Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[ ...rriving at Grand Central Station in roughly twenty minutes. This will be our final stop of the evening, and all passengers will be expected to depart. I’d like to take this chance to thank you for…]

The speakers overhead crackling to life dragged Taylor out of the uncomfortable doze that she’d been lulling in over the last two hours since their last rest stop. Blinking rapidly, the young woman jerked forward in her seat, straightening up suddenly and lifting a hand to wipe the saliva from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. Wiping her hand off on her sweater, Taylor ran a hand through her hair, once more barely managing to avoid flinching at how much shorter it was now than it’d been a week ago.

Doing her best to not think about how she’d ended up with hair that barely reached her shoulders, Taylor tried to focus on something else, and it took a moment of half-lucid blinking before the bus around her swam back into focus. The outdated patterns on the fabric that coated the seats around her shifted back into sharp contrast. One of Taylor’s hands reached down, grasping the lapel of the oversized jacket that she’d been wearing, dragging it up and over her shoulder and huddling back down into it.

She told herself that it was to brace herself from the cold, but it was probably more to do with inhaling the lingering aroma of her father’s aftershave that still clung to the jacket. Fiddling with the cuffs of the slightly too long sleeves, Taylor stared at her pale fingers peeking out of the heavy winter coat and felt the frown on her face softening just a bit.

They’d dozed off watching a movie after lunch, and she’d nearly missed her bus, and in the rush to get her things into the truck and to get her here, Taylor had left her jacket draped over the back of a chair in the kitchen back home. By the time Taylor’d noticed, it was too late to turn around, and she’d been rather touched when her dad had just slid his around her shoulders. Privately, in the safety of her mind, Taylor admitted that she was glad that she had this tangible reminder of him.

They’d only been apart for barely six hours at this point, and she already craved his voice, his stoic presence. Things had gotten better after Christmas, after she’d fallen apart in his arms and confessed to everything that happened, with Emma, with Sophia. Surprisingly, he’d been able to help, he’d been able to fix things somehow, if only a little bit, but more than that? He’d actually come out of his funk. He’d come back to her, and things had been different. She’d gotten used to seeing her old Dad around the house and now… now he was over three hundred miles away and alone.

Her thoughts turned inward, contemplating how he’d eat without her there to remind him not to worry. What he’d do about the people that occasionally still lingered on the streets outside the house. She briefly wondered if the calls from Alan would cease now that she was gone, or if her dad’s former friend would just get worse, if the reporters would give up assuming the story dead, if-

Brakes screeching, the bus lurched to a stop, starling Taylor out of her thoughts. The lights overhead and along the aisle flickered on one by one and Taylor staggered up and out of the seat, glancing around blearily at the other two people on the bus. Neither of the other commuters paid her any mind, both standing and collecting their bags from the overhead racks. Taylor followed suit, collecting her suitcase and duffle from above her seat and heading toward the exit.

Taylor’s shoulders ached at the abuse after having been squished into that uncomfortable chair for so long, but she pushed through it, dragging her bags to the front of the bus. The driver offered her a half-hearted good evening that she returned with a nod of her head before dragging her bags down the stairs and onto the concrete of the parking bay.

Reaching into her pocket, Taylor tugged out the scrap of paper that her father had written the instructions on for this next leg of the trip, nearly losing it when the bus let out a loud hiss behind her. Turning, Taylor watched it back out of the bay and pull away, waiting for her heart to settle a bit in its rhythm before moving to read the notes carefully.

Once she’d committed them to memory, it was back on the move once more. Back into the station and down the stairs and into the subway station. Tickets were purchased, and Taylor dragged her bags onto the subway, quietly repeating the instructions in her head to keep them in her mind and to keep herself awake.

‘Take the Seven Line to Court Square Station, transfer to the E Line, take it to the Jamaica Van-Wyck Subway station.’ Taylor repeated the mantra to herself over and over in her head as she kept a death grip on her luggage, suitcase beside her and duffel over her lap. Even though there was only a pair of older ladies on the subway with her, Taylor kept her head down, acted like she was deep in thought, and the women seemed content to chat quietly with each other.

Instead of her father, this time, as she hung her head and gripped her clothes, Taylor turned her thoughts to the woman that was waiting for her. Taylor hadn’t spoken with her grandmother in years, not since before her mother died. She and her father didn’t get along, and tiny parts of Taylor thought back to the way that she’d heard her father describe the woman to Emma’s father when they’d both thought that she and Emma were safely out of earshot.

She’d been a teacher, Taylor recalled half-formed memories of meals shared long, long in the past, and vague comments on Christmas and birthday cards that she’d set aside once she’d claimed the cash bounty within them. Her imagination had spun away from her as the distance between her and her only family beyond her father shrank, imagining a tall hunched woman with beady eyes and a severe bun, a permanent scowl and twisted, gnarled hands — the typical, stereotypical cruel school-marm.

It was a surprise then, when she arrived at the station, dragging her bags up the stairs only to be confronted by Mary McBride in the flesh. The woman was tiny compared to her, barely reaching Taylor’s shoulders, and despite the thick warm clothing that she wore to ward off the January chill, she was clearly just as svelte as Taylor herself. The warmth in the woman’s eyes was a bit of a shock, and Taylor nervously shifted on her feet, cheeks darkening as she was pinned in place by the dazzling smile that grew over the woman’s face.

“Taylor,” The words were laced with faint recognition and Taylor nervously jerked her head in a nod, adjusting her bags, blinking when her grandmother quickly advanced on her and smoothly scooped the duffle bag out of her hands. “Look at you! You’ve grown so much; you’re going to be a giant just like...” The warmth and the affection in the woman’s expression dimmed just a touch as she trailed off, and Taylor could fill in the rest of the sentence, nervously shifting in place. It took a moment for the woman to recover, nodding and glancing around before turning her attention back to Taylor.

“This is everything, then?” She spoke pertly, and Taylor nodded hesitantly, blinking when the older woman turned and gestured for her to follow, walking with a briskness that startled her. They were across the lobby and out the door before Taylor was sure what was going on, and they moved quickly through the thickly falling snow toward a waiting car. The trunk was opened, her bags stuffed in, and it shut smoothly over them, and then Taylor nervously slid around the side of the car, pulling open the passenger door and clambering in.

“How was the trip? Did you get down, okay?” Taylor glanced up at her grandmother from where she was securing her belt in place, slowly pushing it into place with an audible click that seemed to echo around the car in the silence as the older woman waited for a response. Flushing quietly, Taylor spoke, feeling self-conscious of how rough her voice was.

“I-... Yeah. It was long. Six hours?” She paused, watching as the older woman nodded smoothly, sliding her keys into the ignition and starting the car. Taylor watched the woman put the car into gear, slowly pulling out of the snowy parking lot and out onto the streets, and she continued softly. “I slept most of the way down. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it passed the time.”

“Did you eat?” The question was laced with curiosity and something else that Taylor couldn’t quite put her finger on. She shifted in place before nodding, staring out the window at the passing houses as she responded.

“We stopped somewhere in Worcester for dinner,” Taylor spoke softly, blinking when the woman flashed her a curious look and a raised eyebrow that left her distinctly remembering the same look that her mother had used on her. Before she could really think about it, Taylor continued to speak, clarifying nervously. “There was a Burger Joint; I got a burger and fries.” The woman let out an amused hum as she kept her eyes on the road, her hands firm on the wheel.

“This was around, what, five or six?” When Taylor let out a faint affirmative noise at the question, the older woman nodded, smoothly turning the wheel and turning the old car down into a residential neighbourhood. “We’ll have to get you a sandwich or something when we get home. It’s a bit late for anything too heavy, sadly, but we’ll get a decent breakfast in you tomorrow to make up for it.” Taylor grimaced, frowning as a flicker of guilt washed through her. She glanced at her grandmother as the car came to a stop before a red light.

“I-... You don’t have to go to any trouble-” Taylor tried to keep her voice soft, gentle, blinking when the woman glanced her way with a surprisingly warm expression on her face. She nearly flinched back when one of the wrinkled hands lifted off the wheel and reached for her, but she managed to hold herself back, allowing the older woman to give her hand a firm squeeze before she turned back to the road, setting her hand on the wheel and spoke.

“Get that thought out of your head, Taylor. You’re family, and it’s not any trouble, I promise.” The words were warm and resolute, and Taylor nervously studied her grandmother’s features for a sign that the woman was putting up a front to spare her feelings. When the woman merely flashed her a curious look at the next red light, Taylor flushed, warmth flickering to life in her chest. Glancing nervously away, Taylor stared out the window at the passing townhouses, the car chugging its way up over a hill as the snow continued to pile up around them, turning everything white. Cheeks continuing to burn, Taylor muttered nervously as she continued to fiddle with the sleeves of her jacket.

“I-... Thanks… erm, Gram.”

Absently rubbing her still shockingly too-short hair with the fluffy towel that had been waiting for her in the bathroom, Taylor fought off the few faint lingering hints of the grogginess that she’d been feeling all morning. Lifting her head, Taylor carefully took in the space around her that in her exhaustion, she’d ignored last night while crawling into bed. This had once been her mother's room, her grandmother had said, and now it was hers and Taylor wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

On the one hand it was fascinating to Taylor. The furniture itself was old enough that it was clear that this was the room that her mother had once slept in. The bed, the dresser, the desk with its vanity mirror; they all hinted at an age that left Taylor reasonably sure that these had been the fixtures of the space when her mother had been the one sleeping here. While Taylor was confident that the layout had changed over the years, that the area wasn’t the exact same as it had once been, it was still fascinating to get this perspective.

It was also quite tragic in a way that Taylor couldn’t easily articulate. Beyond a few lingering artifacts that would have been difficult to remove, an etching on the surface of the desk, words rebelliously written into the underside of a shelf in painfully familiar handwriting, there were personal touches in the room. While Taylor could admit that the notion itself was overly melodramatic, it was almost as if the room itself had been sanitized to make it into the guest room that it had later become. That feeling left a yawning gap in her chest as she stared at the hardwood floor.

Wondering if the fitful night's sleep that she’d had was the source of her current maudlin, Taylor shook herself out of the dark thoughts and pushed off the bed. Moving over and hanging the damp towel in her hands on one of the stainless steel hooks that were affixed the back of the door, Taylor turned her attention to where she’d left her luggage leaning against the wall. Both bags found themselves set on the bed and opened, and Taylor carefully picked through the items in each, a doleful frown on her lips as she considered the sorry state of her wardrobe.

Ironically, when she’d been packing to come down here, she’d only packed up the least damaged portions of her wardrobe, but here, in the cold light shining through the opened curtains, things looked particularly grim. Putting her shirts into the dresser, Taylor could only find a single one that lacked any stitched holes or faded stains, and when the pants followed, none of them could have been said to match that feat.

Luckily, things hadn’t gotten to the point that the more personal elements of her wardrobe had been overly affected, and those things came through mostly intact. Still, even as she’d left the dresser barely half full, she was struggling to come up with an outfit that she could wear on Tuesday that wouldn’t leave her looking like she was actually homeless.

Taylor was still there, staring dejectedly at the options on display when the doorknob rattled, and the door swung in to reveal the friendly bundle of affection that her grandmother had been revealed to be. The woman was wearing an apron, wiping her hands with a tea towel that she tossed over her shoulder while carefully looking Taylor up and down.

“I heard you up and moving around, so I got started on breakfast, it’s all ready if you’re-” The woman paused, settling those penetrating blue eyes on her in a way that left Taylor nervously shifting in place. That sharp perceptiveness had been a shock and several times last night as Taylor had picked her way through the sandwich that she’d been made in the kitchen, responding in short sentences to the questions the woman was asking, Taylor had been left feeling like she’d been saying a lot more than she’d intended, when the woman’s eyes settled onto her like this.

When her grandmother approached, Taylor was tempted to reach out, push the dresser shut, some small hint of guilt and embarrassment warring in Taylor’s chest at the idea of this woman seeing the sorry state of her few meagre possessions. She barely managed to restrain the instinct, worrying her bottom lip as the older woman approached. Her grandmother gave her a single curious look before turning to stare down into the dresser, lifting one of Taylor’s shirts and inspecting it silently for a moment before setting it back down carefully and shaking her head with a grim expression on her face.

“What was that-” The words were tinged with a hint of irritation, anger that startled Taylor, but the older woman cut herself off before finishing the sentence shaking her head quietly and taking a step back. Feeling self-conscious, Taylor shifted closer to the dresser and finally allowed herself to use a hip to push the dresser shut. The older woman stared at her for a moment before offering her a gentle smile. “I suppose we’ll have to beef your wardrobe up a bit, dear?” The woman smirked curiously at her and Taylor bowed her head, flushing as that familiar flicker of guilt and embarrassment washed through her.

“I’m not-” She swallowed slowly, lifting her chin and glancing at her grandmother. “It’s fine, you don’t have to go out of your wa-” She paused, flushing when the woman fixed her with an oddly intense look that saw her taking a single step back, hands opening and closing nervously as she struggled to find something to say. In the end, the older woman saved her from her mental straw grasping.

“Taylor, it’s fine.” The final word was stressed in a way that quieted a bit of Taylor’s nervous guilt, but before she could open her mouth to continue to protest, the older woman continued smoothly, glancing around the room. “I’ve got a few Christmases to catch up on, and it’d be fun, I think. We’ll also need to get you some things to decorate the room. Your mother-” The woman paused, humming thoughtfully, and Taylor found herself once more being inspected thoughtfully by the older woman.

“Well, actually, for the moment…Well, c’mere.” The woman gestured for Taylor to follow, leaving the room. Hesitantly moving to follow, Taylor exited the room to find the older woman with a hook in hand, using it to pull down the trap door for the attic. The door rattled open, a staircase descending from the dark space above. Taylor stood at the base of the stairs as the older woman smoothly vanished into what she realized was an attic.

When a light burst into life in the space above, and her grandmother’s head appeared in the hatchway, staring down at her expectantly, Taylor flushed and quickly clambered up in the woman’s wake. She emerged into an ample storage space, turning to find her grandmother reading labels on a series of plastic totes, the woman’s voice drifting her way as she approached.

“Truthfully, I should have donated this stuff to Goodwill or a thrift store, luckily for you; I’m a bit of a hoarder... And well- Aha!” Taylor moved closer when the woman let out that sound, staring at the totes that her grandmother had stopped on. The label on the side of the first tote didn’t make much sense, merely reading; ‘AM - 08/87 - C1.’ When her grandmother pulled one of the large boxes on top if out of the stack, Taylor moved to help, the pair of them working their way down to the two totes that the older woman had indicated.

Considering the subject that they’d been discussing, Taylor shouldn’t have been surprised to find that when the top of the tote was removed, it’d reveal a sizeable collection of clothing. What was surprising that it all looked at first glance like it’d fit her. Glancing over at her grandmother, she blinked as the woman dusted her hands off and smiled.

“You’re roughly the same build that Annette was when she was your age, and while the styles might be a bit dated, but that’s apparently cool now? They’re calling it ‘Retro,’ I think.” Taylor turned back down to the box, lifting out a few interesting looking t-shirts, she glanced over at her grandmother who grinned faintly and shrugged her shoulders. “There should be a few things in there at least that will fit, and you can wear around? Pick out whatever you want, and we can toss it through the wash.”

Feeling an odd warmth in her chest, Taylor stared down at the first tote for a few moments before slowly dropping to her knees on the dusty floor. She was so wrapped up in considering the garments on display that when she finally glanced back up to accept the offer, she was surprised to find that she was alone. The boxes had been stacked next to where they’d go when Taylor put the one she was working with away, and her grandmother had vanished.

Turning her attention back to the totes, Taylor carefully picked through everything within. A massive nearly ten-foot-long rainbow patterned wool scarf had been folded and placed on top, and Taylor lifted it up, inspecting with an amused smile. She hadn’t thought that her mother had been that much of a fan of Doctor Who. Beyond the ostentatious, there was an eclectic mix of things, and Taylor was oddly surprised. She’d expected her mother to be the typical 80’s kid with big shoulders and bright colours, and while a few similar things peeked out, a lot of things were more subdued. Blouses, suspenders, black pants dominated the first tote, and in the other were branded t-shirts, turtlenecks, sweaters. Before she’d really thought about it, Taylor was picking through everything and sorting them into the two totes.

One she was calling ‘Put Back’ which held everything that was too bright, too wild for her to get away with using, the other called 'Keep' held everything that didn’t look exceptionally obvious that it was nearly thirty years old. When she’d run out of clothes to check, Taylor sealed up the second tote and moved over to the wall, replacing it in its place.

Once it was back in place, Taylor had turned to start putting the rest of the totes in place when the label on the top of the stack stuck out at her; ‘AM - 08/1987 - E‘ Staring at it, she considered the labels on the two totes she’d opened and turned back to the plastic bin, removing the lid and peering within. At first glance, it certainly seemed more fascinating then she’d expected. Half a dozen plastic tubes, a trio of heavy-looking books and several chests stacked on top of each other that obscured something clear and plastic beneath them.

Curiously, Taylor dragged this new trove over to the tote that contained all the treasures that she’d already claimed. Dropping down onto the dusty wooden boards once more, Taylor tilted the container over to rest against her knees so that she could reach into it and extract it’s contents one by one.

Lifting out one of the dark green plastic tubes from the Tote, Taylor unscrewed the cap and peered in curiously, blinking at the roll of vinyl within. Tilting the container over, Taylor caught what she realized was a poster when she saw the tiny holes visible in the corners of the roll. Setting the tube aside, Taylor carefully unrolled the poster and held it up so that she could see the image printed on it better. A tall woman in leather pants and a jacket was leaning against a wall.

‘Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.’ Taylor mulled the name of the band under her breath, inspecting the woman who she assumed was Joan Jett for a moment before rolling the poster back up and carefully slipping it back into its case. Sealing it up once more, Taylor set it to the side and reached back into the tote, extracting the other tubes and setting them to the side to be examined later. Turning her attention to the heavy books, Taylor belatedly realized that they must be photo albums, and she hesitated for a moment before tentatively lifting the first one out and setting it over her lap.

Running her hands over the faux-leather cover, Taylor couldn’t quite restrain the smile that grew over her lips as she traced the letters that someone had jauntily sewed into it that spelled out ‘The Odyssey.' True to her expectations and worries, opening the cover revealed a familiar face was staring up out of the single image on the page. Hand lifting, Taylor’s fingers dragged over the Polaroid, staring at the dark-haired girl in the picture, somewhat struck by the mixture of recognition and shock.

The girl in the image leaning against a wall and smiling awkwardly at the camera was clearly her mother, and yet… at the same time, she wasn’t. Taylor’s mother had been gorgeous, tall and elegant and beautiful. And while there were hints of that there, this girl was tall and gangly, all elbows and awkward smiles. Her hair was short, and her glasses far too large, but she had the biggest friendliest smile that Taylor had ever seen. As she stared at her, dressed in one of the outfits actually sitting in the tote beside her, Taylor was struck with a faint hint of melancholy that she’d never gotten to meet this girl.

Flipping to the next page, Taylor was confronted by more images of her mother, most of them with other strangely dressed kids hanging around, though the random image here or there would merely show the woman by herself, most of the candids. Taylor had gotten so lost in the book that she hadn’t heard the return of her grandmother, her focus solely on the book and its haunting contents. Taylor’d found an image of her mother in the room that was now hers, sitting on the bed and chewing on a pencil as she stared into an old looking textbook, the sunlight dappling over her form from out of the shot. She’d been staring thoughtfully at the girl trying to puzzle out the expression on her face when a voice cut across her shoulder, shocking her out of her ruminations.

“You look a lot like her at that age, you know.” The words were soft, warm, and Taylor jumped, glancing over at her grandmother. A flush of embarrassment and guilt flickered through her, imagining how her father would have reacted if he’d caught her going through her mother’s things like this.

“S-Sorry, I saw the label on the box, and I was curious.” Taylor flushed, nervously fidgeting despite the lack of apparent anger on the older woman’s face. When Gram merely shifted closer and dropped down next to her, holding out her hands, Taylor offered the book over tentatively, watching the older woman skim through the photos.

“You don’t need to apologize, Taylor, these are all your things, really. She was your mother. And if you like, I’ve got some other albums downstairs we can look over too.” The woman smiled down at the page silently before slowly shaking her head. “Honestly I’d forgotten that all this was up here, let’s see what else is in here, hrm?” Taylor shifted the case toward the older woman, watching as she pulled out the rest of the photo albums and set them aside, reaching instead for the first of the wooden chests within.

The older woman lifted out the chest and set it on her knees, dragging the tips of the fingers of one of her wrinkled hands over the dust that coated the wooden case for a moment before carefully opening up the hinged lid and smiling as she turned the box toward Taylor. Leaning forward, Taylor rested against her grandmother and peered down into the box, blinking at the eclectic collection of cheap and costume jewelry on display, reaching out and lifting a bit of jade that hung from a thin cord of leather and inspecting it curiously.

“Your grandfather got that for your Mother for her thirteenth birthday, I think. He bought it down in Chinatown, but she certainly did love it.” Humming in idle fascination, Taylor reached out, gently setting the stone back into the tray of the chest and watched her grandmother close it, setting it aside.

The last case within was larger, triple the size of the jewelry box and Taylor moved to stand to pull it out herself. She reached in, grabbing the handles on the heavy box and pulling it free. Her grandmother loosed an amused snort that drew Taylor’s attention, and she backed off as the older woman popped the lid open. “I hadn’t realized that your mother hadn’t taken this with her.” One hand reached out and popped the top of the box open, and Taylor leaned over to see a sizable collection of records that had been carefully packaged and arranged.

“She took her favourites with her off to college; I suppose these were the ones that she could do without on a weekly basis.” Shaking her head, Taylor’s grandmother reached into the box and pulled out one of the records in its envelope and flipped it over to reveal the cover. A solemn girl with white-blonde hair and far, far too many bracelets on her arm stared back at Taylor in the black and white image, and the text to either side of the album proclaimed the girl to be ‘Madonna.’ Staring in fascination, Taylor reached out curiously, accepting the album from her grandmother as the woman picked through the tote.

“I think she took her record player with her when she moved out, but… your grandfather had one as well that I put away up here somewhere. We could probably dig it out if you like.” The woman grinned as she pulled out a different album and inspected the cover and Taylor moved to lean over curiously, checking the cover of this one, taking in the man about to smash a guitar on a stage. The words ‘London Calling’ jumped out at her and Taylor studied it curiously, glancing at the faint smile on her grandmother’s face as she got lost in the memories that the record sleeve brought up.

