A N N E

Janis rested her chin on her hand as she watched (Y/n) laugh loudly at something Aaron had said. A twinge of jealousy began to pang in her chest when Aaron’s hand gently fell on her arm. She didn’t realize how long she was staring until Damian snapped his fingers in her face, causing her to jump, a bit startled, and blink rapidly. A red tint began forming on her face as she looked at her best friend with a sheepish smile falling lopsidedly on her cheeks. She couldn’t help but momentarily break his eye contact to glance at (Y/n), who gasped at something Aaron said and pushed him away, hand on his chest when she did.

“Janis Imi’ike, if you don’t focus…” Damian’s voice was stern, but the threat was empty as he finally held the dark haired girl’s attention. His brows rose as he waited until she was fully focused on him. “As I was saying… Cady said that she will meet us at my place tonight. She has a date with Regina or whatever. I still can’t believe she’s dating the apex predator out of everyone on campus. I tried to warn her, but what do I know? Maybe Regina and her will be happy ever after.”

She struggled to listen to his rant when (Y/n) approached the table, Aaron following her as she sat by Janis. Janis didn’t miss the way her knees lingered against (Y/n)’s, nor the fact that (Y/n) didn’t pull away for long moments. “Hey, I was wondering if you could come over later today and help me out with an art project I’ve been doing. I think it needs a second glance, and I’ve seen your art. You are the only person I could think of to help me.” (Y/n) explained as she leaned against the table with a soft smile on her lips.

To Janis, she was absolutely intoxicating. (Y/n) was so alluring that she completely forgot about the plans that she forgot completely of her plans with Damian and Cady, even though Damian had just mentioned it before ranting about Cady and Regina. “Yeah, of course, I’m down.” She was silently cursing herself for saying she was ‘down,’ to be honest. However, it was too late to go back, and luckily (Y/n) thought nothing of it.

A bright smile adorned her features as she stood up, pulling out her phone and handing it to Janis. “Perfect,” she said, “Put in your number and I’ll text you after school. I’ll give you a ride to my place.” (Y/n) waited patiently for Janis to type in her number, not commenting when Janis stumbled clumsily over the keys, having to reread the numbers twice to make sure they were correct. Instead, she sent a quick emoji (the red heart emoji) before walking off with Aaron. Before she exited the cafeteria, she sent Janis a wink and a little wave. Then Janis finally let out a long breath that she didn’t know she was holding.

Damian shook his head with a little smirk. “Should I tell Cady you’re going to be late, too?” He asked as she bit her lip, head ducking down as she processed what just happened. She wasn’t one to be shy. Janis, for intensive purposes, is known to be loud and bold. There was only one person who made her shy. That was (Y/n) (L/n). Now that she had grown a bit quiet in front of Damian, she knew he was going to tease her mercilessly for the rest of the day.

Janis was, unfortunately, right to assume that Damian was going to tease her when it came to (Y/n). He would give her a knowing smirk and nudge anytime she glanced at her phone, wiggling his brows for an extra effect. When (Y/n) did text a few minutes before the final bell, he almost got as excited as Janis who bore a giant grin and showed him that she messaged. He did have to remind Janis to text back because she was too busy telling him and Cady about how excited she was to text back.

When Janis met with (Y/n), she led her to her car, hugging Aaron goodbye. Janis had to swallow to keep herself from asking about that. She was pretty sure that (Y/n) and Aaron were a thing, but the way (Y/n) intertwined their fingers almost made her think differently. The small squeeze definitely made Janis’s brain fizzle out momentarily before she opened the door for her. Janis thanked (Y/n) before getting in with a soft smile. Janis didn’t know what to think when (Y/n) sent her flirty smiles as they continued their ride. It made her glad to make it to (Y/n) place because it reminded her to breathe.

“Come on,” (Y/n) tugged on Janis gently, practically running her inside and to her room where a canvas was set up. “Okay, so I was painting Aphrodite’s statue…” She turned it, the oil painting showing soft angles and short angles. There were intentional brushstrokes across the canvas and it caused Janis’s jaw to drop. She loved it. The backdrop behind Aphrodite was almost the same shade as her teal highlights. She couldn’t help but let her fingertips drag along the dried paint gently.

When she turned to (Y/n), she was about to tell her how amazing her work was. Instead, her lips were met with (Y/n)’s crashing against them. Janis’s eyes widened before she kissed back, hands immediately falling to the girl’s waist. Finally, Janis pulled away for a moment. “Wait, wait… What about Aaron?” She asked softly, not really wanting an answer. She didn’t want the guilt of kissing Aaron’s girlfriend nor did she want to know if they were together.

A confused look fell on (Y/n)’s face. “What about Aaron?” She asked softly, a little disappointed the kiss ended so early just for Janis to ask about her best friend. She thought Janis was into her the way she was. She was starting to feel a bit nervous that that wasn’t the case now.

“Isn’t he your boyfriend?” Janis questioned, eyes searching (Y/n), processing the confusion. Then, it was her turn to grow a bit confused as (Y/n) let out a laugh. “What? Why are you laughing?”

Regina could feel her pulse quicken when she saw (Y/n) enter the cafeteria with that dumb, bright, beautiful smile that always adorned her features. It made Regina’s blonde boil to see her over there, laughing. Even though she wasn’t even sure why this bothered her so much. When (Y/n) glanced up, sending a small wave over to Regina and a smile, Regina felt her eyes widen and cheeks heat up as she rolled her eyes and looked away. Why would she, the Queen of North High, have anything to do with her?

