrast to the place where aylin was yelling a few moments ago.

@ggallcgher​

elliot rolled her eyes, her face falling into a pout. “please, georgina, i beg of you. fuck off.” she didn’t mean it, at least not completely, but she just wasn’t in the mood for anything, really. “i don’t understand expensive alcohol. if i’m just trying to get drunk, the cheapest thing seems like the most practical.” maybe the years of drinking from the lowest shelf had made her wary of anything that cost more than a full tank of gas. either way, you were going to get drunk. “this isn’t a wine tasting, it’s a bender,” she countered, although she didn’t hesitate to take the wine. “well, double g. what are we drinking to?” elliot asked.

     FAR BE IT FROM GEORGINA to let an erroneous thought fly by without a correction. “ it’s a good thing i’m buying then, ” she retorts taking her own glass in hand. “ consider this part of your training. do try not to look like you’re ready to lynch the one percent every time you hold something that could feed a village in sudan. the cool girl act of chugging beer is only cute to frat guys with brain damage. ” the question makes a light chuckle rise from her, body shifting slightly to face elliot completely. “ i’m drinking for the sake of it, ” she answers, wine in hand swirling gently with her nose turned up for a quick whiff if only to tease the younger girl. “ roseville isn’t the greatest, but it sure beats gallagher’s halls. and you ? any particular reason you’re this eager to mess up your liver with cheap beer ? ”

Cora would have thought that being a mentor at Gallagher meant that she would no longer be mocked for her accent, which she had been as a student, but it would seem not. And if Cora found herself offended by everything Georgina said than she would probably be exhausted as well. The younger woman’s sass was taken with a grain of salt that Cora easily brushed away. “Try something more original next time,” she drawled out. Though hopefully she wouldn’t try Hermione or Queen Elizabeth or Mary Poppins; they were all so cliche and overused. “I might treat myself to one later. I don’t find it very responsible to drink while watching the children since they need to fed and bathed before bed of course.”  

        A HUFF OF LAUGHTER ESCAPES HER LIPS, and as soon as a drink is placed in front of her, delilah goes for a sip.   “ is that what you call it ? “   she flashes her a smile, eyes wistful as she thinks back to that night as if its a fond memory.  delilah still wouldn’t trust georgina as far as she could throw her, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be FRIENDS – really, there’s very little friends of hers that she does trust.   “ it’s just as well, i don’t like sharing, “   the retorts casually, eyes casting down to her drink as she swirls it around on the bar.  hearing jude’s name makes the right corner of her mouth lift slightly, though that’s the only reaction she gives.   “ seeing two beautiful women get together in this school is rare, i don’t blame the people for TALKING, “   she quips, eyes lifting up to meet georgina’s.   “ names mean nothing to me, call me whatever you want.  i’ll still answer to CLEO. “   her eyes glint mischievously.

     “ DELILAH’S BEAUTIFUL, ” georgina answers with no hesitation, eyes unwilling to to match the mischievous glint. it could almost pass as genuine, if only there were a gauge reliable enough to measure up to. every interaction preceding tonight wields the same exact same charm that it’s become nearly impossible to tell which is which, to imagine a talk ever to be had with neither game nor pretense. “ and cleo had a weird french accent, ” she adds as an afterthought, light laugh shadowing her words. “ this is familiar though, isn’t it ? ” a brisk hand wave gestures at the scene they find themselves in : bonding over liquor on bar stools. throw in heaps of snow, chuck them four thousand miles east, four thousand meters high up the mountains of valais, and it’d pass as a recreation of their first meeting.

    her head tilts to the side as raina takes a moment to place the voice and the face. and her jaw drops slightly as she’s taken back to her travels a few years ago, where the girl definitely helped her out ( but didn’t want anything to do with an overexcited american tourist! ) “oh my god, hi?” raina says with a smile, despite the disbelief in the other’s tone, she just ignores it. “but no, i’m not. i’m medical training actually,” she answers, nodding her head affirmatively.

     NOTHING SCREAMED DELINQUENT about her, a legacy status far more plausible than the image of this girl rescued from a life behind bars due to medical-related crimes. georgina forgoes the calculation, drops the steel in her gaze in lieu of a laugh and a sly smile. “ virani, right ? ” having a voice to match the face aids the memory, information shared as a display of her skill. the first name eludes her, but even then it’s good enough. “ georgina gallagher, ” she offers her hand to shake. the accent she once wore was now untraceable ; her name’s the last confirmation that she’s a different person altogether.