It took the older woman a few moments, but she did eventually manage to snap herself out of the memories, shaking her head and slipping the albums away before turning toward Taylor once more. Glancing into the tote of clothes that Taylor had reclaimed, the older woman grinned as she tugged out the rainbow scarf and held it up curiously while speaking.

“So, I guess you’ve found some things you’d care to use?” Dropping the scarf back where she’d found it atop the pile of the clothing, the woman pushed up to her feet and dusted herself off carefully, bending down and scooping up the tote. “I’ll get these into the wash, and you can tidy up?” Smiling, the older woman nodded toward the pile of her mother’s things, continuing gently.

“Put away what you don’t want, Taylor, dear, but you should bring whatever you want to keep downstairs.” Taylor blinked at the thought, turning to curiously inspect the artifacts of her mother’s youth. When she glanced up to ask her grandmother if it was really okay to take them, she was surprised to find that the woman had vanished once more. Turning back to the tangible collection of her mother’s history before her, Taylor couldn’t help herself, carefully placing everything back into the crate and taking the whole thing toward the stairs, intent on putting it in her room.

It was frankly startling to see what a little colour, and Taylor used the term here quite lightly, considering how many of the posters on the walls were in black and white, could do to a room. Before, when the walls had been bare, and Taylor sat on this same spot on the bed, the place felt empty, impersonal, almost cold. It’d made her sleep fitful, and now, things were… different. Better.

The music helped as well, the faint punky strings drifting from the tall speakers to either side of her dresser drifting around the room, filling it. It’d taken her and her grandmother nearly three hours after lunch to figure out the wires, and to get everything put back together correctly, but the music was certainly worth the effort. Now, with the tiny mementoes of her mother scattered around the space, Taylor felt strangely much more at home.

The room itself was an eclectic mix of the tattered remnants of Taylor’s own life interposed with the cast of remains of her mother's childhood. The dressers filled with her old clothes, and the freshly laundered things that she’d recovered from her mother. Her father’s coat hung off the back of the door, its aged green fabric and furry scruff standing out. Dark leather gloves that she’d found in a bag in the garage peeked out of its pockets like that was where they belonged, and the vibrant rainbow-coloured scarf that had once belonged to her mother draped over the jacket and dragged along the floor at the base of the door, despite having been looped around the hook that the jacket also hung from several times.

Even the clothing that Taylor wore had changed. Looking at herself in the mirror, Taylor ran a hand through her shorter hair and curiously considered the simple white and blue pinstriped pyjama pants and the modest tank top that she’d ended up wearing. They weren’t fancy, but they fit her properly, and they were much less threadbare than the blue duck-print garments that she’d woken up in and some tiny part of Taylor in the back of her mind prompted her to straighten her back and study herself.

Pushing herself up to her feet, Taylor padded across the wooden floor to the vanity, carefully opening the photo album on it and staring at that image on the first page and considering the awkward, nervous smile on her mother’s face. She glanced at herself and felt that same smile growing over her own features. There was a kind of camaraderie in this, Taylor had to admit as she shifted away from the mirror a bit, bringing the book with her as she returned to the bed.

Seeing her mother like this, awkward and spindly and clearly nervous about being on camera made her feel… better, more normal. And as she flipped through the book, Taylor had to admit that the sight of the people around her mother smiling with her, the people that seemed to care about her in those candid shots, that also filled Taylor with some small measure of hope that maybe things might be different come tomorrow. Come on Tuesday and all of its new frontiers.

“Taylor! Dinner!” The voice echoed up from down below, and Taylor shifted on the bed, starting to close the book. Pausing thoughtfully, Taylor flipped through the pages until that first page stared up at her, that image of her mother standing awkwardly staring up at her. Taylor stared at the picture for another moment and glanced at the door, checking to see that her grandmother hadn’t come looking for her before speaking softly.

“...Thanks, mom. For… everything.” She traced the line of her mother’s face on the page before closing the book. Standing, she placed the photo album back on her vanity, and then moved over, shutting off the record player, removing the track head from the record as her grandmother had shown her, before walking out of the room and closing the door in her wake. Taking a deep breath, Taylor inhaled the scent of something rich and flavorful drifting up the stairs, and she moved quickly, descending the stairs two at a time and following her nose toward whatever was giving off that mouth-watering aroma.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

February 5th, 2011
Oak Valley Secondary School, Queens

Leaning forward on the uncomfortable chair, Taylor rested her arms on the desktop before her, doing her best to hold in the amused chuckles that were coming out of her lips, as the tall thin woman sitting behind her desk at the front of the room didn’t even bother to attempt to restrain her own merry chuckles, even when she tried to speak through them.

“...though, now that I think about it, perhaps you shouldn’t let your grandmother know that I told you that particular story.” Nodding absently in agreement, Taylor shifted back in her seat as her phone let out a sharp ding. Wondering who it could be, Taylor picked up the phone, flipping it over and checking the face. Charlie. Blinking, Taylor’s eyes widened when she realized that she’d forgotten something important.

“Places to be?” The older woman’s voice startled Taylor out of her thoughts, and she glanced up, nodding, reaching over and grabbing her bag from where she’d dropped it next to the chair.

“Yeah, sorry. I promised Charlie that I’d go to this club thing she runs. The Triangles?.” Taylor glanced up, blinking when the older woman nodded calmly and shifted forward on her chair.

“Well, I won’t keep you any longer then, but seriously, Taylor. You should think about the class. I think it’d do you some good to have a chance to express yourself, and I can’t help but imagine that you’d be an interesting addition to the class.” Nodding smoothly, Taylor slid to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’ll keep it in mind. I haven’t really settled on anything yet, but I’ve only got till Monday, so I imagine you’ll know soon enough.” Flashing the woman a quick smile, Taylor ducked across the room, heading for the door.

“Oh, and Taylor?” Pausing in the door, Taylor glanced back to see the woman’s mischievous smile. “Remind Charlie and Lily that they’ve got a project due on Monday.” Blinking, Taylor nodded quickly and slipped out of the room. She was halfway down the hallway before her phone dinged again, and she slid to a halt, fishing out her phone once more.

The phone was new, a ‘late Christmas gift’ from her grandmother that Taylor still felt obnoxiously guilty about. Despite how much her grandmother had assured her that she was financially stable enough to afford a few small things to make Taylor’s life a bit easier, years of living with her dad, scrimping and saving every last penny left her feeling… uncomfortable whenever she was confronted with having to spend the sort of money that her grandmother had dished out on the phone and laptop that she’d purchased for her.

Her phone dinging for the third time dragged her out of her thoughts, and she fumbled with it for a moment, still unused to unlocking the damned thing before she could finally read the messages.

[Taaaaaaaylor, you’re laaaaaate.]

[Did you forget about meeeeee?]

[Taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaylor :C]

Feeling a grin tugging at her lips at the deluge of messages, Taylor adjusted her bag before moving to lean against the wall, using her thumbs to swipe out a response quickly.

[Sorry! I got caught up with Barrs; she was trying to convince me to take Drama as one of my electives. Also, she says to remind you that you’ve got a project due on Monday. I’m heading to my locker right now.]

Shaking her head, Taylor glanced up and blinked, freezing as she saw the thick swirling mass of snow falling sedately outside the window. Staring at the powder as it fell, Taylor stepped closer to the window and marvelled at the fresh new thick blanket of snow that was rapidly starting to coat everything.

Frowning, Taylor looked back at her phone and pulled up the weather forecast, staring in disbelief at the projected volume of snowfall over the next twenty-four hours. Shaking her head, Taylor quickly swiped back over to the conversation with Charlie and moved to type out another message.

[Though, actually considering the rapidly developing blizzard, I might have to take a rain-check… snow-check? If I don’t leave soon, my bus might be cancelled, and I kind of don’t want to have to walk home in this. Next meeting, though?]

Taylor stared at the unread messages, waiting as she bit her bottom lip. She felt a bit guilty about bailing out; Charlie had been talking up this meeting most of the week.

[Boo. Fair enough, though. I just looked outside, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a fun walk. Now I’m all alone, though, you and Lily both bailed on me.]

Rolling her eyes, Taylor headed toward the stairs as she replied.

[Don’t you have an entire group of people there with you?]

This time there was barely a hesitation before Charlie’s reply came back.

[It’s not the same without my adoring fans, though.]

Rolling her eyes, Taylor didn’t dignify that text with a response, stuffing her phone away and paying more attention to where she was going. Across the stairwell, down two hallways and down another flight of stairs saw her approaching her locker.

Three precise twirls of a dial later, and Taylor was wiggling into her jacket, zipping up the heavy olive coat and wrapping her obnoxious scarf around herself once more. Stuffing her books into her bag, Taylor slung it back over her shoulder and locked her locker before heading for the door, tugging her mittens on as she went.

Looming in the large double doors of the school, Taylor stared out over the snowy landscape and frowned. Opting to head out the front door instead of trudging back across the school, Taylor stepped out into the falling snow. Her boots crunched noisily in the powder as she made her way down the steps and across the yard, heading toward the street and glancing left and right to see where the nearest bus stop was.

Thankfully she spotted a shelter nearby and quickly moved through the snow toward it, only realizing that the shelter was occupied when she’d nearly arrived. The familiar head of short black hair tipped her off, and Taylor hesitated, staring at Lily’s back as she sat on the tiny bench in the shelter, staring intently down at her phone. She stood there, staring at the tension visible in the girl’s form, the way her hands shook just a bit as she gripped her phone tightly.

Part of Taylor was tempted to just move on, find the next stop and wait there and leave Lily to whatever was troubling her. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the girl, Taylor often found Lily to be insightful and charming in her own way, but there was this… distance that existed between them. Charlie had ostensibly adopted Taylor; the redhead was a constant companion when they weren’t in class, dragging Taylor to and fro to meet this group or that one, or just sitting in companionable quiet while they ate.

Lily occasionally joined them, at least when she wasn’t out of school as part of her advanced placements, but often Taylor found herself the object of Lily’s scrutiny, and that was a strange feeling. Sitting there as someone tried to pick your secrets apart with their eyes. Charlie had said that Lily had had issues at her old school and that she didn’t trust easily, and Taylor could understand that, but it was still… disconcerting at times.

That being said, Taylor could imagine Charlie’s face if she’d have seen Lily like this, and that’s what prompted her to step around the shelter, moving into it. Lily glanced up at the sound of her approach, and Taylor flashed the girl a friendly smile, pretending she didn’t see the redness in her face, the puffiness of her eyes, merely turning and stamping the snow off her boots, staring out at the falling flakes.

The silence dragged out between them, and Taylor tucked her mittens into her coat, keeping her attention forward despite being able to practically feel Lily’s eyes burning into the side of her face.

“You’re late getting out tonight.” The comment was soft, coming out without any hint of whatever inner turmoil was clinging to Lily and Taylor shrugged her shoulders, staring out over the white street.

“Barrs got ahold of me, wanted to take one last serious attempt to convince me to take Drama.” Taylor paused, glancing over at Lily and offering the girl a wry smile. “She asked me to remind you and Charlie that you’ve got an assignment due Monday.” Taylor’s lips quirked into a smile when the older girl chuckled weakly, brushing her hair back from her face.

“Speaking of Charlie,” Lily started, staring up at her. “Weren’t you supposed to be at the Triangles meeting tonight?” Taylor studied Lily thoughtfully, a tiny frown spreading over her lips as she wondered that if Lily was out here, she’d bailed on the meeting because she’d assumed that Taylor would be there. Rather than dwelling on the thought, though, Taylor shook her head, answering Lily’s question.

“The weather was turning, and by the time that Barrs let me go, I’d already missed half of the meeting, so I suggested next time.” Tucking her hands deeper into her pockets, Taylor let out a thoughtful hum and continued when Lily didn’t respond. “And, I think that I, uh, was sort of hoping for an excuse to get out of meeting anyone new this week. Charlie’s sort of been a force of nature.” Lily’s answering chuckle was soothing, and Taylor pressed on tentatively. “And, uh… what about you? Why’d you miss it?” There was a lingering silence in the wake of that question, at least until Lily let out a tired sigh.

“Same, really. I wasn’t feeling up to dealing with a group of excitable teenagers, I think.” Taylor glanced back at Lily, studying the girl as she turned her attention back to her phone, staring at the messages on the screen, seemingly lost in thought.

Frowning, Taylor fidgeted with her mittens, glancing up the street, staring at the few cars that were moving past and silently praying that a bus would come, that she’d be saved from this awkward situation. Sadly, the city transit system didn’t seem inclined to deliver, and the snow continued to fall, and so the only things that drove past the end of the road were more people carefully braving the rising snow to get home.

Realizing that there’d be no easy out from this particular situation, Taylor tightened her hands into fists, tensing her shoulders up and turning toward Lily, speaking quietly.

“So, uh… I’ve got some saved up lunch money that I haven’t used, and I've kind of been craving a good hot chocolate for the last, like, two days? You wouldn’t happen to know anywhere good nearby?” Taylor screwed up her focus, keeping herself from fidgeting or biting her lip when Lily lifted her head to stare at her. The girl’s intense scrutiny lingered over her features for a few more moments before she shifted forward and grabbed her bag.

“Yeah, there’s a coffee shop not too far away, actually. We could head over if you want?” The hesitant smile on the other girl’s face was reassuring, and Taylor felt the tension bleeding out of her spine as she nodded and buried the lower half of her face into her scarf, hiding her features once more. Taylor lingered in place as Lily stared at her for a moment longer before stepping past her and out of the shelter.

Taylor exited the shelter in Lily’s wake and followed her up the street, watching as the bus finally came trundling past them as they were halfway up the block.

Taylor wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting when she’d invited Lily out for coffee, but ‘Jumpstart’ wasn’t it. The shop itself was tucked out of the way, down several side streets from the school, and they’d even actually had to descend from street level to enter the place. And the dark, imposing wooden door and the clouded windows had all evoked an image that hadn’t prepared Taylor for what was honestly a rather bohemian coffee shop within.

Dark wooden furniture filled the space, accompanied by comfortable chairs, evocative art on the walls, and a stage to one side of the shop with a single stool and lonely microphone stand on it. Across from the stage, a massive bar stretched along the rear of the room, and on second inspection, it turned out that it obscured a coffee machine large enough that Taylor was reasonably certain that it could double as a steam engine if they really needed it to.

The cafe was fairly quiet at the moment they trundled in out of the snow, and Taylor followed Lily’s lead, stamping the snow off of her boots and moving to tug off her jacket and scarf to hang them on the large hooks by the door. Taylor did take a moment to fish through the pockets on her coat, grabbing her keys, wallet and phone and stuffing them into her pants pockets. She’d been about to make a joke to Lily about how she’d expected to see more berets on the hook in a place like this when the other girl offering up a faint snort drew her attention.

The older girl was standing a few steps away; arms crossed as she stared at her and Taylor glanced down at her outfit, a bit self-consciously. White blouse with loose sleeves, suspenders, and simple straight-cut black pants. An outfit recovered from her mother’s collection. Flushing quietly at the girl’s bald examination, Taylor lifted a hand and ran it through her short hair nervously.

“Oh, uh… Yeah, More of my mom’s things, actually. I saw them and couldn’t resist trying them on, Barrs said that they suited me, bit more feminine than most that try this look while still being… dapper? They’re not terribly out of fashion, are they?” Taylor glanced at Lily, relaxing a bit when the girl shook her head.

“No, just a surprise is all. They look fine.” Chuckling, the older girl gestured toward the bar and Taylor hesitated, glancing around the dark room and searching the walls for something that resembled a bathroom sign.

“I’ve actually gotta hit up the bathroom? I’ll meet you over there?” Lily nodded, and Taylor wove her way through the tables, making her way toward the Betty Boop sign that she was pretty sure indicated the ladies.

When she emerged a few minutes later, Taylor was surprised to see that familiar tension visible in Lily’s form, the girl now standing at the bar and speaking quietly with a girl behind the counter. Judging by the white shirt and black pants that the girl wore, she was probably one of the baristas, though the way her features were set into a stony mask wasn’t particularly welcoming. The girl was tall, with dark skin and short black hair, several shiny piercings visible scattered between her lips, nose and eyebrow. Worried that a fight might break out, Taylor made her way toward the two girls.

The barista glanced up at her approach, narrowed her eyes and leaned closer to speak to Lily, though Taylor only managed to catch the last few words as she slid up closer to the bar.

“-ot a type, Lily.” The words were oddly harsh, and the girl didn’t look at her again, merely turning and stalking off toward the large door that presumably led into the rear of the shop. Taylor glanced at Lily, taking in her own stony features and opted to add this to the pile of other things that she should probably not ask Lily about. Thankfully, they were saved from having to find a way to segue away from that uncomfortable situation when a man dressed just like the girl stepped out, drying his hands on a towel and approached them with a smile.

“Have you been served?”Shaking her head, Taylor stepped closer to the bar. She checked the blackboard above it for a moment before ordering a muffin and what looked to be the least complicated of the four hot chocolates on display. The man’s friendly smile put her at ease as he jotted down her order and glanced at Lily before turning back to her. “Is that everything?”

“What’re you having?” Taylor turned to stare at Lily, blinking when the older girl tried to wave her off.

“It’s fine Taylor, I can-” Rolling her eyes, Taylor smoothly cut Lily off, waving the other girl closer to the counter.

“It’s a cup of coffee, Lily, just tell the man what you want.” At this point, Taylor wasn’t surprised when that familiar thoughtful stare settled on her again, but at least Lily didn’t argue, merely stepping forward and turning to speak with the barista. Once the order had been taken, Taylor offered over a ten-dollar bill and told the man to keep the change, turning to glance at the tables thoughtfully when the man indicated that they should take a seat.

“There’s a nice table over here in the corner.” Lily had already started moving as she’d spoken, and Taylor fell into step behind her, weaving between the tables toward the far corner of the cafe. The booth that Lily settled into was nice enough, directly under one of the heating vents, it was warm, and it afforded a rather spectacular view of the nearby stage.

“So.” Rather than languish in an even more awkward silence, Taylor spoke up, resting her elbows comfortably on the table as she stared at Lily. “How’d you find out about this place? It’s…” Taylor trailed off, not really sure what the place was, exactly. Impressive, certainly, perhaps even fascinating.

“Charlie.” The word was uttered with a faintly amused undertone, and Taylor nodded as she glanced around. This certainly seemed like the sort of place that the older girl would enjoy. “It’s apparently one of her favourite haunts after work. She’s got a weakness for poets. But they do offer an excellent espresso here.” Nodding absently, Taylor frowned when Lily fell silent again, letting the silence hang for a few moments this time, at least until the barista had brought their drinks and left them alone to stare absently into their mugs.

“Alright,” Taylor started with as much confidence as she could, feeling a small thrill of satisfaction when Lily started a bit and glanced in her direction. “There’s… clearly, some things that we’d both probably rather not discuss, but I think that if we want to make things a bit less awkward, we might have to bite the bullet here.” Watching Lily’s eyes widening was actually a tiny bit amusing, but Taylor didn’t let her panic too much.

“I’ll offer you a deal. I’ve seen you… staring.” Taylor saw Lily’s cheeks heating up, and she shook her head, quickly cutting in. “It’s fine, I- I imagine that you’re probably pretty curious about what brought me here in the middle of a semester, which I guess is only natural.” Rubbing at her arm, Taylor stared down at her cup, tapping a finger against the handle thoughtfully. Screwing up her courage, Taylor lifted her head, looking Lily in the eye. “I’ve got a proposition for you.” Watching Lily’s jaw drop just a touch, Taylor pressed on quickly before her courage gave out.

“As you can imagine, I- Well, I did see you out at the bus stop, and uh. I like it, I mean… You’re cool, Lily, and I don’t... “ Pausing, Taylor lifted a hand to pinch her nose, taking a slow breath and starting at the beginning. “I’ll… explain, in… broad terms, what brought me here, and in exchange, you can share what you’d be willing to share, about what’s bothering you, and then after that… We’ll both agree that we won’t press, but at least we won’t be as worried about each other… seem fair?” Taylor stared at Lily, fighting the urge to bite her lip as the girl stared back at her, clearly surprised, but at least outwardly appearing to consider the suggestion.

“...Sure.” Letting out a slow breath, Taylor felt a flicker of relief as the other girl offered a nervous, almost hesitant nod. Shifting back in her seat, Taylor drew her hands up into her lap and nervously fiddled with her fingernails as she considered how to start with her own story, biting softly at her bottom lip.

“I- uh… I was bullied pretty badly at my old school…” Pausing, Taylor lifted her eyes and took a short breath, watching as Lily leaned forward curiously. Studying the other girl, Taylor pushed on as confidently as she could, considering the way her heart was rattling against her ribcage. “It started not long after I entered my freshman year, and went right up till like… last Christmas?” Oddly, the curiosity fading into compassion in the older girl’s eyes made it harder to hold them, and Taylor’s gaze dropped to her cooling beverage as she continued.

“It got… bad. Destroying assignments, harassing me in the halls. I’d basically started eating lunch in the bathroom so I could get away from them. I was… not handling it well, and I guess my Dad could tell… he confronted me a few days into winter break, and I sort of broke down, told him everything.” Taylor frowned as she reached out, fiddling with the handle of her mug once more, not feeling quite brave enough to look up at Lily as she continued. “I didn’t actually expect for him to be able to, like, do anything about?” Taylor laughed softly, lifting a hand and wiping away the moisture that’d been gathering at the corner of her eyes. “I just wanted him to stop asking why I was so sad all the time. But, he did fix it. Or at least he tried.” Frowning, Taylor took a short breath, staring at the swirls of white whipped cream slowly melting into the dark brown beverage.

“Tried?” Lily’s question was tentative, and Taylor laughed softly, almost bitterly as she shrugged her shoulders.

“He started with the school, tried to talk to teachers, counsellors, the principal. Nothing came of that, at first until he… did stuff. Got people to record them being, well… themselves. They weren’t especially careful away from the school, and it was easier to get proof that they’d been harassing me. And then he took it to the school, forced them to act. Our classes were all separated, and they were suspended. It looked like I’d finally been saved, but...” Taylor frowned softly.