“Hey,” Gretchen greeted, her honey blonde hair cascading in waves over her shoulders as she sat across from Regina with a smile. However, when she didn’t get a response, she turned around to see Regina staring at (Y/n) again. She was unsure if she should say something and if Karen didn’t whisper ‘Danger,’ under her breath when Gretchen was about to, she would’ve. Instead, she remained quiet as Regina crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the girl across the room. “Do we have any plans this weekend?” It was an attempt to get Regina’s attention and to see if she needed to plan for any kind of party.

It was successful as Regina blinked, suddenly realizing that Karen and Gretchen were sitting in front of her. “What?” She questioned, processing Gretchen’s words. “Oh, right, a party. I don’t have one on my radar, but I’m sure I’ll find one.” She hummed, glancing at her nails, pretending to be nonchalant.

“I heard (Y/n) was going to have one for her birthday this weekend.” Karen spoke up, her voice filled with a bit of nerves. (Y/n) was always a weird subject for the trio. It seemed only Regina could talk about her. Gretchen and Karen had no problem with the girl, but because Regina did, they had to pretend to. “It’s supposed to be really big, and her brother is getting drinks for everyone.”

Regina sucked her bottom lip in, nibbling it for a moment while she thought about Karen’s words. “I guess we could make an appearance. I’m not really sure how a party by Little Miss Sunshine could be big though. I just don’t see her throwing a wild party that’s actually… good.” She hummed, grabbing the apple off her tray to take a bite off of it as she glanced up, making eye contact with (Y/n). She made sure to give her a look before glancing at her friends to see what they thought. Even though they were bound to do whatever Regina wanted to do regardless of their opinions. After all, this was a monarchy not a democracy. There were no votes.

Admittedly, Regina knew why she found it hard to like (Y/n). It was because she was in love with her. She had loved her since they were in the third grade and (Y/n) came running to help Regina up when she scraped her knee. But afraid of the school’s thoughts, she had shoved those feelings down. Instead of being nice to the one girl who made her feel any sense of normalcy, Regina would treat her to icy stares and her infamous scowls. She couldn’t allow herself to allow anyone to know about her feelings. Even if she knew deep down that Gretchen and Karen had caught on a long time ago.

On the night of the party, they were immediately greeted by (Y/n) who had a grin plastered onto her face. “You made it,” she cheered, hugging Karen and Gretchen. She didn’t want to overstep with Regina, so she opted to only extend the girl a polite smile. “The drinks are in the kitchen guarded by my brother. Do you want anything? He is an awfully great bartender.” She said, leading them to the kitchen.

“Sure, we’ll take some drinks,” Regina answered, knowing that she would call her mother when they were ready to be picked up. She nodded over to Gretchen and Karen who enthusiastically accepted themselves, taking drinks. “So, any party games?” Regina questioned, quirking up an eyebrow.

A smirk made its way onto (Y/n)’s lips as she crossed her arms. “I’m glad you asked. You three arrived just in time for a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven. A classic game that somehow never gets old. Shane Oman just spun on Aaron.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she walked into her living room where a group of people were talking, waiting for the timer to blare when it was up. When it did, (Y/n) took the liberty to knock on the door, and when it was opened by Aaron, he and Shane had accidentally swapped shirts, causing the group to snicker but say nothing. “Go ahead and take a seat,” she told the three, who sat on a couch that was suddenly open with one look from Regina.

“I think it’s the birthday girl’s turn.” Aaron winked, wrapping an arm around the girl with a wink, hair tousled by presumably Shane’s hands. Everyone but Regina started cheering for (Y/n) to spin the bottle except Regina. She wouldn’t be able to watch her go into that closet with someone else. Her chest felt tight as she glanced over at Gretchen, who looked back at her nervously. It irked her to know that Gretchen knew her so well. Though, it was also pretty comforting to not feel so alone in that moment. “Well, the people have spoken. Go on, birthday girl.”

(Y/n) shook her head with a playful smile, kneeling down to spin the bottle. Regina’s breath was sucked in and held there as the Bud Light’s amber bottle started to slow. She couldn’t even exhale and relax when it stopped, making a clear point to her. “All right,” Shane said, opening the door with a wide smirk. “The birthday girl paired with the Queen Bee. This should be interesting.” Regina almost knocked him out, fist clenching as she made her way into the closet, pushed close against (Y/n).

When the door closed, darkness ensued. Before Regina could think of something- anything- to say, (Y/n) spoke first, surprising her. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here with me.” She said, her voice quiet, and very unlike her. (Y/n) was usually loud, and her smile could brighten up even the darkest of rooms. “I know you don’t like me very much.” She said solemnly.

Regina’s eyes closed before she released a sigh. “That’s not true,” she confessed. The words surprised them both, causing a silence to fall upon them. The closet was stuffy and hot, but neither minded being pressed against each other despite that. “I wish it was, it would make everything easier. The truth is… I do like you. Maybe more than I should.” Regina admitted, wishing she never said anything.

“What do you mean?” (Y/n) questioned, confused on what Regina was meaning. After all, she could never figure the blonde out. She was always staring, but when (Y/n) made eye contact, she would suddenly turn icy. “You like me?”

“I’ve liked you since the third grade. I just never felt like anything would happen.” Regina began, biting her lip for a moment. “Well, that and… I was scared for what others might think of me. Stupid, huh?”

(Y/n) didn’t agree nor disagree. Instead, she stayed silent for a second, processing Regina’s words. “Regina, it’s okay to be worried about personal perceptions. I think that’s very human. Though, you can’t allow it to control your happiness.” She stated simply, and Regina knew she was right. She just struggled with the idea of being happy if the entire school didn’t fear or love her.

Then, she decided fuck that because (Y/n) was here, telling her to stop allowing her fears to control her happiness. “(Y/n), I really want to kiss you,” she finally said. She decided to be bold. She wasn’t going to allow herself to hold onto her fears. Instead, she decided to be happy and to let go of what controlled her.