“But?” Lily spoke up again, and Taylor lifted her head, finally meeting Lily’s eyes, a bit surprised by the vaguely angry expression on the girl’s face. It took her a few moments to realize that the anger was probably on her behalf and not directed at her. Shrugging one of her shoulders, Taylor waved a hand.

“But, beyond being terrible people, they hadn’t done anything criminal. They got the suspension, the black marks on their records, and then they were back in school. I had to deal with them between classes, in the cafeteria. They didn’t stop talking about me, just to me, and the school didn’t seem inclined to do anything about it. Most people just, like, watched… waiting to see what would happen? Dead girl walking and all that.” Rubbing at her cheek, Taylor let out a sigh and finally lifted her drink, taking a sip. Setting her mug down, she continued quietly. “Still, even like that, things were better, and I assumed they’d get bored eventually, move on. But, I guess they were just waiting for me, or I guess my dad, to let our guard down?” Feeling something wet on the tip of her nose, Taylor lifted her hand, wiping the whipped cream from it and laughing tiredly as she wiped it off with a cloth.

“It happened when I was at my locker between classes one day. I was switching out my textbooks, and someone crashed into me from behind it was all elbows, they slammed me into the locker a bit, and several other people followed suit.” Taylor frowned at her cup again, slowly finishing off her story. “They stepped on my heels, or elbowed me all the while saying sorry over and over, and I felt several people pull my hair.” Taylor frowned thoughtfully at her cup.

“And then they were all gone, tossing snide apologies behind them.” Taylor frowned, clenching her hand and imagining the pain that’d tinged that wrist for several days afterward. “It took me a while to even check my hair, and that was when I realized that someone had smashed a large ball of wet gum into it when they’d been pushing me. They ended up having to take off like two-thirds of my hair. When the school started going on about how there was no way for them to know who’d done it to me if I hadn’t just done it to myself… Dad flipped. I was out here like… a week later?”

When Lily didn’t respond immediately, Taylor lifted her head, staring at the older girl. Lily was clearly furious; her hands curled into tiny fists on the table as she glared down at the surface of it. Taylor was tempted to open her mouth to say something, anything to clear that anger, feeling equal parts embarrassed and touched that she seemed this upset. It took Lily a few moments to speak; her expression smoothing over as she glanced up.

“Charlie suspected it was something like that. You seemed a bit… nervous around people.” Taylor studied Lily for a few moments before shrugging her shoulders and offering the other girl a tentative smile.

“It was a shock, being uh, glommed on like that. But it’s helped. This whole… thing has been kind of a blessing in disguise, though? Things have been... better since I got here. The school’s a bit scarier, but… no one really stares at me, and I’ve got you and Charlie around, and you’re both pretty cool and…” Taylor trailed off, chuckling nervously as she pushed her hair back from her eyes.

Half a dozen sentences started in the back of Taylor’s mind, but none of them made it to her lips as she silently observed Lily. The older girl nodded absently in a way that let Taylor know that she’d gotten the gist of what Taylor had been trying to say, but Lily’s attention quickly settled on her mug once more. Taylor wondered if she’d have to remind Lily about their ‘deal,’ when the girl finally spoke.

“My Mom’s dying.” The words were uttered softly, not quite under Lily’s breath, but they were so matter-of-fact that it staggered Taylor. “Well, she’s not- My adoptive mom, Gertie. She’s... “ Lily trailed off again, her knuckles visibly whitening around the handle of her mug as she glared at the murky liquid.

‘Jesus.’

“...Jesus, Lily. I’m sorry.” Taylor stared in muted shock at Lily, staring at the girl as their roles suddenly swapped. Lily’s form shrank back a bit; hands come up to grip the mug before her like it might be a lifeline, or perhaps some sort of shield.

“It’s Leukemia. She’s had it for a while now, but… things aren’t going great.” Lily continued in that small voice, almost as if she hadn’t heard Taylor’s muttered apology, absently fiddling with the cup. “...She’s gotten pretty weak, and they don’t move her around much anymore, and they were doing a treatment at the house this afternoon, and I just... I couldn’t-” Lily trailed off and Taylor stared at the other girl, desperately trying to figure out what you could say in response to a comment like that.

“I promised myself when it all started happening again that I’d be there for her, that I’d be… strong, for her, and I’m trying but… It’s hard.” Lily’s voice cracked a touch and Taylor shifted forward quietly, staring at the other girl. “Some days, I just… I just don’t want to go back there and be faced with that. She’s- every day it feels like she’s slipping away just a little more and it’s-” The girl paused, taking a heavy breath. “I just… I can’t do anything, and that’s so…”

Taylor stared at the solemn look on Lily’s face, taking in that familiar tension in her shoulders, and she frowned quietly. She studied the stubborn set of Lily’s jaw and the way the older girl’s teeth were grinding and she could almost see flashbacks of her own face in the mirror back when she’d been so determined to keep everything bottled up, to protect her dad, to allow him the time that he deserved to grieve. Staring at that familiar face, Taylor felt her mouth open, and she uttered something without thinking, something that she’d wished someone had said to her all those years ago.

“You know that you’re entitled to your grief, right, Lily?” Taylor almost instantly regretted the words when Lily’s head snapped up, the girl’s red eyes locked onto hers. Shifting back, Taylor pressed on, fiddling with her sleeves. “You- That is, we’re just kids, Lily… You’re allowed to be hurt or confused. Your mom is dying, and you love her, and you’re allowed to be angry and hurt about that, you’re allowed to need some time to yourself…” The other girl stared at her and Taylor fidgeted in place, pressing on.

“You’re allowed to scream, and cry, and to let the world know that this isn’t fair. No-one will blame you for that, Lily.” Taylor shifted silently forward in her seat, resting her elbows on the table. “You’re allowed to occasionally be selfish, or bitter, Lily, to think of yourself first. And, and, if you can’t handle seeing her like that, you’re allowed to just hide out with Charlie at a meeting, or drag me out for coffee or whatever.” Flushing, Taylor let out a gentle sigh, her tone turning sombre.

“That… being said, Lily. You do have an… opportunity here that most people don’t get.” Catching the other girl staring at her strangely out of the corner of her eye, Taylor silently rubbed her arm, staring at the table as she continued. “It’s just… my mom died a few years back, Lily. And, like, one of my biggest regrets is that I never got to say goodbye to her… I never got to… Ask her about so much.” Taylor frowned down at her coffee before moving up to touch her hair.

“I used to wear my hair long, you know? Like, down past my shoulders, nearly to mid-back, cause that’s how my mom wore hers, and it was only after I came here that I saw that when she was my age, my mom wore her hair like this.” Taylor adjusted her locks, more to reference what she was talking about as opposed to any attempt to improve her looks. “And I mean, it suits my face better, I think? Frames it properly, makes my cheekbones a bit less wide, and-” Pausing, Taylor shook her head, cutting herself off.

“The point is, that’s something that I never got to talk to her about…” Frowning quietly. “I used to dream about like, being there in the car with her, and trying to say goodbye only for her to miss it, or for something tragic to happen, and that’s… I’d have given anything for a chance to be with her, to make sure that she understood that I loved her when she went.” Taylor frowned down at the table, nervously dragging the tip of her fingernail over the rough grain of the table. Sighing softly, Taylor shrugged her shoulders and fiddled with her cup in silence.

“I imagine that she knew that you loved her, Taylor,” The words were tentative, and Taylor glanced up at the other girl, blinking at the sad smile on her face. “Moms kind of have this… superpower, I think. And I bet she’d tell you that you look great like this, but you probably looked great before as well. But since she’s not here, you’ll just have to take my word for it.” Taylor blinked at the comment, cheeks burning as she bowed her head, taking another drink of her now cold chocolate.

Lily was just being nice, but it was a nice sentiment all the same. Silence returned to the table, but it was less heavy, less laden with unasked questions, and once things had settled a bit, Taylor gestured over to the nearby stage.

“You mentioned Charlie and poets? Do they do spoken word here? Slam poetry?” Taylor felt her lips quirking into a smirk as Lily let out a tiny chuckle, and then leaned forward as the other girl launched into a tale about Charlie and her long term obsession with a poet that frequented the cafe named ‘Blake’, the older girl dropping into a detailed description of how Charlie would often wax poetic about how her and Blake’s souls were intertwined and that it was so very clear in Blake’s art.

The growing smile on Lily’s face as she chattered away was particularly comforting to Taylor as the wind continued to rattle the windows outside, snow falling heavily.

‘Sonofa-’ A sharp gust of wind and a plume of light powdery snow washed up off the snowbank at the curb outside the townhouse and smashed right into Taylor’s face, scouring her already frozen features and leaving her sputtering as Lily, the traitor, huddled into her back and used her as a god-damned windbreak.

The unpleasant snowfall of the earlier afternoon had only continued to grow worse as they’d drank their coffee and when they stepped out into the actual blizzard, only to discover that the busses were all either running exceptionally late or outright cancelled. Thus, they’d ended up trudging the twenty minutes of snow-treading to get back to Taylor’s place instead of trying their luck at the bus stops along the way.

This was apparently the right course of action, as for the entirety of their unpleasant hike, they haven't seen a single bus trundling past them. Quickly moving up the steps to the house before another traitorous bout of wind could hit her, Taylor tugged off her glove, pulling out her keys and slotting them into the door.

A quick twist to unlock the door and she swung it inwards, admitting Lily into the small landing area at the base of the townhouse before following her in and slamming the door against the wind and snow with a long low sigh of relief. This relief lasted approximated twenty seconds until a voice came calling down the stairs.

“Taylor? Is that you? You’re a bit late getting back; I was getting worried about you being out in this kind of weather.” Taylor tugged off her scarf, moving to hang it by the door as she shouted back up the stairs.

“Yeah, Gram. It’s me. I went out for coffee with a friend after school.” Lily glanced at her and Taylor shrugged, moving to unzip her jacket, hanging it up with her scarf. After a moment, Lily moved to do the same, pulling off her coat and gloves and hanging them next to Taylor’s.

“Oh! I found the rest of those trashy vampire hunter books that you were reading, Taylor. I was out in the garage today looking for where I’d put your grandfather’s records, and I found them tucked away in a box with a bunch of old manuals.” Taylor felt her cheeks heating, dread swirling in her gut as her grandmother plowed on. “Though, I’d forgotten how racy these things got, dear. Why this Werewolf fella on the cover of this one is-”

“Gram!” Taylor cried out with a strangled voice, doing her best to ignore Lily’s faint chuckles from beside. “We’ve got company!” There was a muted chuckle from Lily’s direction, and Taylor shot the girl a narrow-eyed look as her grandmother called down a smart comment in reply.

“Oh? Is she interested in bare-chested werewolf men as well?” Cheeks burning bright red, Taylor wished that she’d left her scarf on so she’d have something to hide behind as Lily answered for her.

“I imagine that a werewolf would be rather scruffy, Taylor’s Gram. Probably not to my tastes.” There was a short bark of laughter from up the stairs, followed by the sound of feet moving across the floor and down towards them. Kicking off her boots, Taylor glanced at Lily’s wide teasing smirk before turning to watch her grandmother appear at the top of the stairs, staring down at them with her hands on her hips.

“Well, are you going to stand there in the melting snow and get frost-bite, or are you going to come in.” Huffing, Taylor moved out of the hallway and climbed up the stairs, glancing back to be sure that Lily was following. Her grandmother vanished back up the stairs and into the kitchen once more, and Taylor followed her.

“Lily lives a bit further away than me, and the buses are sort of delayed? Or cancelled? I figured that she could hang out for a bit until things get a bit less hairy outside?” Taylor stared at her grandmother nervously as the woman turned to look at her curiously before turning and offering her hands out to Lily.

“Lily, was it?” The woman took both of Lily’s hands in her own, giving them a gentle grip, and then she flashed the younger girl a quick smile. “It’s nice to meet you, dear, I’m Mary. You’re welcome to shelter up as long as you like, though the storm’s supposed to last through most of the night. If it doesn’t ease up at all by dinner, I’ll give you a lift home, alright?” Taylor was surprised at the ease that the woman accepted Lily into her home, though she wasn’t quite sure why she should be. “Is Meatloaf okay with you, Lily? No issues with meat or bread?”

“Er, yeah- but you don’t have to-” Lily tried to stammer her way through some sort of gentle rebuttal, but Taylor watched her grandmother smoothly brush off the worries with an ease that left her feeling frankly jealous.

“It’s no trouble at all, dear. Why don’t you two go find something to amuse yourselves, dinner will be in about an hour.” Lily hesitated for a moment before turning toward her. Shrugging, Taylor gestured toward the stairs that lead up toward the living room, and then beyond that, the bedrooms and Lily headed toward her. “Oh, and Lily, dear? Make sure that your parents know that you’re someplace out of the storm?” Taylor watched Lily hesitate for a moment before nodding quickly and scurrying toward her.

Taylor led the way up the stairs and to her bedroom, opening the door to admit Lily. The room looked fairly close to how it had when she’d first brought her mother’s things down, the only notable additions being a large bookshelf next to her bed, and the laptop on the desk.

“Neat, Retro.” Lily’s voice drifted over her shoulder, and Taylor flashed the girl an enthusiastic smile as she headed over to perch on the edge of her bed. Lily meandered, though, carefully slipping through the room and inspecting the details thoughtfully. She studied the posters, the knick-knacks on the various horizontal surfaces, and skimmed past the pile of books that her grandmother had helpfully left out on her dresser.

Thankfully, the girl moved quickly and settled her attention on the open case filled with her records. Taylor watched as Lily thumbed through them thoughtfully, leaning forward as she seemingly got a bit lost in the various albums.

“There’s an AV jack that I got for the player, we could just hook up our-” Taylor trailed off when Lily pulled out a record sleeve, flipped it over to read the tracklist on the back and then expertly slid it from the sleeve and set it to playing on the record player. As the music started around them, the girl turned and flashed her a smile.

“Gotta love Whitney Houston, right?” The girl’s teasing smile soothed the anxiousness that had begun to creep into her as Lily was inspecting her things, and the older girl dropped into a seat on the nearby chair. “So…” Lily set her hands on her knees, tapping her knees with her fingers and staring at her curiously. Taylor leaned forward, finally voicing a question that had been bothering her all afternoon.

“Seriously, though, what assignment was Barrs talking about?” Taylor blinked when Lily let out an amused laugh, before launching into an explanation about the homework that the ‘old bat’ had assigned the pair of them.

Chapter Text

Swallowing a yawn, Taylor lifted one hand, rubbing tiredly at her eye as she glanced down to check her watch on the other wrist. When she saw that she still had nearly ten minutes until she’d actually have to be here, Taylor silently bemoaned her decision from earlier this morning to not let herself press the snooze button even once.

Rapidly blinking her eyes, Taylor shook her head, as if the action could slap some life into her exhausted bones. Taylor’s attention drifted skyward, and she stared at the murky grey sky, the sun still too low to peek past the buildings around her, and she couldn’t quite keep a smile off her face as she considered why she’d been up till two in the morning when she should have been sleeping to get up at seven.

It was… strange, having friends again. People that would text you, and who you'd want to text back. As much as she might regret it now, it had been difficult to contemplate just setting her phone down in the moment; even asking Charlie if they could finish their chat come morning felt impossible. Even now, standing out here in the cold and still half-awake despite a long shower, breakfast, and a ten-minute hike through the snow, Taylor could admit that, if offered a do-over, she’d probably do it again.

The sound of brakes screeching startled her out of her musings, and she scrabbled back from the curb just in time to avoid the icy slush that the bus splashed up as it pulled up. Stepping up and out of the cold when the door opened, Taylor stamped her boots off on the rubber mat, rifling through her pockets to locate her wallet.

Fishing out her transit pass, Taylor inserted it into the farebox, offering the bored driver a polite smile as the light flashed twice before releasing a familiar ding. Once she had her card in hand once more, Taylor stuffed it back into her wallet and turned to stumble down the aisle of the bus as it pulled away from the curb, trundling down the sleepy snow-laden streets.

Taylor’s heart sank when she lifted her head and noticed how packed the bus was, though the disappointment at having to stand for the twenty minutes between here and school faded almost instantly when she spotted a very familiar face in the crowd. Lily glanced at her, offering up a hesitant smile that Taylor returned after a moment, padding toward the older girl.

Almost unconsciously, Taylor lifted one of her hands to adjust her scarf and jacket and smoothed down her hair as she walked past several large men who looked just as tired as she felt. She climbed into the rear of the bus and moved toward Lily, and saw the girl’s cheeks color subtly when she glanced up at her.

“Lily, hey.” As Taylor spoke, Lily moved her bag off the seat next to her, and Taylor smoothly slid into the vacated seat, accepting the paper cup that the other girl offered. She lifted the cup, popped the top, and took a short inhale of the rich chocolatey aroma, before flashing Lily a thankful smile. “Oh, uh… Thanks. What brings you out to the boonies? Something going on with the 55?”

“Mmmm. Not really. I just woke up a bit early this morning, realized that I only had to leave ten minutes earlier to get this route, and then I could keep you company on the ride in.” Lily glanced out the windows as she took a sip of her coffee. Taylor stared at her, watching the way she carefully studied the old buildings and houses that drifted past in the early-morning gloom. “It’s a bit more scenic, actually.”

“Yeah, bit longer though, isn't it?” Taylor offered, peering at Lily and blinking when the girl shrugged one of her shoulders before taking a sip of the coffee in her hands.

“Eh, the company makes up for an extra ten minutes on the bus, don’t you think?” Lily turned toward her, a friendly smile on her face. This time it was Taylor’s cheeks that colored as she quickly turned away, finding refuge in her own cup. She tested the dark liquid within and sighed as the hot chocolate hit her tongue. Thankfully, it had clearly had enough time to cool a bit, and she took a long pull before settling back in her seat.

“So what’d you get up to this weekend? Charlie blew up my phone, but you were kind of quiet.” Taylor spoke softly, glancing at Lily, and noted the relief on the older girl’s face that hinted that the subject change was appreciated. Lily stared back at her for a moment before offering a tiny smile.

“I uh, talked to Gertie.” Taylor returned the smile as Lily spoke while adjusting her jacket. “Told her about how I’d been feeling, what you said. We spent most of the weekend just chatting about stuff.” She smiled faintly down at her cup, the tip of her thumb dragging over the raised edges of the plastic lid. “It was… good. She understands, which was more surprising to me than it should have been. She’s kind of amazing.”

“She sounds pretty great,” Taylor responded softly, turning to let her gaze wander the bus as Lily’s attention returned to the buildings drifting past. The warm air in the bus soaked into her through her jacket and gloves, and Taylor let out a faint yawn.

“She- uh, asked me to invite you over for dinner sometime, if you want.” Taylor shifted curiously and blinked when Lily glanced back at her. Lily continued, speaking a touch quickly. “I uh- I mentioned you while we were talking. She knows Charlie as well, she just likes to keep up to date with my friends, it’s kind of-” Taylor cut her off with a lazy wave of the hand.

“It’s fine; I’d love to meet her. You’ve made her sound pretty fascinating. Just lemme know the time.” Taylor shifted into a more comfortable position, doing her best to swallow the yawn that wanted to escape. “Where do you live, anyway? I know that you take the subway in, Charlie mentioned that, but you never really said.”

“Up in Forest Hills.” Taylor’s mind scrabbled at the name of the neighborhood that Lily gave, struggling to remember where that was. Lily’s warm chuckle washing over her, the girl evidently catching onto her confusion. “It’s up to the North West. It’s a fifteen-minute subway ride, and then the bus ride.” Nodding, Taylor glanced at Lily.

“You’ve lived there long?” Taylor’s question seemed to surprise Lily, causing the older girl to stare at her a touch strangely before responding slowly.

“Yeah, since I was eleven, that’s when Gertie first got me. It’s a nice house. A bit big for just the two of us, though.” Nodding absently, Taylor did her best to swallow another yawn as Lily described the house to her. The motion of the bus and its warmth made it hard to focus.

“Taylor.” The words poked at her, dragging her out of the warm doze that she’d sunk into, and Taylor lifted a hand, rubbing tiredly at her eye again. A gentle nudge and Taylor felt someone shifting against her, that voice coming again, words tinged with faint hints of embarrassment and regret. “We’re nearly at school, Taylor; you need to wake up.”

‘Lily? Why’s she in my-’

It took Taylor longer than it really should have to pick up on the fact that the warm wool against her cheek wasn’t her quilt. In the end, it was the lingering scent of coffee and the faint motion of breathing that allowed Taylor to cotton onto the fact that she wasn’t in her bed. She dozed off against Lily’s side. Jerking up, Taylor shifted away from Lily, her cheeks a brilliant crimson. She turned to the other girl, seeing a matching color on the older girl’s face, and she coughed.

“S-Sorry,” Taylor stuttered out nervously, brushing her hair back from her face and glancing down to see if she’d lost her drink. It took her a moment to figure out that Lily had it back in her hands once more, and she let out a faint sigh of relief. “I uh, didn’t sleep well last night. Charlie was explaining that Magic card game thing to me, or... trying, at least?” Taylor chuckled nervously, cheeks still burning as Lily let out a faint scoff.

“Charlie’s the sort of person that loves dragging her friends into her passions.” Turning toward the other girl, Taylor watched as Lily rolled her eyes and adjusted her bag. “She likes to share the things she loves with the people she cares about, so you should really look forward to when the ground isn’t frozen, and she can drag you out LARPing.” Shaking her head, Lily offered Taylor’s drink back to her, and she accepted it sheepishly.

Before Taylor could respond, the bus lurched slowly to a halt, and Taylor glanced out the window at the school. Blinking in surprise, Taylor scrabbled out of her seat, stepping back to let Lily shift out ahead of her. She followed the shorter girl down and off the bus and up the steps toward the school.

Walking side by side with Lily, Taylor stared at her out of the corner of her eye, watching the color fading from the older girl’s cheeks. Taylor was tempted to apologize again for dozing off like that, but when she opened her mouth, the words wouldn’t come. Her mouth closing abruptly, Taylor let out a sigh as she glanced around. She was surprised that some people were willing to brave winter morning outside the school, even with the faint rays of sun peeking out past the cloud cover above.

Taking a drink of her now cold chocolate, Taylor quickly bounded up the steps, pulling the door open for Lily, chuckling when the girl shot her a look, then followed her into the school. Unlike Taylor, whose locker was clear on the other side of the building, Lily’s locker was right around the corner, and Taylor ended up leaning against Charlie’s next to it, holding Lily’s coffee as she rifled around within.

“So, as if it isn’t enough that you two brats went to my favorite coffee shop without me after bailing on our meeting, now you’re coming into school together as well?” The familiar voice drifted their way, and Taylor watched Lily’s ears turning a brilliant crimson for a moment before turning to stare at Charlie.

The redheaded girl was standing off to the side, hands on her hips, showing off a branded t-shirt that read ‘#TeamAlice,’ whatever that meant and staring at them with a look of mock irritation on her face.

“We uh, we just went to get some hot chocolate and to talk,” Taylor commented faintly, rolling her eyes when Charlie scoffed and strode over. Taylor opened her mouth to protest when the older girl snagged Lily’s coffee out of her hand and took a sip. Lily turned to shoot the redhead a look loaded with something, and Charlie rolled her eyes, handing the drink back. “Fine, but you two are coming back with me tonight. Monday is the Poetry Slam night, and I want a chance to give you an actual tour.”

“Charlie-” Lily cut in, her voice laced with resignation, and Taylor stared at the older girl as Lily’s lips pressed into a line.

“I don’t mind,” Taylor commented quickly, cutting Lily off. Both of the girls turned to stare at her curiously, and Taylor did her best to keep the smile on her face. “It was fun, and it might be interesting to see it active. And who doesn’t love poetry?” Lily’s eyes still lingered on her as she spoke, and Taylor flashed the older girl a quick smile, earning herself an almost amused sigh.

“You know, Taylor, if you let Charlie walk all over you like this, you’ll be in for quite the adventurous two years.” Lily’s comment drew a gasp of mock outrage from Charlie, causing the redhead to punch the other girl in the arm playfully. With a huff, Charlie stepped away from Lily, settling next to Taylor and looping their arms together.

“Just for that, Taylor’s my new best friend.” Glancing nervously between the pair to assure herself that the banter was entirely playful, Taylor felt her cheeks burning at the game that the other two were playing.

“Good luck, Taylor.” Turning back to Lily, Taylor caught the girl’s wicked grin as she continued with an almost droll tone. “Don’t forget that you can’t feed her after midnight, get her wet, or expose her to bright lights, or she’ll explode.” Grinning back, Taylor rolled her eyes at Lily. She’d actually managed to get one of the references that the girls made.

“I think at this point; the food rule’s already been broken.” Taylor glanced at Charlie, pretending to inspect her casually. “Definitely more Gremlin than Mogwai, I think.” Charlie’s fake gasp of betrayal caused Taylor’s grin to grow, and she ducked away from the older girl’s casual swat, swooping around behind Lily to hide, despite the difference in their heights making the action pointless.

Taylor stared at the six cards in her hand, carefully inspecting each one. Between Charlie’s detailed explanation last night, and Lily’s quick refresher a few minutes ago, Taylor understood how this game worked at the most basic of levels, but the nuance eluded her. Half the cards in her hand were the ‘Myr’ creatures that Lily had constructed the deck around, and she understood that they worked best when played together in groups, but the effects listed on each card were confusing.

Glancing up, she caught the boy opposite staring at her impatiently. Hugo was one of Charlie and Lily’s friends, and he’d volunteered to help Lily show her how the game worked in practice. He seemed nice, despite the seriousness with which he apparently took the game. Shaking her head, Taylor turned her attention back to the cards and moved to grab the one with the highest numbers for its attack and defense that she actually had the resources to summon.

A delicate cough to her left startled her, and Taylor froze, turning to look at Lily. The older girl was staring at her hand, and the look on her face indicated disapproval of the card she was holding. When Lily looked at her, Taylor raised an eyebrow, prompting the older girl to speak.

“I uh, I wouldn’t start with that card. At this point, I’d probably-” Lily’s advice was cut off by the boy across from her.

“Lily! Kibitzing.” The word didn’t mean anything to Taylor, but she did watch Lily wince, hunching her shoulders a touch while turning to speak to the boy.

“Hugo, she doesn’t even understand the game. I was helping.” Lily’s voice was a mixture of exasperated and slightly embarrassed, and Taylor felt her own cheeks heating a touch as Hugo responded smoothly.

“And she won’t learn anything if you just play the game for her. Let her make her mistakes.” The boy’s face was oddly serious, even though they were just playing a game. Lily shot her an apologetic look but didn’t say anything else, and Taylor blew out a breath, turning back to stare at her cards.

Considering the words that Lily had managed to get out before Hugo had interrupted her, Taylor turned her attention to the other cards in her hand, contemplating each carefully. Dragging her fingers along the cards, Taylor hesitated when she felt a hand settling against the small of her back.

She glanced at Lily, earning a scoff from across the table, but the older girl didn’t respond beyond offering a subtle half-smile. Once more dragging her fingers along the cards, Taylor stopped when Lily’s hand pressed into her spine, and she pulled the card that she’d been touching out, staring at it thoughtfully. It wasn’t ‘strong’ per se, but upon reading the description, Taylor realized that it was indestructible. It’d be helpful in defending her health pool.

Setting the card down, Taylor smiled as Lily shifted closer, hand still on her back, clearly intent on seeing how Hugo would react. The boy offered them both a suspicious look, adjusting his glasses before setting down his own cards. The game continued like this, Taylor letting Lily guide her hand, and surprisingly managing to pick up enough of the rules as she wasn’t entirely reliant upon Lily’s guidance.

It wasn’t enough to assure her a victory, sadly, despite some very lucky draws on Taylor’s part, however. Lily’s disappointment as the other boy tapped three cards and removed two-thirds of her health in a single move was oddly poignant. She opted to head over and get lunch as Taylor tidied up, and when Taylor noticed the other boy sorting out the cards and mixing them by hand, she moved to follow his efforts with Lily’s deck.

“You’ve got a good eye for the game, Taylor. At this point, it’s mostly practice, and, I suppose, obtaining your own cards.” The boy flashed her a smile as he pushed to his feet, and Taylor followed suit, smoothing out Lily’s deck neatly.

“I-uh, thanks. Hugo. It was fun.” The boy nodded absently, turning and heading down the table. Taylor watched him go, glancing at where Charlie sat a few seats over, sitting opposite a boy who hadn’t managed to catch on that Charlie was feigning her distress if the eager glint in his eyes was anything to go by.

With a shake of her head, Taylor turned, glancing around to see where Lily had ended up. When she noticed her standing next to a taller boy with sandy blonde hair and a square jaw, however, all she could do was frown. The boy was speaking to Lily, his entire form visibly tense, and Lily looked equally uncomfortable to be speaking with him. Taylor moved across the linoleum floor, watching the boy’s dark brown eyes shift to settle on her for a moment.

He muttered something to Lily before stepping away. The boy’s dark eyes lingered on her for a few more moments before he turned, heading across the cafeteria. Taylor turned to watch him go, blinking when she noticed a pair of green eyes on her. A girl with red hair and freckles sat alone at a table, staring at her. The look in the girl’s eyes was curious, confused, and she glanced away as the boy approached her. Taylor’s frown deepened as she considered the pair silently.

“Taylor.” Lily’s voice drifted toward her, accompanied by the sound of tentative footsteps, and Taylor turned, taking in Lily’s harried expression. The older girl hesitated, opening her mouth only to end up closing it after a moment, words failing her.

“What was that all about?” She watched as Lily glanced away from her, following the girl’s gaze toward where the two teens were sitting. The sandy-haired boy and the redhead girl seemed in the midst of a slightly heated discussion, and Taylor felt her brows furrowing as she took it in.

“Nothing important, he’s in one of my AP classes, and I skipped out on a thing we were supposed to do Friday night,” The older girl didn’t seem concerned, but something about the tension in her shoulders told Taylor that this wasn’t the whole story.

“Are you in trouble? I didn’t mean-” Taylor started, pausing when Lily stepped closer, shaking her head.

“No, no. It’s fine. I called in and stuff. It’s stupid.” Shaking her head, Lily turned toward the bay of vendors and glanced at Taylor, clearly seeking to change the subject. “Pizza, I think? Can’t get that too badly wrong, right?” Lily grinned at her, and Taylor nodded, following.

They ended up acquiring three slices and three bottles of juice, and Taylor followed Lily back toward the table. As they approached, the boy opposite Charlie said something with a flourish, setting a card down and almost talking to himself as he started to turn card after card, freezing when Charlie let out a playful cough.

Taylor and Lily hesitated by the table, watching as Charlie started setting out blue cards on the table. Even though Taylor had little to no idea of what the actual cards did, the way the boy’s grin slowly faded along with the excited color in his cheeks was particularly telling. Despite having his entire scheme dismantled in front of him, the boy was a good sport about his loss, and Taylor watched, fascinated, as he chatted with Charlie, listening raptly as the older girl explained how to avoid having that happen again the next time.

When the boy vanished, and Charlie started to clean up her cards, Taylor dropped onto the seat on the girl’s left, Lily taking her right.
Taylor set a bottle of juice before Charlie as a pizza slice appeared on the other side. The trio dropped into a conversation about the game, Taylor eventually recounting her own loss.

Oddly, instead of launching into a protracted examination of her mistakes, the other two girls seemingly changed tracks, quizzing her about her everything from her favorite color to what sort of fantasy creatures she liked while they whiled away the remainder of the lunch period.

Sandwiched between Lily and Charlie, Taylor stared out at the dimly lit cafe and was struck by how different one crowd could be from another. The place was packed, but there was nothing of the impersonal wall of people that Taylor had so often been confronted with back at Winslow.

People were moving around, spreading out between different conversations, mingling, and talking like it was a big party, and Taylor supposed that it was. Everyone recognized each other, and their faces constantly lit up. Smiles were offered around with such freedom that even Taylor ended up getting a few, laced with confusion as they were.

Taylor was even drawn into a few conversations from people coming up to speak with Lily or Charlie, and introducing themselves to Taylor. The other two were speaking with an older boy with platinum blonde hair and pristine blue eyes, but Taylor’s attention wasn’t on the conversation about the boy’s latest disastrous date. She was focused on the crowd still.

It wasn’t… loud. That was the biggest thing about her new school that stuck out to Taylor. The place was cacophonous, tiny sounds layering up and mingling together to form a veritable ocean of sound, but things were so much quieter here. Faint jazz music drifted down from speakers hidden in the darkness above the hanging lights, and everyone spoke so softly that it was more like a thin blanket of whispers wrapped around them, mingling with the occasional subtle cough or scrape of metal on tile.

The sound rapidly fading away startled Taylor out of her contemplations, and she took a glance at the others. Everyone around the table turned as one to stare toward where she remembered the stage was. The people around the table moved, each of them locating seats or moving to squeeze against the walls. As the crowd cleared, Taylor stared curiously at the raised stage and the lone microphone that stood on it.

A single overhead light illuminated the stand, becoming a beacon as the rest of the lights dimmed until the entire crowd was wreathed in near darkness. Then came the scuffle of movement, and a woman clambered up onto the stage, walking into the lit circle. She turned to wave at the crowd as she approached the mic.

“Hello, Blake Ducharme here.” The girl spoke with a hint of subtle nervousness in her tone, even as her lips curled into a smile at the faint response that her comment got. Remembering the Blake that Lily had mentioned, Taylor glanced at Lily, earning herself a subtle smile and nod. Eyebrows raising, Taylor turned to peer at Charlie, taking in the intensity in the redhead’s eyes.

Taylor turned to inspect the girl on the stage as she started to speak. She was heavier than Taylor, with brilliant, almost violently purple-blue hair and pale skin. Dressed in jet black clothing, coated in black make-up and with a number of gleaming piercings in her face, the girl was the polar opposite of the image that Taylor had cultivated in her mind from hearing Lily and Charlie’s descriptions. From the stories that she’d heard, Taylor had expected Blake to be a broody teenage boy of some sort.

“-shit I believe in, but can’t prove. I fall in love with her quickly, the way she wanted me to, all skin and poem and diet coke, listening to Regina Spektor on her bed while she calls me ‘baby girl’ and plays with my hair,” the girl spoke, and Taylor focused on the words, her brow furrowing as she listened to the emotion laced in the pale girl’s tone. Adjusting the book in her hand, the girl continued, the tremor in her voice growing subtly as she went, “When I find a boy’s hair in the rough drafts of her poems, I pretend not to.

“When I ask her what she loved about him, she says; ‘I know this is bad, but he was so terrible to me that I never ran out of things to write about.’ I wonder if she wants a lover, or a writing prompt. There’s a certain high to hating yourself, she told me once-” The girl’s voice deepened, bitterness lacing her tone, and Taylor turned to Charlie, frowning at the way the girl’s casual, easy smile had faded. Taylor took in the intense look in the older girl’s eye and the way that Charlie’s knuckles had whitened as she gripped the cup before her.

Taylor turned to her own cup, frowning quietly in surprise at the clear upset in her friend’s features. Charlie generally took most things in stride, but the concern and secondhand anger on her face were surprising to see. Taylor’s gaze lingered on Charlie once more, drawn to the way her eyes softened as she stared at the stage. Taylor turned and froze, taking in the vulnerable look on Blake's face as she glanced back at them, still speaking.

“-In an effort to get her to stay, I promise her; ‘I will be whatever you want me to be.’ She tells me; ‘That is the problem.’ The girl fell silent, and Taylor swallowed as the poet stood there, listening to the applause, her eyes still lingering on Charlie, something unspoken passing between them. Feeling as if she’d witnessed something personal, Taylor flushed with embarrassment and shifted away as if that would give Charlie some semblance of privacy.

Lily turned to her when Taylor ended up leaned into her side, and she blushed, shifting back away from Lily again, giving the girl some breathing room. Thoughts whirling with what she’d seen, Taylor hesitated when Lily opened her mouth, clearly about to ask what was wrong.

Taylor’s phone rang at that moment, and she thanked whatever god might be listening for the save, tugging it out. She stared at the familiar number on the face and frowned, wondering why her father was calling now of all times. Waving the phone at Lily, she got an understanding nod, and Taylor nudged Charlie, breathing in relief as she pulled out of the booth and answered the call, holding it up her ear.

“Dad?” Taylor tried, covering one of her ears and pressing the phone close. She heard some sort of indistinct sound too hard to hear over the murmur of the crowd. “Just a second, I’m in a cafe.” Quickly scooting along the edge of the crowd, Taylor glanced at the short-haired woman that walked up onto the stage and approached the mic. Sparing her coat a glance where it hung by the door, Taylor debated whether she needed to toss it on to step outside for a few moments, the sound of the woman speaking drawing her attention.

“Dear Straight People.” The girl’s words made Taylor hesitate, and she glanced back at the stage, staring at the girl with the dark hair as she spoke. “Who do you think you are, do you have to make it so obvious that I make you uncomfortable? Why do I make you uncomfortable, that makes me uncomfortable, and now we both uncomfortable.” The harsh comments and the way the girl spewed them forth made Taylor chuckle, despite herself. Her father’s voice drifting indistinctly up from the phone drew her back to the task at hand.

Pushing out the door, Taylor froze at the brightness of the sky overhear. The dark bar had tricked her into thinking that it was later. Blinking to help her eyes adjust, Taylor glanced around at the snow-lined street, tugging her cardigan around her as she stared up at the falling snow.

“-aylor?” The words came out when she pressed her phone to her ear.

“Yeah, Dad, it’s me. Sorry. It was loud in there.” Taylor glanced at the door, moving up the steps and onto the street, walking around the edge of the fence that guarded the staircase down into Jumpstart. Taylor stared at the street for a moment, listening as her Dad hesitated before responding.

“Where are you? I called you at your grandmother’s, and she said that you hadn’t come home after school.” Taylor blinked at the clear concern in his tone, and she shifted the phone to her other ear, checking the time on her watch. Not quite twenty after six. Frowning, Taylor responded softly.

“I was uh, invited out by my friends. There’s a poetry slam thing at this cafe they like.” Taylor paused as her dad’s breath caught a bit, flushing at his response.

“O-Oh. You’ve already made some friends, then?” His voice was soft, laced with something that Taylor couldn’t decipher, and her response was just as soft as she stared out at the empty street before her.

“Yeah, Charlie, and Lily. They go to my school. They’re older than me, but they’re cool. They sorta adopted me on my first day, and we’ve been chatting a bunch since. They’re-” Taylor cut herself off, stopping her babbling, that blush still burning at her cheeks. Glancing down at the slushy pavement before her, Taylor finished the sentence. “They’re nice. It’s nice having people to talk to.” She listened to the silence on the other side of the line.

“Th-That’s good, Taylor. I’m glad that things are going so well for you.” Taylor’s smile faded a bit at the clear sadness mixed into the happy words. Fiddling with her sweater, Taylor stared up, watching a bus trundling past. “What have you kids been getting up to?” The words were spoken with a bit less sadness, curiosity clear in the tone, and Taylor’s smile returned.

Taylor spoke at length about the pair, explaining how they’d met, and what they’d been doing at school, even talking fondly about Lily and the troubles that she’d been having. Taylor’s smile continued to grow as she spoke, practically bragging about how -good- she was doing, how much better things were here. Her dad had never been an overly chatty man, and over the phone, this seemed worse, so Taylor was surprised when he gently cut her off as she’d been trying to explain the magic game to him.

“I’m glad that you’re happy there, Taylor, and it’s getting late, so I probably shouldn’t keep you from your friends.” Taylor’s smile dimmed a bit as she adjusted her phone, listening to her father's breathing. “Things have been going well, yeah? You haven't had any issues with the walks to school and stuff?” Taylor blinked and glanced around.

“I uh, take the bus mostly, dad, but I doubt that it’d be an issue if I had to walk. We’re not really in the city, you know? We’re apparently in a pretty good neighborhood.” Taylor listened as her father drew in a deep breath, his teeth clicking noticeably as he struggled to say something.

“I understand, Taylor, just…” Taylor’s brow furrowed as her dad hesitated again before continuing with a weary sigh. “I just worry. It’s a big city, and I don’t want you to get hurt. Just… be careful. And let your grandmother know when you’re going to go out. And you should give me a call on Friday; I’d like to speak with you more.” Taylor agreed, frowning quietly at her phone once her dad had hung up. She stared at the molded plastic of her phone case curiously, wondering what’s been bothering him.

Quickly shooting a text message off to her grandmother about where she was, Taylor let her arms fall, letting it rest against her leg as she stared down the street. She was drawn out of her contemplation by the sound of the door behind her creaking open. She turned, watching as Lily glanced up at her before stalking up and around the railing that she was leaning on.

“Everything okay?” Lily’s voice was gentle, and Taylor stared at the other girl, offering her a smile, despite how cold she must have been in that thin shirt given the wind. The older girl walked past her to lean against the railing next to her, offering a curious smile. Taylor held up her phone, wiggling it.

“Yeah, just my dad calling. He was worried when I didn’t get home. I guess I should have texted my grandmother that I was out.” Taylor watched Lily’s eyebrows furrowing thoughtfully at the comments, and she flashed the older girl a quick smile. “I texted her, let her know that I’m out here with you guys.” Lily blinked, nodding absently in agreement with her comment.

“That’s good, wouldn’t do to have people worrying about you.” Lily flashed her a smile, and the older girl’s eyes lingered on her. Glancing back at Lily, Taylor frowned at the way that the older girl had pushed her shoulders up and pressed her arms to her sides, clearly feeling cold out here.

“You must be freezing; I’ll be back inside in a minute; I just wanted some fresh air.” Speaking tentatively, Taylor nudged Lily with her shoulder to get her attention, smiling when the older girl turned to peer at her, cheeks darkening. Lily’s eyes lingered on her as she feigned a casual air.

“It’s not that bad out here, and I like fresh air too.” The older girl took in a deep breath and grinned at Taylor as she spoke. “Brisk.” Rolling her eyes as she took in the subtle shiver in Lily’s form, Taylor reached up, pulling off her cardigan. It was a bit colder to be down to nothing but the slate grey turtleneck, but nothing intolerable.

Reaching over, Taylor moved to drop the sweater around Lily, rolling her eyes when the girl started and stammered out a comment about being fine. Thankfully when Taylor didn’t dignify her lie with a response, the older girl slid her arms into the sweater, wrapping it around herself and shrinking down into it. Taylor settled for watching the snow as it slowly fell, the flakes settling in a blanket over the cars parked on the opposite side of the street. After a few moments of watching the snow, Lily stepped closer, her voice a conspiratory whisper.

“Thanks, wasn’t looking forward to having to go back in there to face the hormonal teenagers.” Blinking, Taylor glanced at Lily, who offered her a tiny smile. “Blake came over to chat with Charlie, and they’re kind of goopy at the moment.” Blinking again, Taylor offered the other girl a tiny smile at the image, turning back to the street. Lily’s tentative voice drifting her way drew Taylor out of her thoughts. “Blake’s not really all that scary, despite the look. She’s a bit older than us, but Charlie’s kind of head over heels for her.” Taylor blinked at the comment

“I-” Taylor paused, hesitant to admit that the girl’s aesthetic wasn’t really what surprised her about the object of Charlie’s affection but the words caught in the back of her throat. She stared at Lily silently, pinned in place by the girl’s curious expression. Charlie and Lily had clearly expected her to be aware of Charlie’s sexuality, and part of Taylor didn’t want to admit that she hadn't caught on. “It’s fine, just a bit of a shock, but Charlie really seems to care about her.”

Taylor took in the casual way that Lily nodded, turning back to the street after a moment. Fiddling with her turtleneck, Taylor let out a sigh of relief as she decided that she had dodged that bullet. Privately, she considered Charlie and how this information changed her. After a moment, Taylor rolled her eyes at herself. It didn’t really change anything, did it? Charlie was still the friendly girl that had glommed onto the strange girl in the strange-

Freezing, Taylor’s thoughts grated to a halt. She glanced at Lily, watching the girl as she stared up the street at a pair of cabbies that had gotten out of their cabs to yell at each other. Glancing over her shoulder, Taylor stared at the building behind her as if she could actually see into the cafe, to see where she’d left her coat and scarf hanging. She imagined the scarf, the jacket, and something click-

Actually, it was less of a click of two pieces of information snapping together and more like dominos ponderously crashing into each other. The implication of the scarf shifted in her mind, grating and knocking something else into place. Taylor’s mind drifted over the last two weeks, replaying everything that had happened. The scarf, the subtle teasing from Charlie, the knowing jokes and comments that had confused Taylor, all of which she’d played along with, assuming they were some sort of inside joke that she wasn’t getting.

Only now, Taylor got them. They thought that she was… Taylor swallowed, glancing at Lily and opening her mouth. Lily wasn’t looking at her, and Taylor hesitated, watching the way that the older girl tightened the sweater around her a touch and took a deep breath, her cheeks and ears darkening. Taylor peered at Lily’s features in profile as the girl looked anywhere but her, and she felt her mouth going dry.

‘Lily… Lily…’

Taylor’s mind drifted over her interactions with the older girl. The subtle comments, the way the girl stared at her like a puzzle that she wanted to decipher. The way that she lingered at the edge of her perception, the conversation they’d had on Friday. The bus ride-

“Blake’s kind of chill, though. She’s got a wicked sense of humor, and hopefully, she’ll distract Charlie from keeping you up at night.” Lily glanced at her with a warmth in her eyes that confused Taylor. Up to this week, the idea of anyone, boy or girl, having a crush on her of all people would have confused her, and Lily, well Lily was-

Lily couldn’t… with her? Taylor was bombarded with emotions — confusion, mixed with disbelief, though other feelings bubbled amongst the rest. Embarrassment of the misconception and how she’d been inadvertently playing into it, worry about what would happen when she admitted it, and beneath it all, some tiny measure of gratification that someone like Lily could find her that... fascinating.

Cheeks turning a brilliant scarlet, Taylor cut that line of thought off in her head, running a hand through her hair. Her attention drifted along the street, wrestling with that idea and wryly noticing that this time it was Taylor that was looking anywhere but at Lily. Watching the cars glittering in the fading sunlight, Taylor idly adjusted her hair again, glancing at Lily out of the corner of her eye, flushing at the other girl’s eyes on her.

Lily took a deep breath, opening her mouth and leaning closer as if she wanted to say something, and Taylor’s heart started to pound at the determination in those eyes. She bit her lip, desperately clawing at the back of her mind for anything to say that wouldn’t hurt Lily if the girl admitted her feelings, but Lily hesitated before any words came out of her mouth.

Lily stared at her silently for several moments before letting out a tiny sigh, her back coming back to rest against the fence once more as she tugged the sweater a bit tighter around herself. Taylor felt a mixture of relief and disappointment that confused her and swallowed both down, turning to glance at Lily.

“It’s getting a bit cold,” she commented, her voice coming out smooth and sure despite how confused and worried she was. Lily looked at her and nodded, so Taylor gestured for her to follow along and made her way back down into the coffee shop. Stamping off her boots, Taylor watched as Lily moved to tug off the sweater, and she waved a hand at her to indicate that she could hold onto it for now.

The soft smile on Lily’s face brought more color to Taylor’s cheeks, but she didn’t delve too deeply into why she’d done that, or Lily’s reactions, instead turning toward their booth. Charlie glanced up at her, grinning at their approach. The older girl waggled her eyebrows, though her expression seemed to falter after a moment when Taylor’s blush intensified.

Taylor slowed a step as Charlie stared at her seriously for a few moments, though the staredown broke when the girl next to the redhead said something, drawing her attention back. Taylor pushed her hair away from her ear, smiling at Lily to assuage her concern, and trailed the girl toward the table as another poet began to speak off to the side.

“And what’s all this about?” Charlie spoke when Lily slid into the booth, gesturing at Taylor’s sweater. The older girl rolled her eyes as Taylor moved in to sit beside her, opposite Charlie.

“I was cold, Taylor’s quite the gentleman.” The words were teasing, said in a way that implied that Charlie was anything but, and Charlie let out an affronted scoff as she rolled her eyes.

“I’m sure that she was quite gallant, Lily,” It wasn’t anything new, the comment, but this time Taylor turned, watching the way the color in Lily’s cheeks and ears turned form chilled red to a more violent crimson. Finally confronted with the fact that Charlie had been teasing Lily about her crush this entire time, Taylor’s cheeks flushed as well. Taking pity on Lily, Taylor turned to Blake, opting to change the subject.

“Hi, I’m Taylor. How’d you meet these two idiots?” Taylor reached out a hand, grinning when Blake returned her smile and took her hand, shaking it firmly. Blake glanced over at Charlie, studying the redhead’s blush before she turned back to Taylor, lips curling into a playful smile.

“D&D. Charlie was brought into our game by a friend of hers, and she saved my Djinn’s life, and sort of stuck around afterward. It was terribly romantic.” Blake’s voice was laced with playful teasing, and Taylor couldn’t hold back her own smile.

“Charlie does seem to have a thing for damsels in distress.” She grinned as Lily leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table.

“Oh! Blake did you ever hear that story about-” Charlie sank back into her seat as the girls teased her playfully, and Taylor smiled, listening to Charlie’s adventures in costume with foam weapon in hand, as the poetry went on in the background.

Chapter Text

Taylor hesitated when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror while she was washing her hands, standing stock still and staring at herself thoughtfully. Holding her hands over the sink, she flicked them once to remove most of the moisture before reaching out and grabbing the paper towel to dry her hands.

She stood there, her eyes locked on her reflection as she considered her updated ‘look’ with an almost morbid curiosity. She took in her short, almost pageboy-esque haircut, and the way it framed her sharp chin and pronounced cheekbones. She studied her glasses as they sat a bit too low on her nose and obscured her dark brown eyes. She took in the way that her lips were just a smidge too wide for her face and frowned.

She wore the same slate grey turtleneck she’d worn last Thursday, same black jeans she’d had for years, neither of which did anything for her figure. She didn’t look any different, there was nothing glaring, or stand-out about her that would have struck as the thing that Lily had latched onto, and yet, for all of that, there must have been something.

Lily had continued to meet her in the mornings on the bus, and they’d ridden to school together every day. They’d eaten together at lunch; they’d hung out with Charlie, and to a lesser extent Blake, after school. And through it all, Taylor had practically felt Lily’s attention lingering over her, much to her growing confusion.

The idea that someone like Lily, of all people, could be attracted to her was… confusing. Lily was… amazing. The older girl was charming, eager to hold a door open or offer her a drink whenever they were together, and there was something intoxicating about feeling other girls staring at her with envy when Lily looked at her like she was the only girl in the room.

Guilt flickered through Taylor, and her gaze dropped, the color in her cheeks fading as she considered if she was being fair to Lily. She… She still wasn’t even certain whether she was interested in the other girl. She’d done her research, she’d looked up the tests, and there wasn’t much to go on.

She’d never fantasized about anyone, really, which wasn’t exactly strange considering how high school had gone up to this point. She’d never really thought about kissing anyone, boy or girl, and she had no data to work off of here. She didn’t find the idea of touching Lily unappealing, even kissing the older girl, but by that same token, there wasn’t any fire, any… smoldering like the articles had said. Just… curiosity and fascination, with a hint of affection.

Taylor wondered if that was enough if it’d be fair to get Lily’s hopes up without knowing for sure where she stood. She knew that her time was running out, and part of her was secretly glad about that. If Lily confronted her, made her choose, then at least this confusion and indecision hanging over her head would be over… whatever she ended up choosing.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Taylor checked her watch. The bell overhead rang, and she chuckled softly, right on time. Stepping out of the bathroom, she headed up the hallway, deliberately keeping her pace slow and casual. She’d wanted this to be a surprise to Charlie and Lily, and arriving at class with them would sort of ruin it.

When she finally reached the familiar dark hallway that her English class took place in, Taylor went to the door that Barrs had indicated. Apparently, it lead through into the small dark room that Barrs’ referred to as her ‘practice stage.’ Lifting one hand, she knocked quickly like the teacher had told her to.

The murmuring voices within faded, and after a moment, the door creaked open to reveal the weathered features of her English, and now, apparently, Improv teacher. Barrs’ eyes lit up and flashed her a grin, and Taylor returned it nervously. Barrs had been especially warm with her, and she suspected from the way the woman looked at her and went out of her way to include her, that she was probably aware of her past. Oddly, instead of embarrassing her, the woman’s exuberance was oddly comforting. More than that, it was fun working with a teacher that clearly cared like that.

“Excellent!” The woman’s hushed voice raised when she turned back to the class, throwing the door open behind her. “Class! We’ve got a late addition to our little troupe, and I hope that you’ll all make her feel welcome. Allow me to introduce you all to Taylor Hebert.” The woman stepped to the side with a flourish, revealing her to the rest of the crowd.

The class was arrayed around the dark room on the various bits of set dressing, and they all flashed her amused smiles, though Taylor’s eyes drifted over to where Charlie and Lily were sat on a large block that’d been painted to resemble a child’s letter block, despite being the size of a couch. Both girls were clearly shocked, Charlie’s mouth actually hanging open. Behind her, Barrs’ voice spoke smoothly.

“Taylor’s actually a year younger than the rest of you, but I couldn’t let her get away without injecting a little drama into her life, and this was her only spot. I hope that you’ll all make sure that she feels welcome.” The woman’s hand settled on her shoulder, and Taylor glanced back at her wide grin. “Go on and take a seat, dear.” The older woman turned to the class, and Taylor scurried over toward Charlie and Lily. The other two girls slid apart a bit to make room for her, and she pulled herself up between them as Barrs resumed speaking.

“Now then! Who here can remind us what we were talking about last week?” The woman’s excited voice prompted one of the boys on the other side of the room to call out ‘Body Language’, and the teacher rounded on him with an exaggerated chuckle and a point. “Exactly, Drew. Body Language! Today we’ll be focusing on conveying emotion or context solely through body language.” The woman grinned at them and moved to assume a pose that looked almost dour. “As you can see…”

An elbow jabbing into her side distracted Taylor from the lesson, and she glanced over at Lily, grinning at the girl’s excited smirk.

“The hell did you manage this, Taylor?” The whisper was quiet enough that Barrs didn’t seem to notice, and Taylor shrugged, responding just as quietly.

“It was all her idea-” Taylor cut off, glancing up to see Barrs giving her a look from across the room before returning to her lecture. She kept her attention on Barrs as she continued out of the corner of her mouth. “She wanted me to take Drama, but it conflicted with that guitar class I wanted, and she suggested this after, figured I’d be tempted to do a class with my friends.”

“Wicked.” Charlie’s responding whisper caused Taylor’s grin to grow a bit more as she tuned back into Barrs’ lecture.

“-ll sorts of everyday uses, from keeping a placid smile on your face at your part-time job, to keeping from looking nervous as your girlfriend’s father stares at you across the dining room table.” The woman flashed the room a grin, earning herself chuckles, and Taylor blinked, feeling warm fingers tugging at the sleeve of her sweater.

Glancing over, Taylor caught Lily looking at her, and she couldn’t quite resist the smile that bloomed on her face when the older girl flashed her a welcoming grin, her cheeks heating a touch as the other girl turned her attention back to the gesticulating woman.

Taylor followed Lily’s example, moving to watch as Barrs demonstrated something, the words the woman was saying drifting in one ear and out the other as she found it difficult to focus on anything besides Lily’s fingers gently curled around her lower arm.

...She was in trouble.

Taylor glanced at the clock with a frown, checking the time again and peering over at the empty seat where Lily had been sitting. The girl’d been gone nearly ten minutes at this point, summoned from the room by the dour boy that she had seen speaking with her in the cafeteria earlier this week. Glancing back toward the door, she wondered if the other girl would miss the rest of the class.

“Alright, Taylor, let’s see what you can do.” Her name being called pulled her out of her thoughts, her attention jerking back to the front of the class. Barrs was standing there, staring back with a wry look on her face. It took a few moments of desperate scrabbling for Taylor to remember what the woman had been discussing.

“Right. An emotion that I wouldn’t typically use?” Taylor spoke, earning herself an amused smirk from Barrs along with a nod. Pushing off the crate, she stood a bit taller and thought about the assignment for a few moments before glancing at Barrs. “Only through posture and expression, right?” Another nod, and she hummed quietly in thought, inspecting the rest of the class.

It wasn’t surprising that contempt was the first emotion that Taylor thought of, considering, well… everything. What was surprising to her was the lack of… grief that she felt remembering Emma’s face curled in that expression. It still… hurt, but it wasn’t the same. There was a distance there. She glanced at Charlie, earning herself a faint curious smile, and she blinked in surprise at the feeling that the lingering bitterness in her hate diminished just a touch more.

Shaking her head, Taylor closed her eyes for a moment and let herself focus and remember. She found Emma’s mind swimming out of the darkness behind her eyes, and she didn’t focus on the other girl’s reactions and how they’d made her feel, instead imagining the lines of Emma’s face, the way that her lips had curled and frowned.

Taylor twisted her face into that shape, emulating the tiny curl of her lips and the tenseness along her jaw. She slowly opened her eyes, focusing on the middle distance at the center of the circle, imagining someone before her. She didn’t give the person a face, or a story, just imagined someone there that had failed her, that had abandoned her and hurt her by what they were, and she let her eyes show that distaste, that disapproval.

Taylor held the expression, listening to the faint sounds of the room around her dimming as everyone focused on her, staring. There was a lingering silence for a few moments until one of the boys on the other side of the room spoke.

“Resentment?” The words were laced with confusion, and Taylor was tempted to pipe up to correct him, but someone else beat her to it. A girl on the opposite side of the room.

“No, look at her eyes, Mark. That’s definitely more contempt.” The words were faint, laced with tinges of recognition and a tiny hint of sadness. Taylor released the hold she had on herself as Barrs clapped, following the voice curiously. She kept an ear on the class, listening as they began to discuss resentment and contempt and the various ways that one could demonstrate them, using her demonstration as an example.

Fighting off her blush at the praise, Taylor found her attention drifting to the girl that’d spoken, taking in her generous build and the short dark brown hair that framed her face. She was surprised when the girl’s gaze came her way in response, those stark blue eyes locking on her as if they were trying to peer into her soul.

Taylor fidgeted under the weight of that stare, watching the other girl’s eyes as they slowly softened. When the girl offered her a tiny little half-smile, she couldn’t resist the warm one that spread over her face. She reached up one hand, slowly running her hand through her hair, wondering why that expression had seemed so congratulatory.

Thankfully, she wasn’t left to dwell on that for too long, Barrs’ voice once more, dragging her out of her contemplations.

“Taylor.” The word was subtle, and Taylor glanced over, staring up at the teacher's green eyes. The woman stared down at her with a worried look, though her expression faded after a moment as she studied her. She did her best to keep the smile on her face as the woman loomed close.

“We’ve only got twenty minutes left, and I was hoping that everyone would do a demonstration. Would you like to go and locate our wayward student so that she could?” There was hesitation in the woman’s tone as if she was resisting the urge to add something onto her statement. Taylor shifted under the woman’s observation for a few moments, and it took her longer than it should have to realize that Barrs was offering her a chance to ‘catch her breath,’ assuming that her efforts might have upset her.

Taylor flushed quietly, oddly touched by the gesture, and she glanced at the door for a moment before nodding back at Barrs.

“I- uh. Sure.” Barrs nodded, and Taylor pushed away from the crate, flashing Charlie a quick reassuring smile at her worried look. Charlie wasn’t able to say anything, though, as Barrs descended on her after apparently designating her as the newest victim. As Taylor headed to the door, she couldn’t quite contain the muted chuckle she let out when Charlie tried and failed to convince Barrs that ‘asleep’ was an emotion.

Slipping out into the empty hallways, Taylor glanced left and right up the hall for a few moments and then turned, making her way up the hall. She frowned at the way that her footsteps echoed in the empty walls, and only belatedly opted to wonder how she’d actually locate Lily. Unfortunately, the other girl wasn’t simply standing in the halls talking.

Luckily for Taylor, the sound of heated voices drifting down the hall caught her attention, and she turned to follow them, concerned at the tone of the raised masculine voice that she could hear.

“-can’t really do that, can we Lily. You’ve been avoiding the rest of us and spending all your time away from the program.” The boy's words were harsh, judgemental, and Taylor’s brow furrowed, the expression deepening at Lily’s pointed response.

“I’m allowed to do that, Josh. I told you all that I might be taking some time away from things in the wake of what’s been happening with Gertie; I want to spend as much time with her as I can… while I can.” The words were sad, and Taylor’s fingers curled into fists when the boy smoothly bypassed Lily’s comment, continuing.

“That’s beside the point, Lily. You’ve been avoiding me for a week, and we need to talk about this.” The boy’s voice dropped after a moment as if realizing how loud he was being, and Taylor had to take several steps closer to hear what he was saying.

“-told us that we should be keeping our distance from that girl, Lily. You know what they were saying about what happened to her, it isn’t-” The boy’s voice was low, chiding, and Taylor listened in confusion as Lily cut him off.

“Josh, he didn’t even know the half of it, but he’s wrong. She’s not-” Lily paused, her voice hitching for a moment before she continued. “There’s no risk there. She doesn’t... “ Lily trailed off again, and Taylor bit her lip, her confusion worsening.

“Lily.” The boy's voice was weary, laced with sympathy. “I can understand, you know. She seems nice, and she’s cute, but you’re taking a huge risk here, not just for yourself, but for everyone. There’s a reason they ordered us to stay away from her.” Taylor’s frown deepened, her brow furrowing as she stepped closer.

“Josh, this-” Lily’s voice raised sharply, and she cut herself off, moderating her tone as she continued. “This has nothing to do with how cute she is, it isn’t like that. But they didn’t order us to stay away from her, just warned us. And it isn’t fair to be cruel like that. She’s my friend, and I think she needs that friendship now, you have no idea what that fucking mo-” Lily cut herself off, clearly swallowing a rant and Taylor felt a sinking feeling growing in her chest as her mind tossed over the words in her head.

“We shouldn’t be talking about this here, Josh. You know that. I have to get back to class.” The words were curt, abrupt, and Lily’s footsteps approached the door that Taylor suddenly realized she was leaning so close against. There was a call from the boy that Lily ignored, and she scrabbled backward, her cheeks turning a brilliant red as the door was thrown open, Lily emerging in a huff.

The older girl froze in place at the threshold of the door, staring at her with wide eyes. Lily stood there for several moments, dread and confusion growing in equal measure across her face. Taylor shifted back a step, glancing between Lily and the boy that appeared in her wake for a few moments, before speaking quickly.

“L-Lily. B-Barrs told me to come to get you; she wants you to do a thing. We should get back to class.” Taylor forced herself not to dwell on what she heard, not to stand there just staring at Lily. She forced her face into a small smile, and she turned, taking several steps away, only stopping when Lily’s footsteps rapidly approached and a small warm hand wrapped around her arm, bringing her up short.

“Taylor?” The words were soft, concerned, and she stood there, not pulling her arm away from Lily, but not turning.

“W-we should get back to class.” Taylor bowed her head, speaking in a subtle whisper, flinching when Lily gently tugged her back toward her. She lifted her head, glancing at Lily’s worried expression as the boy lingered in the background, a solemn expression on his face as his arms crossed.

“Taylor.” Lily’s voice was laced with clear worry as she stared at her. “Taylor, what did you hear?” The words startled her, and she flinched a bit, taking a few steps back.

“We should-” Taylor tried to change the subject, to put this off, but the other girl’s lips parting silenced her again.

“Taylor-” The word was subtle, laced with a chiding tone, and Taylor stopped. One of her hands lifted, the feeling of her fingers gripping her opposite arm, offering her some measure of comfort as she stood rooted in place by Lily’s worried expression.

“You knew then… before I told you?” The words came softly, asked in a tiny voice, her chest clenching as Lily’s expression fell. The boy behind them straightened up, and Taylor’s eyes flicked to him before returned to Lily. “D-Did Charlie know, is that why she...” She asked the question, watching as Lily straightened up, shaking her head.

“No.” The words were resolute but tender. “Charlie sort of picked up on everything on her own, I think she suspected, but she sort of just… saw you as someone that could use more friends and dragged us both along.” Taylor stood silently in place, staring at Lily and frowning as she let her gaze drop to the floor.

“...Why?” Taylor asked, watching as Lily took a step back. When the boy behind the other girl perked up a bit, distaste on his face, she continued, eyes flicking between the two. “Who told you? Why would they? What possible risk could I be, Lily?” She peered at Lily, watching the other girl’s face falling into miserable expression, her chest clenching when Lily didn’t move to speak.

She struggled to come up with someone that could have done this. Emma’s father? No. The school? Why? They’d told her teachers, but why would they tell students… Maybe they were worried that she was a risk… or something. That explained the staring then, Taylor thought to herself. If Lily was constantly worried that she might… snap, she could have been keeping an eye out. She frowned sadly, oddly struck by the disappointment that she felt at that thought. Taylor’s eyes ghosted over lily, drifting between her and the boy looming behind her quietly.

“We should get to class,” Taylor muttered, taking a step back when Lily tried to step toward her, doing her best to ignore the flush of guilt that she felt when Lily’s expression fell even further.

“Taylor, wait-” The words were sad, laced with regret, but Taylor just shook her head, watching Lily nervously and gesturing behind her, ignoring the sharp eyes of the boy behind Lily.

“I c-can’t. Not right now. We need to get back to class. We’ll talk later. Alone.” The boy’s expression shifted, becoming suspicious, but Taylor ignored it, glancing at Lily. The sad look in the other girl’s eyes drew forth a flicker of regret that Taylor had trouble quashing. Still, this time, when she took a step back, Lily followed.

The walk back to class was utterly silent, and Taylor didn’t look at Lily, doing her best to keep a smile on her face when she went into class. Something about the concerned look that Charlie flashed her when she entered and sat on the girl’s other side told her that she probably wasn’t doing a great job at keeping her hurt to herself.

Lily demonstrating guilt for the class did little to calm the raging tempest of emotions swirling around inside Taylor’s head.

It’d be easy, Taylor told herself from her position by the window. She could turn around and go down those stairs, walk past the milling students like there weren’t lead weights attached to her feet. She could walk out those doors and down the steps, and she could approach the lonely little bench in the glass-walled booth that Lily stood by.

It would be simple to just… accuse the girl, to shout at her and drag the truth of everything out of her, to find out who had spilled her secret, and why. It’d be easy to confirm just how stupid she’d been and to just let the burning wreckage of the last three weeks fall around her.

Even now, Lily simply stood there, a forlorn expression on her face as she stared at the doors below Taylor’s feet, clearly waiting for her. Her heart clenched at the idea of just walking out there under those eyes and… Taylor shook her head, dispelling the thoughts as her heart began to race. Glancing down at her hands, she stared at the digits as she gripped the railing by the window so hard that her knuckles turned white.

“Time,” she whispered to herself, taking a step back away from the window, turning to head up the stairs instead of down. She just needed more… time. Things would be better in the morning. She could call Lily, and they could do this over the phone, and then it’d hurt-

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Taylor headed down the hall, having to remind herself twice to slow the movement of her feet when she increased her pace to the point that people began to stare. Somehow, the stares made everything worse, the heat and weight of those eyes exacerbating the pricking at the corners of her eyes, and she buried her face behind the patterned fabric of the scarf that she still wore for some stupid reason.

Swallowing against the tightening of her throat, Taylor ducked her head and did her best to ignore the looks, the curiosity. She moved down the now familiar halls, past her locker, and smoothly out the door on the opposite side of the school.

The brisk air and the bright sunlight did little to lift her spirits as she crossed the yard of the school, her mind locked on the way her back itched as if she could feel the weight of a hundred stares on her back. She could almost feel the eyes of the crowds walking out of the school around her, or faceless imagined people peering out of the windows of the building.

Gritting her teeth and ignoring the sensation, Taylor’s quick sharp steps became jog, and then a run. She must have looked like a maniac as she charged down the slick streets, her heart thundering in her chest as her feet slapped against the pavement, carrying her long past the point where no-one at the school could possibly see her.

Eventually, her stamina gave out, and Taylor staggered to a halt, standing in the midst of the unfamiliar street, her back bent, shoulders hunched up tight to her body as she shook. Arms wrapped tightly around herself; she struggled to catch her breath, closing her eyes tightly to keep the pricking sensations at bay.

She wasn’t sure how long she stood like that, fighting to drag oxygen from the air and battling the urge to cry, the minutes blending together in a haze of deep shuddering breaths and scrubbing pointlessly at her face. She might have stood there for hours but for the gentle contact on her arm that startled her out of her desperate motions.

Jerking away from the contact, she spun, staring in confusion and desperate fear at the hand. Taylor’s let out a shuddering breath laced with a mixture of disappointment and relief when the girl staring at her wasn’t Lily. One of the older girls from her class stood there, the one that had recognized her contempt so easily. She took in the girl’s blatant concern, and something in her flickered with embarrassment, and she shrank back into herself as the girl spoke.

“...Taylor, right? Is everything alright?” The words were gentle, laced with some hint of the understanding that the girl had shown in her eyes in the classroom, and Taylor took a hesitant step back, jerkily shaking her head.

“I-It’s fine. J-just an asthma attack.” Seeing that concern, Taylor felt a measure of guilt at the lie, white as it might have been, but she straightened her back when the girl pulled her hand back, disbelief written on her face. Taking a deep breath, she pasted a smile on her face and did her best to speak clearly despite the lingering shortness of breath. “M-Missed my bus, I was trying to catch it. I-I must have pushed myself too hard.” She stared at the girl, watching the suspicion on her face waning after a second.

“Right. Well, uh, you alright?” the girl spoke curiously, and Taylor nodded, hesitating after a moment when she glanced around at the houses around, suddenly feeling a bit out of her depth.

“Uh… sorta. Where are we?” The girl stared at her in disbelief, before glancing around.

“This is Gareth Drive, I think? We’re like a street over from the school... “ Taylor blinked quietly and glanced around, trying to orient herself with the map of the city that she had in her head, privately relishing in having something to focus on. Letting out a sigh, the girl continued softly. “Where are you headed?”

“Uh...” Taylor hesitated, glancing around briefly. “I live over on Rothman Drive. Just past Keele Street.” The girl blinked, and tilted her head back in thought before glancing off to the side.

“You can follow this street up to Keele, and then cut over. I’m going to Keele if you wanna tag along.” The girl offered her a friendly enough look, and Taylor stared at her idly, before stuffing her hands into her pockets, moving to follow when the other girl started walking.

“Er, yeah. Thanks, uh…” Taylor trailed off, blanking on the girl’s name from class. Thankfully the girl didn’t seem upset, letting out a chuckle as she offered out a hand while they walked.

“Margo.” Taylor shook the hand, releasing it quickly and glancing up the street. “So… Taylor.” The inquisitive tone in the voice made her tense, and she glanced over when the girl trailed off, staring at her thoughtfully. Resuming her mental thread, the other girl continued simply. “What’d you think of the homework? Got any ideas for what you’re going to watch?”

Taylor blinked at the question and the dodge. She studied Margo’s features silently, feeling oddly unsettled by the girl’s penetrating stare. After a few moments, the other girl’s eyebrow raised, and she sputtered out a response, quickly contemplating the few thoughts she’d had in class.

“Uh. I mean, if you’re looking for classical depictions of emotion and body language, the first instinct was Fred Astaire.” Taylor hesitated at the girl’s incredulous look, and she raised her hands. “There’s a bunch of his stuff with Ginger Rogers up on the Internet now, and they’re great at conveying their feelings without words.” Seeing Margo’s thoughtful look, she waved a hand, continuing smoothly. “They do some decent stuff with-”

Taylor dropped into a detailed explanation of what she wanted to do, listening curiously when the older girl countered with Marcel Marceau and Charlie Chaplin. She had gotten so lost in the debate about their respective choices that she and Margo had ended standing on a familiar street corner for nearly ten minutes as they argued.

“-not saying you’re wrong, Taylor, I’m just saying that I think my way is going to be better for discussion.” Huffing, Taylor rolled her eyes and glanced at the girl before looking around.

“I guess we’ll see how things go in class, Margo. But it’s starting to get cold standing here in the street.” She ignored the tiny victorious look in Margo’s eye, huffing as she glanced up the street toward where her house waited.

“Yeah, alright. Well, see you in class next week.” The girl offered her a wave that Taylor returned, and then she moved, heading up the street. The tantalizing aroma of hot chocolate drew her attention, and she turned, heading toward the small little shop that she’d visited with her grandmother several times.

Ten minutes later, Taylor was at the counter, staring at the bored face of the twenty-something boy as he blandly listed off the price for her drink. Fishing through her pockets, she pulled out her phone and keys before finding her wallet. Tugging out a bill, she offered it over, taking her change and stuffing the contents of her pockets away, hesitating when she lifted her phone.

[Two missed calls, two voice mails, three unread messages.] Wincing, Taylor turned the phone on, checking her history. Most of the messages were from Lily, asking if she was okay, with one from Charlie that sounded concerned as well. Three of the calls were from Lily, but there was one from her grandmother as well.

Sighing, Taylor tapped on her voice mail, bringing her phone up to her ear.

“Taylor dear, I know that you’re probably going to be busy after school, but if you don’t mind, could you take some time to grab a tin of brown sugar on your way home? I figured that we could make cookies-” Taylor listened absently to the rest of her grandmother’s message, smiling softly despite herself. When it came to an end, she deleted it, listening when Lily’s voice came drifting over next.

“I-uh…” There was a hesitation, silence on the line, and Taylor listened to Lily’s voice as the older girl took a deep breath. “I was kind of hoping that that’d never come up, Taylor, and I am sorry that I didn’t tell you. I just-” The girl paused, moments of silence ticking away again as Taylor listened. “I didn’t… lie about anything, Taylor. I just, there are things that I can’t always talk about. Still, I’m sorry. Call me… please.”

The phone let out a ding, asking what Taylor wanted to do, and she tapped a button to save the message, ending the call right after. She stared at her phone, confused and worried as another message from Lily appeared at the top of the screen. Sighing, she pulled up the conversation history, typing out a response.

[Lily, I’m fine. I just walked home with someone from class. I’m nearly there now. I just need time to think, okay? I’ll call you tomorrow, or something, and we can talk then.] Taylor stared at the message, blinking when Lily responded within a minute.

[...Okay. Sorry, again. Just… be careful, okay?] Taylor scooped up her coffee, ignoring the confused look from the bored barista and made her way out of the shop with a frown on her lips. Standing on the sidewalk, she glanced around tiredly, wondering why everyone was constantly acting like she had to be on her-

Taylor froze, finding a dark pair of eyes locked on her own. She stared back in confusion, watching as the eyes quickly shifted away from her, glancing down the street, staring at the girl they belonged to. The girl was nearly as tall as her and dark-skinned, though little of it was exposed. Her face was wrapped in a sensible coal-black scarf that was tucked into her dark leather jacket.

Dark seemed to be the theme, from the toque that she wore to the dark gloves, pants, and boots on her form. Taylor stared at the girl, frowning at the vague familiarity she felt. When the girl’s eyes drifted back in her direction, widening when they noticed her own lingering stare, her cheeks burst into color, and she turned away.

Quickly turning and heading up the street, Taylor coughed nervously into her own scarf, doing her best to ignore the way her cheeks burned at how she’d been caught staring. As she moved along, she glanced at her image in the reflective face of a bank, peering past herself to the girl across the street. She paused, noticing that the girl was following. Getting flashbacks to Sophia and the ‘boys’ and their games, she paused once more, moving to pull out her phone.

She kept her eyes on the mirrored glass despite ‘glancing’ down at her phone, and she felt her embarrassment draining away when the girl came to a stop almost instantly after she did. Tucking her phone away, Taylor started moving again, biting the inside of her cheek when the girl almost instantly started moving again as well.

Feeling oddly paranoid after the constant warnings, Taylor continued along as naturally as she could, making her way toward the nearby gap between one building and the next. Once she got close, she turned and slid into the alley, hopefully looking as if this was a common shortcut for her.

Once she was sure she was out of sight, she dashed forward, quickly crossing the short distance between the entrance of the alley and the cross alley, then ducking around the corner and out of view. Taylor leaned back against the stone wall there, holding her breath and listening to see if anyone was following.

When there was no telltale slap of feet running after her, she peeked around the edge, letting out an embarrassed chuckle when she found the alley empty in her wake. Sighing quietly, Taylor turned to walk down the alley toward the exit, coming up short, her heart resuming its frantic beat when a swirl of darkness emerged from a nearby wall, moving to block her path.

“And here I thought that you’d managed to spontaneously develop some survival instincts, Hebert.” The words were rough, almost coarse, and Taylor staggered back as the shadows smoothly evaporated to reveal the figure that she’d been running from. She took a step back when one of the hands reached into the jacket and pulled out a squat mechanical object, snapping it open to reveal a modestly sized crossbow. “I mean you spent all week hiding behind that Asian bitch, and the redheaded dyke. I thought that you’d finally fucking managed to learn something about how to survive in the wilds.”

Taylor flinched at the harsh word, taking a step back despite the tiny flicker of anger and indignation that she felt on Charlie’s behalf. She watched, terrified, as the woman smoothly wound back the bow, pulling out a small bolt from her coat and slotting it into the weapon.

“And yet, here you are. All alone and exposed, and just aching for someone to snuff out that pointless life of yours. But let’s make a game of it.” The girl lifted the weapon and pointed, and her already frantic heartbeat skyrocketed. The girl pulled the trigger, and Taylor lurched to the side, but she was too slow, letting out a sharp hiss as something left a trail of burning fire along her left shoulder.

Taylor’s hand came up, gripping her shoulder. When she felt something warm and sticky, she pulled her hand away, staring in muted horror at the blood that coated them, glancing up at the woman’s harsh voice as it dragged her from her confused horror.

“Run.” The words were cold, harsh, and commanding. Taylor stared in confusion at the woman, taking a step back as she finished slotting another bolt into the weapon and lifted it once more. “I said… Run.”

It wasn’t the harsh word that finally prompted her to move, nor the weapon swaying dangerously in her direction. It was the look laced with fury and pain that locked on her own. Taylor saw the eyes narrowing with danger, and she spun in place, her scarf fluttering behind her as she charged toward the intersection that she’d just emerged from.

The twang of the bow behind her, shortly followed by the ‘thwip’ of an arrow slamming into the brickwork to her left, kept Taylor from spinning back down the alley that she’d come up originally. Heart thundering in her chest, she charged down the much longer path ahead that stretched out along the entire block, staring desperately at the distant cars zipping past the end of the alley.

The faint sounds of rapid footsteps in her wake echoing off the buildings around her made Taylor move her own feet faster, desperately ignoring how the steps in her wake continued to gain on her.

Chapter Text

Taylor was forced to choke back a scream of pain as she smashed into the slick, almost slimy wall of the alley. She’d acquired three more ‘near-misses’ in addition to the one on the shoulder over the course of the nearly twenty-minute long chase, and they all protested rather vigorously at the abuse that she’d just put them through.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Taylor gripped her shoulder, growling to herself at how it began to seep blood again and forced herself to keep moving. One glance back at the dark figure casually reloading her crossbow was enough to get her heart thundering once more. The surge of adrenaline she felt was strong enough to banish the cloying edges of exhaustion that had been creeping into her vision.

Taylor ran down the alley, ignoring the wild urges to lunge into a doorway or duck behind a dumpster as she passed, because neither had so much as slowed the cape that was chasing her down when she’d previously tried them. It merely earned her more of the cuts that even now screamed at her to stop shifting them and coating them in sweat.

Taylor hit a patch of water, her feet slipping out from under her and sending her tumbling around the corner of the alley. She didn’t even pause long enough to curse, rolling back onto her knees and scrabbling back up to her feet and charging down the alley, bitterly wondering what was taking the Protectorate so long.

Twice now, she’d managed to dodge the fucking cape behind her long enough to make it clear out into traffic. She’d seen people staring at her; a few had even offered her help. At least they’d tried before the woman had used some sort of teleporting power to rip her out of the street and into a different deserted alley. Someone had to have called it in by now; she couldn’t help but imagine that the Protectorate was looking. How long did it take them to track down one lone cape blinking all over the fucking city?

Finally lifting her head as she ran, Taylor noticed that this alley terminated in a courtyard. The wicked chuckle in her wake told her that the cape had noticed as well, and she let out a curse. She knew what would come. Next, the cape wouldn’t wait for her to reach the courtyard; there was no fun in actually cornering her. Near as she could tell, this was all about the chase, and the cape was doing everything she could to prolong it.

Those claws would sink brutally into her back, and she’d be dragged through that icy darkness to another nameless fucking alley to start this shit over again. Taylor felt a surge of bitter defiance wash up in her, and she held herself ready as she ran. She heard the intake of breath that signified the woman in her wake was drawing on her power.

There was almost no warning, barely the sound of rushing wind, but Taylor threw herself to the side, crashing into the nearby wall and watching the figure that’d been chasing her waver suddenly, its form collapsing into that black wisp that rocketed away toward the wall. Taylor stood there for a moment, panting as she gripped her arm, finally letting out the long string of violent cursing that had been aching to escape her.

She didn’t linger long, forcing herself up and away from the wall and back onto her feet. She moved quickly, hobbling as fast as her flagging adrenaline allowed her toward the junction in the alley ahead. She rounded the corner, slowly staggering to a stop as a mixture of disbelief and defeat washed through her.

She was so close to freedom. A brightly lit street coated in snow was less than thirty feet away. Unfortunately, between her and it, a fifteen-foot high chain-link fence blocked the way, not even having a gate or anything in its frame. Taylor stared bitterly at the fence, rating her odds of being able to climb the damn thing with her shoulder and sides in the condition they were in as ‘poor.’

Taylor pulled out her phone, staring at the glitching screen for a moment before lifting her head and raising her voice, calling out despite how hoarse she was from having done so several times already.

“Help! Is there anyone there? Help!” She shouted several times, only cutting off when she heard that familiar whistling sound behind her. Taylor turned, watching as the tiny mote of darkness whipped back around the corner and slammed into the ground less than a dozen feet from her.

The wisp exploded outward in a wave of roiling darkness that caused all the lights in the dark alley to flicker ominously as the fog dissipated to reveal that dreaded obscured figure. Taylor took a step back as the cape straightened up, cracking her spine ominously. The figure smoothly dusted off one of her arms, her gaze flicking between Taylor and the fence before she spoke with that mocking tone.

“Didn’t even try to climb? Getting tired of the game already?” The figure shook her head as she pulled out the crossbow and carefully reloaded it. The woman raised her weapon, her voice issuing forth blandly as she took aim. “Admittedly, even I was starting to tire with the exercise; I suppose that this is as good a place as any for it to-” Taylor spoke suddenly, cutting the cape off.

“Wait!” Taylor watched the dark eyes as they widened, and when the weapon dropped a fraction of an inch, she pressed on desperately, “Why are you doing this? Wh-What’d I ever do to you?” Taylor watched as the cape’s eyes widened, and when she took a step back, Taylor glanced to the gap between her and the wall. If she could get the cape to back off even further, maybe-

“Why?” The response was low and dark, laced with a trace of bitterness so profound that it shocked Taylor, drew her attention back. Swallowing sharply, she found herself moving back unconsciously at the fury that had suddenly erupted behind those dark eyes. “Why...Taylor? You want to know why?” One of those gloved hands came up, gripping the hat, the other taking the scarf, and both were pulled away.

“Because you fucking ruined my life, Taylor.” The coldly spat words caused Taylor’s heart to turn to ice as that familiar mocha-skinned face that emerged from under the mask. Sophia. The eyes had been so fucking familiar, and only now did Taylor get it as she confronted with the familiar features of her tormentor. Her eyes ghosted over the other girl’s appearance, her brows furrowing as she noticed the thick, barely healed bruise that covered the entirety of the right side of Sophia’s face, terminating in a painful-looking busted lip.

“Attractive, isn’t it? It was a parting gift from my stepfather, Taylor.” The words were low and dangerous, Sophia’s voice rough, and when Taylor realized that she’d been caught staring at the wounds, she unconsciously shifted back. “The final, rotten cherry on the shit fucking sundae that you turned my life into, Taylor.”

Disbelief welled up in Taylor’s chest as she glanced at Sophia, opening her mouth to argue, not even able to get out a word before Sophia resumed her furious ranting.

“He did this to me because of the fucking shit that your father said to him, Taylor. Because your fucking father couldn’t mind his own fucking business, I don’t have a home to go back to, and even if I did, there’s nothing left for me there.” Sophia inhaled sharply, lifting the weapon, her hands starting to shake as she continued to rant. “Madison was transferred out. Emma isn’t even allowed to talk to me anymore. Her bitch of a mother enrolled her at a catholic school to keep us apart.” Taylor stared at Sophia, listening as she continued to rant, something about the girl’s eyes bothering her. It took her a moment to figure out what it was.

It was the rage behind the girl’s dark eyes, the cold simmer hatred that flickered in those dark orbs. Every time the girl had pushed her, smacked her, tripped her, every taunt, ‘prank', and the bitter, cruel joke had all been made with almost inhuman calm. She’d never seen Sophia this angry, and the girl was practically frothing at the mouth as she listed off this litany of deeds that she laid at Taylor’s feet. That was when Taylor realized, with mounting horror, that if she didn’t get out of here, she was going to die.

“-and now they’re arguing so much that Emma’s terrified that they’re going to get a divorce and it’s all your fucking fault, Taylor. You had no right bringing this shit to your dad. If you’d just taken it lying down like the fucking insect that you are-” Taylor froze when she heard a sharp twang, the sound sharp enough that it even cut off Sophia mid-rant. Taylor’s eyes flicked between Sophia’s widening eyes and the weapon in her hand, watching as the bolt slid free in slow motion.

It was too late. Even after everything she’d done — beating the girls, leaving home and fleeing across three whole states, desperately piecing her life back together — after all of that, she was here, trapped before Sophia Hess once again so that the fucking monster could take away the one thing that she’d never managed to steal from Taylor.

Taylor watched the bolt slip free of the weapon, and she clenched her eyes shut, silently wishing that she was anywhere else, anywhere that Soph-

‘-hia fucking Hess wasn’t.’ The thought finished, and Taylor felt something inside her shift, her body flooded with sensations difficult to describe. It felt almost like being wrapped in what white nose looked like, or being rolled up in the sound of burbling water. Sensations of movement, roiling random fluttering motions. Her body felt… fuzzy, like she was coming apart at the seams.

Taylor heard the sound of metal scraping along metal and skittering on stone. Feeling no pain, no burning, she opened her eyes, staring in confusion at Sophia. The other girl swayed in place, her eyes clenched shut as she held the weapon loosely in her hand, and Taylor tried to look behind her to see if the weapon had missed, freezing when she couldn’t move.

She couldn’t turn her head or move to spin, and worse than that, she couldn’t breathe. Her body continued to buzz and swirl, and Taylor felt panic starting to swirl in her chest, darkness creeping in at the corners of her vision. Sophia seemed to shake herself out of whatever happened, eyes starting to move about under her eyelids as she recovered. Suddenly, Taylor rather desperately wanted to be anywhere that wasn’t right in front of-

The thought hadn’t even finished, and suddenly Taylor felt motion, her entire body being ‘dragged’ upwards, and the swirling grew worse, wilder. Taylor smashed into the wall of the nearby building, but there was no pain from her wounds, nor discomfort from being pinned in place, merely the vague sensation of being squished into something too small to hold her.

After a second, her perspective suddenly shifted and she was standing by a open window, peering down at the spot where Sophia stood, and the fuzzy sensation rapidly diminished, and she could breathe again. And breathe she did, inhaling sharply and reaching out her hands, grabbing the window frame before her and taking several deep shuddering breaths.

She stood there, looking down at Sophia as the girl’s eyes opened, and she watched the confusion and shock register. The other girl spun in place, looking around for her, and Taylor froze, holding her breath as the dark eyes ghosted past the window she stood at without seeing her.

“Taylor!” the voice called out coldly, and Sophia spun around. “Hebert! Where the fuck are you, Hebert! You know that there’s no fucking point in hiding, I’ll fucking find you.” The words were cold, bitter, and Taylor held still, watching as Sophia spun around several more times. The sound of approaching sirens and lights flashing distantly seemed to make up the dark-skinned girl’s mind for her, and Sophia’s form collapsed into that dark mote again, which rocketed back down the alley and out of sight.

Taylor remained perfectly still, breathing shallowly and counting to ten, then thirty, knowing that it was probably a trap, that Sophia would be back, and if she moved, she’d be caught. Thirty turned to fifty, then a hundred, then five hundred and the adrenaline in Taylor’s system began to fade, her body quite rapidly flagging and exhaustion washing in to replace it. Every wound in her body screamed out at once for attention.

Taylor fought off the urge to just collapse where she was standing, listening as the sirens grew louder. Turning away from the window, Taylor hesitated, realizing that she was in someone’s apartment, though judging by how dark it was, she doubted anyone was home. Her eyes trailed over the modest decorations, though when they met a pair of glowing eyes, she froze, confronted with the eyes of a very wary looking cat. Frowning, Taylor looked at the cat, wondering what’d freaked it out so much, before belatedly realizing that it was almost certainly however she had arrived here.

Taylor glanced back down at the alley she’d come from, wondering how exactly she had gotten up here, and how she was expected to get out. She turned, looking back at the cat and assuring herself it didn’t want to mess with her, before taking a step toward the door. A sharp tone sounded, and a loud alarm rapidly followed it.

When the lights suddenly snapped on, there wasn’t even a thought. Taylor’s heart surged back to full speed, and suddenly she was wrapped in that fuzzy, whirling sensation again, and everything dissolved into movement. She suddenly found herself standing on the damp ground of the alley below. Except… she was on the opposite side of the fence from where she’d started, eyes locking on the bright light in the window of the apartment, the distant sound of the alarm still ringing.

‘How…’ Taylor stood there, silently watching the window in disbelief. After a few moments, Taylor’s attention shifted to the opposite side of the fence, studying the spot that she’d been standing when the bolt had be-

Taylor’s thought cut off, and she spun, searching the damp ground around her. She found the bolt a foot away and walked over, crouching down to grab it. Holding the projectile up to her eye, she inspected it, frowning in disbelief at the pristine bolt as it glimmered without a single drop of blood. This had been heading for her.

Taylor raised back to her feet, her eyes moving back toward where she’d faced off with Sophia. She barely had to focus before the sensation washed back up and over her again. Suddenly, she surged forward, moving through the fence as if it wasn’t even there and then came to a stop where she’d been standing earlier.

She turned, looking through the fence to find the alley beyond completely unaffected by her passage, the fence itself as it had always been. Taylor frowned before the sound of rapidly approaching feet set her heart racing. Without even hesitating, Taylor’s attention flicked around for a moment, searching for-

Her gaze locked onto the roof of the apartment building. She’d just exited, and the sensation came back. A few moments later, Taylor was standing on the parapet of the building, staring down at the alley as a half dozen police officers charged around the corner, coming to a stop in the alley and searching for something, probably her.

One of the officers turned to the others, shouting out words she couldn't make out, and they scattered to the wind, moving down the various alleys back the way that she and Sophia had originally come. Taylor stood there, watching in abject fascination as two more figures emerged from around the corner, approaching the remaining officer.

Capes. The Protectorate, they had evidently been on her trail after all. One was short and stern-looking with gleaming silver arms, and she busied herself talking with the officer. The other was thinner and a bit taller with a long black pony-tail and a tinted visor. Taylor watched in fascination as she hefted the massive crossbow in her hands and swung it from side to side searching for threats.

Taylor watched the figure in purple for several seconds until the weapon suddenly lifted up and pointed in her direction. Taylor hesitated on the edge of the roof for a moment, staring down at the reflective visor for several seconds. When the others noticed the staring contest and began to follow the purple cape’s gaze, Taylor moved. Stepping back, Taylor smoothly dropped off of the parapet and turned to glance around, ignoring the calls from behind her. Her eyes sought out a familiar landmark, locking on a church that she’d seen from her house several times. She tried to focus on it only to fail to draw up her apparent power, not even getting a hint of the fuzzy sensation.

Frowning and wondering if it had something to do with the distance, she tried focusing on a closer target. She let out a sigh of relief when the power came with ease, and she felt herself dragged upwards and across the sky toward the nearby building she’d picked. Taylor didn’t hesitate when she landed, barely taking a moment to take a deep breath before again launching across the sky to another building.

Taylor repeated the process several times, landing, reorienting, and launching through the sky, surprised and impressed that she managed to cross a half dozen city blocks in less than fifteen minutes. At that pace, it didn’t take long before she found herself perched precariously on the roof of the church, shivering slightly with the cold wind.

Leaning against one of the towers of the church, Taylor stared out over the city. The entrances of churches typically faced… east… west? Taylor frowned in thought, turning her attention outwards, taking in the cityscape. Realizing that she could see Manhattan in the distance, Taylor nodded. West then. It didn’t take long after that for her to spot a familiar neighborhood and let out another sigh.

A simple thought saw her form arriving on a snow-capped apartment building; then, two more hops placed her on the roof of the townhouse across from her grandmother’s. Taylor inspected herself, sighing with relief that she’d opted to go with dark clothes this morning. None of the cuts in her clothing showed particularly noticeable bloodstains.

Gazing up and down the street, Taylor made sure that no one was looking. With a thought, she stood on the snowy sidewalk in front of her home. Taylor stared up at the towering building for a few moments, taking a deep breath as she pulled out her keys, heading for the door.

Hissing softly, Taylor pressed the soft gauze into the jagged rent on her left shoulder, biting her lip and willing that faint fluttering sensation under her skin to go away. She held herself stone still for several minutes, waiting until the worst of the pain had faded before grasping the nearby roll of bandages.

Once she’d wrapped her shoulder, Taylor let out a sigh of relief as she took the pressure off the wound, taking care to tape down the bandages before dropping the bandage roll back into the nearby first aid kit. Pushing to her feet, Taylor stepped over to the mirror and stared at her reflection.

Barring the shorts that she was wearing, Taylor’s body was largely bare except for the numerous bandages that covered her left shoulder, nearly two-thirds of her torso, her right thigh, and her left ankle.

“Sucks that your upgrade didn't come with a healing power,” Taylor spoke to herself in the mirror, unable to resist the urge to grin when her reflection raised one of its eyebrows. The girl shifted, turning to stare at herself in profile with a soft frown. Apparently, bandages didn’t do anything for-

‘Brrring’

The sharp tone of the doorbell startled Taylor out of her thoughts, and her power welled up through her before she could fight it back down. Like an eager puppy, her powers came springing into action, and that fuzzy sensation suddenly washed over her. Taylor stared in fascination at her reflection in the mirror as her powers activated.

A grey-brown shimmer spread across her body, and her form exploded outwards as she lost the ability to breathe. Her form resolved itself into a veritable swarm consisting of dozens of furry black and grey moths. The insects took barely a second to orient before swirling around and upwards, arcing across the room, Taylor’s perspective being dragged in the wake of the swarm.

The moths crashed into the ground on the opposite side of the room and rapidly swirled back into a dense mass that shimmered with that same greyish brown light and Taylor’s body reformed, instinctively drawing in a deep breath the moment that she could.

Taylor stared at herself, shaking her head with a bitter sigh. Silently marveling at the idea that she had Sophia fucking Hess — her own personal boogeyman and apparent sociopathic parahuman — to thank for her having her own powers. A voice from below shouted up the stairs, and Taylor straightened up, glancing at the door.

“Taylor!” The sound of feet coming up caused Taylor to panic, and suddenly she was across the room by her dresser. Quickly pulling it open, Taylor pulled out a pair of pants and a sweater. Tugging on the pants, and ignoring the bite of her wounds at the abuse, Taylor hopped across the room to her bed, throwing her blankets over the first aid kit and the scissors.

Hearing the footsteps coming to her door, Taylor grabbed the sweater, pulling it over her head and shoving her arms into it. As the doorknob started to turn, Taylor glanced down at her ripped up shirt and pants from earlier. A quick kick sent both bundles of cloth under her bed, and Taylor turned, smiling at the door as it opened. Her grandmother blinked in surprise as she entered, glancing at her with a concerned look on her face.

“Oh! Taylor, there are some police people downstairs that want to speak with you.” Taylor frowned sharply at her grandmother’s concerned look and pushed her short hair back from her face.

“Police? Did they say why?” She moved toward her grandmother, watching as the woman shrugged her shoulders.

“Just that it had something to do with an ongoing case.” Taylor nodded nervously as she trailed Gram down the stairs. They moved down through the living room and into the kitchen, and Taylor hesitated in the doorway, taking in the two police officers and two capes standing around her dining room table.

The officers looked like any NYPD that she’d seen before, a man and a woman in dark blue uniforms, and they were speaking quietly with the two capes. One was taller, in a heavily armored black and grey costume with a full helmet that had a featureless mirrored visor over the entirety of his face. The other was shorter, perhaps even a Ward, dressed in a black and silver costume that evoked an almost medieval image in her mind, and he had a massive lance strapped across his back.

When they reached the landing, all four turned to face her, and Taylor had to consciously resist the urge to teleport back up the stairs and out from under their curious eyes, desperately wrestling that buzzing sensation under her skin down as she glanced between the four faces.

“Taylor Hebert?” The female officer stepped forward, and Taylor blinked at the question, nodding hesitantly. The woman glanced down at the pad in her hand for a moment before straightening up and continuing to speak. “Nice to meet you, Taylor. I’m Sergeant Elizabeth Braddock; I’m part of the Joint Parahuman task force with the NYPD.” The woman gestured behind smoothly.

“This is officer Jennings.” She pointed at the other officer who nodded, and then her hand pointed toward the two capes. “That’s Sophist, the second in command of one of the Protectorate teams here in the city, and the cape behind him is Jouster, leader of my Wards team.” Both of the capes nodded, and Taylor hesitantly returned the gesture, glancing between the figures and Elizabeth curiously.

“Uh, nice to meet you all… what is this about?” Taylor schooled her expression into confused interest as she spoke. Her attention flicked toward Jouster when he moved, his back sharply straightening, but the mirror-masked cape gestured with one of his hands, and the boy took a step back, remaining silent as the officer continued.

“We’ve been on a bit of a manhunt this afternoon. We’ve had reports of a parahuman chasing someone halfway across the local borough, and we were hoping to get more information from you.” Taylor bit the inside of her cheek to keep from reacting, merely raising one of her eyebrows at the cape, doing her best to seem a bit lost. After a moment of this, the woman continued glancing back down at the pad in her hand.

“We managed to trace the start of the chase to a coffee shop not too far from here. When we interviewed the barista there, he described a girl that looked a lot like you buying a hot chocolate. He seemed convinced that he saw a girl in dark clothes following you when he watched you leave the shop.

Taylor frowned, wondering if she’d really misjudged the barista if the disinterested boy could have actually remembered her face or, for that matter, paid attention to her when she’d left the shop. For a moment, Taylor contemplated merely admitting to it all, and letting the capes know what happened.

Embarrassment and no small amount of shame washed through her, and Taylor’s gaze smoothly drifted over to her grandmother’s worried features for a moment before smoothly straightening her back. She turned back to the officer with a smooth shake of her head.

“I think he must have been mistaken. I got a call not long after I left, and I had to get moving so that I could meet up with a friend. I didn’t see any person in dark clothing.” Taylor watched the eyebrows of the officers raising, and she looked back when Jouster stepped forward, speaking softly to Sophist.

“Sir! Flechette-” The mirror-masked man raised a hand, and Jouster instantly went silent. Taylor peered between the two capes, flushing as she got the distinct impression that behind that reflective mask, the man’s eyes were firmly locked on her. The sensation of being so baldly observed set her skin to buzzing, and Taylor had to fight back her power again, barely noticing when the man stepped forward, speaking smoothly.

“Our mistake, sorry for interrupting your evening. Thank you for your time, Miss Hebert.” Taylor frowned up at the mirrored mask of the cape. Taylor looked at the reflection of her own face in that shiny mask for a moment until the man took a step away and made a gesture. The two officers offered their own polite apologies before turning to follow him toward the exit. Jouster’s armored mask lingered on her for several seconds as the others moved, clearly resisting the urge to say something.

“Jouster!” The cry from the stairs snapped her and the cape out of their staring contest, and they both turned to find that the two officers had already vanished down the stairs, and Sophist was watching them from where he stood next to her grandmother. Jouster moved quickly, and the two capes followed her grandmother down the stairs.

Taylor glanced at the staircase that would lead her to freedom, tempted to quickly scurry up and away to the safety of her bedroom, though the sound of footsteps heading back toward her killed the urge rather easily.

“So.” Her grandmother’s voice drew Taylor’s attention, and that familiar buzzing cropped up along her arms and across the middle of her back as she felt those penetrating eyes settling on her. Taylor swallowed nervously as the woman took several steps closer, staring her down for a few moments before speaking. “Why did you lie to them, Taylor?” The question wasn’t angry, or upset, merely worried and laced with deft curiosity.

“W-What’d you mean by lying, Gram?” Taylor swallowed against the lump at the back of her throat and squeaked when her grandmother stepped forward.

“Taylor, I was a parent and a teacher for thirty years, I know how to spot-” Whatever the woman was going to say died on her lips when she reached out a hand faster than Taylor could react and the woman’s wrinkled hand gripped her damaged shoulder.

Taylor gasped out in pain, her vision blurring, and suddenly that buzzing feeling roared up around her, and before she knew what was going on, Taylor was standing on the opposite side of the kitchen, watching her grandmother as the woman gripped empty air and stared at her in disbelief.

“-a liar.” Taylor flinched a bit as her grandmother’s eyes narrowed on her, and she took a hesitant step back. “Taylor… what was that?” Taylor scrabbled desperately at her mind for a lie, any lie that could explain this, and after a few moments, she let out a long tiny little sigh and hung her head.

“I uh… I uh got powers, I guess.” Taylor glanced up, watching her grandmother’s expression soften, and she nervously fidgeted with the sleeves of her sweater, taking a step back to rest her back against the far wall of the kitchen. Lowering her head, Taylor stared at her fingers as they tugged at the aged fabric of her sweater, and she took a deep breath and began to speak.

“I-it was Sophia. The girl that bullied me… she-she was here like they said. She found me outside that shop, followed me... cornered me in an alley,” Initially, Taylor had fully intended to keep this brief, to the point. But once the words had started, they wouldn’t stop, and Taylor slowly and agonizingly related everything that happened, every wound and slip and fall, every dark thought that she’d gone through, talking until her voice went hoarse.

When she ran out of words, Taylor remained braced on that wall, eyes locked on her hands. Silently, she waited for the woman to roar with fury, or curse like her dad. To burst into tears like her mom would have. Instead, her grandmother let out a faint gasp, and Taylor glanced up just in time to find herself dragged into a surprisingly strong hug.

“Oh… Oh, Taylor.” Taylor stood stock still, her body frozen in confusion for several seconds. Once she’d recovered, her arms tentatively wrapped around her grandmother and dragged her in close, returning the hug. Taylor bowed her head, resting her cheek on the tiny woman’s head and deeply inhaled the peppermint scent that often lingered around her, just soaking in the warmth and care that seemed to waft off the woman.

Taylor hissed sharply as the antiseptic coated rag dragged over her shoulder gash, gritting her teeth against the urge to fly away from the discomfort. She kept her fists clenched, jaw clenched, and head bowed as fresh gauze was applied to the wound, and a much cleaner bandage was wrapped around it.

“Alright, I think that’s the last of them.” Her grandmother’s voice washed over her shoulder, and Taylor slowly relaxed her hands, staring down at her knees. Her grandmother was taking this disturbingly well, especially considering that she’d just dressed over a half dozen of her wounds, with very little fanfare.

Honestly, even Taylor herself was taking this a lot better than she’d expected to. She’d anticipated tears, rage, hurt. But at the moment she was just… tired, exhausted. Taking a deep breath, Taylor ran a hand through her short hair and looked up, surprised to see her grandmother leaning against the nearby dresser and watching her openly.

Taylor’s cheeks suffused with a hint of red, and she peered at herself in the mirror, wondering if she had something on her face.

“So. What’s the plan?” The words were curious, and Taylor blinked nervously, fidgeting with the shorts that she was wearing.

“I… uh, don’t exactly have one yet?” She watched her grandmother’s eyebrows rise, and she defensively shrank back into her place on the bed. She could see the obvious question in her grandmother’s eyes and let out a sigh, responding before she had to ask it. “I- I just… I didn’t want them to know what happened… yet. They’d have immediately started pressuring me to join the Wards, and I just…” Taylor ran her hands through her hair, pushing to her feet.

“I just haven’t even had a chance to breathe since… everything happened, and I need… I need to get my head on straight before I even think of doing something like that… I don’t even know if I want to be a superhero… despite the power thing.” Taylor hesitated, lifting her eyes to see her grandmother staring at her thoughtfully. The woman’s gaze lingered on her for nearly a moment before she let out a soft sigh.

“I suppose that I can understand that, Taylor. And if you need time to… think about things, that’s fine. But I think that we’ll need to set some ground rules.” Taylor blinked, shifting in place. The older woman stared at her for a few moments before her expression softened. “How about we talk about it over dinner? Why don’t you get dressed and I’ll see about reheating everything.” Taylor nodded, watching her grandmother as she disappeared out into the hall.

Taylor turned to her bed and moved to the dresser, pulling out a t-shirt and a pair of loose pajama pants that wouldn’t exacerbate her injuries. As she was dressing, Taylor heard a faint ding from under her bed.

Surprise flickered through her, and she pulled her pants out, fishing through the pockets and pulling out her phone. She tapped the button on the side and let out a relieved sigh that the device had recovered from whatever Sophia had done to it. She stared tiredly at the message on the screen.

[Lily: I uh… I just wanted to say again that I’m really sorry. I just hope to hear from you soon, and I hope that you’re having a good night.] Taylor read the message again, letting out a long explosive sigh as she remembered the shitty start to her day. She peered at the phone for a few moments, struggling to think of something that she could say in response to that. The faint scent of food wafting up the stairs grew rather tempting, and Taylor set her phone down on her bedside table.

She’d… She’d talk to Lily tomorrow, once she’d had a chance to sleep on things, to get things sorted in her head. Things would be easier tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, Taylor double-checked her outfit in the mirror, nodding to herself and turning to the door.

Taylor paused and glanced back at herself in the mirror, a tiny smile ghosting over her face. That familiar sensation washed up through her body with barely a thought. Focusing on the kitchen, Taylor watched as her powers kicked in, her body dissolving into a cloud of moths that went rocketing out her doorway and toward the stairs.

Sure as hell beat walking.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

It was an odd feeling, being thankful that the couch was too firm to allow her to doze off, but at least this way, she’d been awake when the other shoe finally dropped. She sincerely doubted that it’d be an impressive view if the Protectorate and the PRT walked in to find her passed out and drooling into the pages of the book in her hands.

She still wasn’t sure why she was holding the book, actually. It was merely tiring her arms out since she hadn’t been able to really process a single line that she’d read. Groaning, Taylor let the book drop to rest on her face, closing her eyes and inhaling the scent of the aged pages of the trashy novel for several moments.

Pushing the book off her face so that she could rub at her eye, Taylor listened as the book flopped off of her and then the couch, landing on the thick carpet with a muted thump. She grumbled at how unprofessional it was that her interrogators were taking so long to show up and finally accuse her of whatever they’d imagined that she’d been doing earlier this afternoon.

It’s been hours. It was nearly three at this point, and still nothing. When she’d triggered, they’d been at her house twenty minutes after she’d arrived, and somehow they still hadn’t-

The doorbell rang once, long and dragged out, and Taylor jerked to her feet, charging toward the stairs, taking them two at a time.

“Got it!” she called out, glancing over at Gram, who’d barely had a chance to turn away from the vegetables she’d been cutting. Taylor didn’t linger under what she was sure was a curious stare, merely spinning to descend the next flight of stairs to the small ground floor.

Quickly crossing the distance between the bottom of the stairs and the door, Taylor hesitated at the lack of multiple shadows visible through the frosted glass. The only one visible was short, shorter than her, and it was clear that no one else was standing on the porch with them. Frowning quietly, Taylor padded the last few inches to the door and unlocked it, twisting the handle and opening the door.

When the door creaked open, Taylor was shocked to find Lily standing on the other side of it, completely and utterly alone. She took a step back, pulling the door open, though she didn’t invite Lily in just yet. She merely stood there, gripping the side of the door with one hand, staring at Lily.

The other girl looked fine, considering that the last time that Taylor had seen her, she was on her knees, being violently sick onto a roof. She was a bit paler then she’d been in school, but she wasn’t shaking and didn’t look weak. Despite that, Taylor was forced to wrestle back the urge to immediately apologize. Instead, she stood there in silence, feeling her fingers tightening their grip on the door as she also wrestled back the urge to give in to her power's wish to be anywhere but here, pinned in place by Lily’s curious gaze.

“I’m surprised that it’s just you by yourself,” Taylor spoke nervously, flushing when Lily let out a long sigh.

“I insisted. They know that you didn’t have anything to do with March and Crash and Burn,” The other girl nervously ran a hand through her hair, peering up at her and apparently catching her look of confusion. “Crash and Burn were the tinkers. Crash is the one with the bike, er- trike. Burn is the drone one. They’re a team. Everyone knows that you weren’t there to cause trouble.” Taylor nodded slowly and blinked, finally realizing that they were still in the doorway. Blushing brightly, she quickly drew back and stepped to the side.

“S-Sorry, I’m being rude. Come in.” Lily looked relieved at her words, as if she’d been convinced that Taylor might just slam the door in her face. Taylor watched the older girl step in, closing the door before turning to rest her back on it, then following Lily as she headed toward the coat rack and took off her black woolen jacket.

Silence hung in the air, once more, as Lily hung up her jacket. When the older girl turned, and those piercing dark eyes locked onto her, Taylor let her eyes wander, to keep herself from being forced to return the gaze. Lily looked nice, a simple black button-down shirt, dark jeans, two belts. That seemed a bit superfluous, really, neither of them were actually in the belt loops of her dark pants, really, did the pants even have-

“Right.” Shaking herself out of observation, Taylor gestured toward the stairs. “We can head upstairs, Gram’s making a roast if yo-” She’d been hoping that a change of scenery might make this easier, maybe talking in a place she felt safer in would keep her powers from constantly encouraging to flee for her life from this difficult situation. Lily, it seemed, had different ideas, smoothly cutting her off mid-sentence.

“Why’d you save me?” The words were confused, laced with worry and something else, harder to place. Taylor finally lifted her gaze, looking toward those dark eyes. She hesitated. For a single moment, she considered lying, or acting like she didn’t know what Lily was talking about, but the urge passed quickly.

“...How could I do anything else, Lily?” Straightening her shoulders up, Taylor pushed out her chin and spoke as resolutely as she could manage with the moths fluttering in her stomach, ignoring Lily’s confused reaction. “Despite… everything, you’re my friend. She was going to cut you, Lily. With a sword. Do you really think I was going to try and not help you with that?” Her hand came up, nervously gripping her arm as she stared at Lily, biting at her bottom lip.

“I-I thought… that you didn’t…” Lily trailed off, her gaze finally flicking away. The resoluteness in Lily’s form seemed to bleed away, and the girl’s head slumped down. She seemed so much smaller suddenly, and Taylor's urge to flee instantly evaporated. She fought the urge to step forward, to hug Lily when she saw the girl’s body practically deflating before her eyes, listening as the other girl continued in a nervous babble. “After the weekend, and what… happened, I was worried that-”

“Lily,” Taylor started gently, cutting Lily’s rambling off. She didn’t move, though, remaining in place and keeping a firm grip on her own arm, staring at Lily when the girl finally glanced up at her. “I-I am… a bit angry, but yeah, I still do care about you. You’re my friend, Lily. I just… I needed time to process… well, everything.” Taylor shrugged, hoping that Lily got what she was referring to, even if she couldn’t really quantify it herself at the moment.

“Oh! Lily!” The sound of her grandmother’s cheerful voice startled the both of them, and Taylor glanced over at the older woman, watching her dry her hands with a terrycloth towel. “Taylor didn’t mention inviting company over, but I figured she was waiting on something, judging by how she was draped all over the furniture and sighing every fifteen minutes.” Taylor felt her cheeks burning and her shoulders curling up defensively as Lily’s looked in her direction, that familiar buzz washing up into her. “Were you going to stay for dinner? There’s plenty.” Taylor’s gaze drifted from her grandmother’s warm features back to Lily.

Lily was staring hesitantly at her, and the girl’s expression shifted to something a bit disappointed, before turning back toward Gram. The older girl opened her mouth to speak, expression morphing into something apologetic. Taylor spoke up before Lily could, gently speaking over her.

“Yeah.” Taylor watched Gram’s amused look drifting her way at the same time as Lily’s did. And Taylor’s cheeks colored a bit, and she hurriedly pressed on. “We’ve got some stuff to talk about.” When her grandmother’s eyebrow slowly raised, that smirk spreading just a touch, Taylor flushed, quickly pushing on. “Homework… stuff. Upstairs. But I’m sure that Lily would enjoy dinner, right?” Taylor turned back to Lily, waiting as the other girl stared at her with a mixture of confusion and uncertainty in her eyes for several moments. Eventually, though, the other girl finally nodded, turning toward Gram and quickly thanking her for the offer.

“Alright, then. I just put the vegetables in, should be ready in a little over an hour. Should be plenty of time to… talk.” Gram shot Taylor a look that she couldn’t quite decipher before turning and ambling back up the stairs, vanishing into the kitchen above. As they lingered on the ground floor, Taylor’s cheeks started to burn a brighter red, and even without actually looking at Lily, she knew the girl was staring at her strangely.

Pushing off her embarrassment, Taylor gestured for Lily to follow and quickly headed up the stairs. She didn’t pause in the kitchen, didn’t try to meet her grandmother’s strangely knowing look, merely pushing up and through the living room, not stopping until she’d reached her own landing.

“I was pretty worried that I’d lost you…” Taylor froze quietly in place, standing at the top of the stairs in silence for several moments before sighing softly. She could feel the warmth of Lily’s breath across her back as the older girl loomed behind her, but the other girl didn’t touch her, merely pressed on, her voice soft. “I thought that after everything, after how I lied…” Lily’s words trailed off when Taylor laughed with a tiny hint of bitterness in her voice.

“I-I’ve seen betrayal, Lily. I-” Taylor frowned. “I won’t say what you did didn’t hurt. But…” But… What? Taylor hesitated, wondering what she could possibly qualify that with before shaking her head. She forced her feet to move, walking across the landing and opening her bedroom door. She gestured Lily in, waving the older girl toward the bed.

Taylor walked toward the dresser that her record player rested on, hands lifting and fingers moving to trace over the molded plastic dials, and the faux wood exterior, desperately trying to wrestle her thoughts into simple, tiny blocks that she could share. She listened to Lily’s footsteps as they crossed the room, and the slow creak of her mattress as the other girl took a seat on the edge of it. Silence hung in the air between them for several moments until Lily finally tried to speak again.

“I’m sorry, Taylor.” Lily’s voice was soft, words halting, and Taylor fought the urge to laugh. The tiny voice in the back of her head that sounded so much like Emma drifted up, whispering insidiously in her ear. Sorry was just a word; it was so easy to say. There was no way for Taylor to know if Lily was honestly sorry, or if she was just pretending. The Protectorate had seen her using her powers, what if this was another stupid fucking trap-

Taylor’s thoughts ground to a halt as a memory bubbled up of Lily’s form deflating with regret before her eyes. That frown continued to linger around her face as she stared at the device before her. Lily seemed honest, she seemed legitimately upset, but there was no way to prove that it wasn’t just exceptional acting, how could she just trust Lily again like that? Was it worth it, what if-

“I am sorry, Taylor.” The bed creaked once more, and Taylor turned to stare at Lily’s wide dark eyes, swallowing at the clear regret visible in them. She took a step back when the older girl stepped closer and frowned when Lily backed off immediately. “I just- It’s been a really long weekend, I’ve been hoping you’d give me a chance to explain.” Taylor sighed, glancing down at the floor.

“Can you explain it, really?” Taylor lifted her head, peering at Lily, and fighting off the surge of guilt at the girl’s pained look. “Can you really come up with something that would make this all better, Lily?” Taylor pushed her paranoia and hurt back as best she could, turning toward the dresser and taking several calming breaths. “Was it real, Lily? How can I even tell?”

Lily took a step closer, and that familiar buzzing washed through Taylor, the urge to escape coming back with a vengeance. Taylor pushed the sensations away, tired of avoiding this. She held herself in place, listening when Lily finally spoke.

“It-It’s real, you know it, Taylor. I didn’t… I was really upset when I thought that I lost you, I wish I could prove it…” Lily trailed off, voice laced with guilt and self-recrimination. Taylor stared down at her record player silently for several more moments, an image of Lily with those headphones of hers bubbling up in her mind.

“What’ve you been listening to?” The question slipped from her lips before she even considered it fully, and Taylor lifted her head, glancing at the reflection of the other girl in the mirror. She watched Lily hesitate, reaching up toward her collar for the earbuds that weren't there.

“W-What’d you mean?” The question was soft, and Taylor frowned, tapping her knuckles on the desk as she considered how to explain.

“I- You said that you’ve been… feeling bad. Regretting what happened, I want to know what you’ve been listening to. You had your headphones on at lunch earlier. You listen to music all the time, and…” Taylor sighed quietly as she glanced down at the dresser before her. “It’d give me an idea what you’ve been thinking, knowing what songs you keep picking, what things you choose to play over and over-” Taylor hesitated when something knocked into her arm.

She glanced over, staring in confusion at Lily’s phone as it was so casually offered over. Shock flickered through her at Lily’s open, resolute expression as she held out her phone. Taylor’s hand came up, taking the phone carefully, staring down at the lock screen.

“Five, Four, Three, One,” Lily spoke softly, and Taylor quickly swiped her hand over the screen, unlocking the device. It took her a few moments to figure out the different operating system, but soon enough, she had Lily’s music app open, and she was flicking through her listening history.

It was only at this point that she realized that she didn’t recognize half the artists displayed, and less than a tenth of the songs. She considered the music on display before picking the track that showed up more than any other on the list. Tapping the song, Taylor hooked the phone into her stereo, listening as the faint strains of music started.

The folksy nature of the music that came washing out of the speakers surprised her. Setting the phone down, Taylor turned and glanced at Lily, tilting her head at the sudden difficulty the older girl had in meeting her eyes. She didn’t force the issue, instead of heading toward the bed and taking a seat on the edge.

Lily followed her, and Taylor tucked her legs together as the other girl took a seat next to her. Lily’s cheeks colored, and she turned away, keeping her attention rooted on the carpet in front of them. Taylor’s focus shifted to the stereo speakers as the lyrics started, listening to the words.

Weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart
Weep little lion man; you're not as brave as you were at the start
Rate yourself and rake yourself, take all the courage you have left
Wasted on fixing all the problems that you made in your own head

“But it was not your fault, but mine…” The subtly whispered words to her left drew Taylor’s eye, and she turned toward Lily. The older girl was muttering in time with the music, her eyes locked on her hands. Following her gaze, Taylor felt her lips curling into a frown as considered the way that Lily’s knuckles whitened with how tightly she was clenching her own hands together.

Without even thinking on it, Taylor’s hand slipped forward, settling over both of Lily’s. She felt the tension in the hands loosening almost instantly, and when Lily’s eyes met hers, Taylor did her best to smile, holding the older girl’s eyes as she spoke.

“Alright. I believe you.” The relief that washed over Lily’s face was oddly endearing, and Taylor shook her head quietly, slowly pulling her hand back once Lily’s fingers slid apart. She didn’t let her eyes drift away, though, and she continued to hold Lily’s gaze for a few moments before continuing. “So. You said that you could explain. So...” She made a small wave with her free hand. “Explain.”

Lily broke eye contact with her, a flicker of guilt spreading over the older girl’s visage, and Taylor shifted away. She moved past Lily, sprawling out on her bed, and tucking her arms under her head. She didn’t press, but she also didn’t change the subject, merely lying there with her eyes closed. She listened to the way that Lily’s nearby breathing seemed so loud in contrast to the soft, sad music playing, waiting to see if the other girl would actually explain.

“Right.” Lily started after a moment, cutting off almost immediately to take a deep, steadying breath before pushing on. “I… I did know who you were before we met. Well. I didn’t know who you were until you introduced yourself, and I didn’t know your face, but I knew what happened to Taylor Hebert-” Lily paused, a lingering silence hanging in the air for a moment before she started again.

“We were… warned about you. By the PRT.” Taylor felt her heart clenching at those words, and her forehead must have furrowed because Lily pressed on. “N-Not like that. It wasn’t… So, like. Your grandmother made a fuss at the school, a big fuss, about what had happened, and how she was getting you placed. That gave S- the Protectorate the opportunity to realize that you were coming.” Lily shifted closer, and Taylor heard the wood of her headboard creak as Lily settled against it.

“Honestly, most of this is just stuff that I overheard from the older capes and the PRT officers we work with, but there were… concerns, I guess? That you might have figured out the identity of a Ward in Brockton Bay. And if you had, that put the rest of us at risk. Our covers are different here in New York, but they’re not… that different. They just…” Taylor opened her eyes, peering up at Lily’s dark blue eyes. “They just suggested that we keep our distance if we didn’t want to risk our identities.”

“Why didn’t you?” Taylor stared at Lily, watching the way the older girl glanced away bashfully. She was tempted to finally mention the crush, or explain the scarf, or just admit that she knew why Lily might have ignored the warning, but nothing actually made it out of her lips, and she listened as Lily sucked in a breath before responding simply.

“I didn’t seek you out, Charlie did that, and she was right, Taylor. You needed friends, and you’re… You’re important to me. Sure, it was a risk, but it was a risk I was willing to take.” Lily smiled down at her, and Taylor ducked her head, listening as the older girl continued. “Besides, it was just a suggestion. I am allowed to choose what risks I take.”

“But that boy-” Taylor started, blinking when Lily waved a hand dismissively at her.

“Josh is just… He’s overprotective already, and he’s… He’s been having a lot of trouble lately. His older brother went missing, and the Protectorate is worried that he might have gone off to join the Adepts. It’s something of a mess all around.” Lily frowned, quickly picking at her shirt. “He feels pretty bad about what happened. With Shadow Stalker. I do too-” Lily paused, and Taylor suspected it was her expression that was the reason.

“...Shadow Stalker?” Taylor commented faintly, her voice low, confused, and she drew back as Lily’s eyes widened in shock and confusion.

“I- I thought you knew… didn’t she..” Lily trailed off when Taylor shook her head, watching her warily as if she might explode. Truthfully, Taylor wasn’t sure why she didn’t explode. She let her mind reach out, scrabbled for anger, or rage at the idea that a Ward had been the one to attack her, but… Her mind came up with... nothing. There was nothing there to gain purchase on, as if her mind couldn’t be bothered with the idea of Sophia Hess anymore, as if she wasn’t-

“You caught her… didn’t you,” Taylor spoke softly, as she traced out how she felt. Lily squirmed in place, staring at her warily, and Taylor glanced toward the mirror. “I should be… scared, or terrified, or angry, but there’s… nothing there. To my mind… she just doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t know how, but I do know that she’s not a threat…” Taylor continued to frown, staring at her reflection.

“I shot her,” Lily admitted after a few moments, and Taylor blinked, unsure why that thought filled her with such warmth. She shifted her attention to the side, studying Lily’s face directly as the girl blushed a touch. “She came down that alley, screaming your name, and she saw us, and I saw her getting ready to run, and I just… I pinned her foot to the ground with a dart.” Taylor felt her own cheeks darkening at the subtle tones of pride and vindication undercutting those words.

“I…” Taylor frowned. “I’m not surprised. That wasn’t a shock to me… I’m… I’m impressed.” Taylor glanced at Lily, offering the other girl a tentative smile. “Touched at your anger, and impressed but… I’m not surprised.” The older girl’s expression settled through several emotions, one after another before ending up in a mixture of thoughtful and contemplative.

“Lily,” Taylor started after a moment, earning herself a startled look from the girl in question. “If you want this...” Taylor hesitated for a single moment, mind scrabbling through half a dozen words — friendship, relationship, whatever, even thing. Nothing seemed to fit, so she waved a hand, pressing on to the important part. “If you want this to work… you can’t keep secrets from me.” Lily shifted up, opening her mouth, but Taylor held up a hand, giving Lily a stern look that silenced her protest before it was offered. “As I was saying, you can’t keep secrets about me from me… I… I need to trust you, Lily.” Taylor considered Lily’s expression as it fell for a moment before she let out a sigh. “I want to trust you. But I need your help with that.”

“I think you might have a thinker power. Something… related to sensing the area around you.” Lily’s words were soft, careful, and Taylor frowned, glancing off to the mirror thoughtfully. “...What?” Lily asked softly.

“I can feel it when people are staring at me. When people look too intently at me, or their gazes linger for too long, my powers react.” Taylor glanced back at Lily, smirking when the girl’s blush returned full force, and she smoothly continued before Lily could offer another apology. “It’s like this buzzing under my skin, like my powers become agitated when they’re observed. Could it be related?” Taylor bit her lip as Lily nodded absently.

They settled into a companionable near-silence as they thought, and Taylor’s exhaustion must have crept up on her because the next thing she felt was Lily’s hand tentatively shaking her shoulder, jarring her out of the light doze that had captured her. Snapping her eyes open, Taylor peered up at Lily’s worried face looming over her.

“S-Sorry.” Taylor blushed, coughing and rubbing at one of her eyes. “Did you say something?” Lily stared back at her curiously before responding.

“I was asking about your powers, you’ve yet to really explain what you can do…” Taylor blinked blearily, nodding softly. When she didn’t immediately explain though, Lily’s hand came out, the older girl’s cool skin resting against her forehead as she spoke. “Have you been having trouble sleeping?” Taylor flushed at the contact, bowing her head to gently remove it from Lily’s grasp.

“I- uh…” She paused, squirming when Lily tugged her back up to stare at her. After a moment of nervous fidgeting, she spoke. “Er, yeah. Just… My powers are like… a sensation, under my skin, a buzzing. It gets stronger and stronger as I draw up the power, but sometimes it wells up on its own.” Taylor picked at her sleeves. “It’s… difficult forcing it to behave enough to let me drift off, too distracting.” Taylor watched Lily as the older girl tapped her knees, clearly deep in thought.

“Mm, so there’s this… like sliding scale.” Lily held up her hands a bit apart, wiggling the fingers of one hand as she continued. “This end is ‘Focus,’” she started before doing the same with the other hand. “This end is ‘Instinct.’” Lily paused, glancing at her, and Taylor nodded, prompting her to continue wiggling the ‘Focus’ hand. “Right, so. If you’re at this end, you have perfect control of when your powers activate, but it takes a conscious effort to draw them up, meaning that you’re at a disadvantage in an ambush.”

“And, I guess if you’re at this side,”—Taylor gestured toward the other hand as she cut in, speaking quickly as she caught on—“then your powers turn on whenever they sense danger?” Lily waved her hands in a wishy-washy motion as she chimed in.

“Depends on the power, really. Some are just always on; some just activate when they’d be helpful, or at random, or, like you said, when there’s danger — no conscious control. You seem to be toward the middle but on the Instinct side. That means that your powers can be adjusted, but they do also react to, well, I doubt you’re being physically threatened in your bedroom…” Lily paused, glancing at the wall. “Unless there’s asbestos in here. So it’s probably your mental state that they’re reacting too. Strong negative emotions.”

Taylor paused, frowning. She considered the last few nights, and her thoughts, the things she’d been wallowing in with a grimace. She’d been the one driving her powers crazy. Tiredly rubbing at her face, Taylor flopped onto her back, holding both hands to her face as she moaned into her palms.

“Hey. Hey.” Lily nudged her, and Taylor let the groan trail off as she huffed into her hands. “We all react poorly to our powers at first. You learn, you adapt.” Slowly pulling her hands away from her face, Taylor peered over at Lily disbelievingly. “Seriously!” the girl commented, leaning closer as if sharing a secret. “When I first got my powers, I lost like, seven toothbrushes. Just… dropped em after accidentally charging them, and they just sank into oblivion.”

Taylor paused, considering that mental image for a few moments before snorting, grinning when Lily’s cheeks blushed, just a touch.

“So,” the girl offered, and Taylor tilted her head to the side for a few moments before her mind caught up.

“Right. Right. Powers. I uh... Well, you saw, experienced it. I flit around. Turn into a big cloud of moths and move around. I can go pretty quick over short distances, bit slower at range, but still faster than most people can run, and for longer. I can take stuff with me, but it’s not… easy. Or I guess… pleasant. Did uh, did you get that checked out, by the way?” Taylor peered up at Lily, who nodded absently, waving off her apology.

“I was fine after I got settled. Extreme vertigo was what the Protectorate doctor figured. Something relating to the sensory input from your powers, I think. It was all discordant unpleasant sensations. Is that what it feels like to you?” Taylor blinked, frowning as she considered it.

“I was about to say no… but sort of yes? I just… I can make sense of it.” Taylor stared thoughtfully at the roof over her head.

“You know—” Lily’s voice was tentative, laced with subtle encouragement, and Taylor peered over at her as the girl leaned into her line of sight once more. “This is the sort of thing that the Wards program is all about.” She stared into Lily’s bright eyes, curiously considering the comment.

She knew that her grandmother was probably going to be having some words with her once she heard about the moth girl that got involved with the big brawl with the Wards. Gram was pretty firm — Taylor wasn’t going to try the independent cape thing. It just wasn’t safe here, with the caliber of enemies around.

She didn’t have to join the Wards, but if she wanted to use her powers, then the Wards were the only place that Gram felt safe with her doing it. She contemplated admitting that she was probably going to have to join, though the oddly endearing look of hope and nervousness on Lily’s face stilled her mouth. She considered the look for a few moments before quietly shaking her head.

“Yeah? Well, you’ve already got my guard down, Lily. So how about we try the soft sell?” Lily’s eyebrows as they pinched together, and she smirked a bit at the adorable look of confusion on the other girl’s face. “Try and sell me on the Wards,” she reiterated more simply, grinning when Lily perked up.

“Oh.” There was a moment, as Lily’s brain evidently rebooted, before she pressed on. “Oh! Right. Well, uh, I’m not sure what you know about the Wards. Most people assume that it’s superhero boot camp, but it’s not just that, you know?” Taylor watched as Lily leaned closer, her eyes lighting with an odd sort of fervor.

“It’s… It’s a community, right? A place where you could interact with people that are like you. And they do help you understand your powers, and to be better heroes, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. For most capes, yourself included, it starts as an after school thing, you’ll work on power training and merchandising and stuff at first, maybe some one-on-one patrols once you get an identity hammered out, but then once you turn sixteen they move you up to one of the actual teams. I’m part of the Lancer-”

Taylor let her arms cross over her middle, closing her eyes and listening to Lily’s voice as it washed over her. And for the first time in four days, the faint buzzing under her skin was finally, blissfully silent.

Hands moving mechanically, Taylor took the plate that Lily offered to her, quickly rinsing it under the tap before using the towel in her hands to dry it off. Her focus wasn’t on the dishes in her hand, though, at least not on anything but the most superficial of levels. Instead, Taylor found her eyes lingering along the lines of Lily’s face, observing the subtle pinkness that had refused to vanish from Lily’s face all through dinner.

Admittedly, she’d blushed herself when she’d woken to find herself dozing on Lily’s leg while the girl listened to music. Worse than the fact that she’d passed out on her guest, though, was the fact that she’d only woken when Gram had entered the room to collect them for dinner and had apparently found them like that. Mind you, she could understand Gram’s amused reactions. Lily’s nervous babbling had been oddly endearing, even as Taylor was busy scrubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

Dinner had been quiet enough. Taylor had been more of an observer through the meal, eating slowly and watching as Gram casually dragged Lily out of her shell, getting the older girl talking about everything from her family to her college plans, and how the school had changed since Gram’s retirement. It was only now as Taylor considered the plate in her hands that she realized that she’d been an observer to one of the most casual and friendly interrogations out there.

“Taylor.” Lily’s voice startled her out of her musing and Taylor snapped to attention, noting that her hand was held out toward an empty sink. She flushed a bit, glancing up at Lily’s amused expression.

“Sorry, got lost in my thoughts,” she commented, drying her hands with the towel before offering it over to the other girl. As Lily dried her hands, Taylor moved to lean against the counter, doing her best to ignore Lily’s tiny smirk.

“Yeah? I guess it’s a bit hard to find your way around a place that you don’t frequently visit, hrm?” Taylor’s eyes snapped up to Lily’s face, and she huffed, giving the older girl a playful shove.

“Oh, she’s got jokes.” She rolled her eyes before glancing around the kitchen curiously. “Thanks, though. You didn’t really have to…” Taylor trailed off, waving her hands in the vague direction of the cabinets. Lily seemed to get what she was implying, though, offering a shrug in response.

“I don’t mind. Gertie always said that it’s better to be a conscientious guest, and it was a chance to hang out a bit more, even if you absconded into the convoluted maze that is your noggin.” Taylor stuck out her tongue, shoving her hands in her pockets. She perked up when Lily pulled out her phone, though the flicker of disappointment and regret on the other girl’s face wasn’t particularly encouraging. “Speaking of Gertie, I should probably...” Lily gestured over her shoulder with her phone, and Taylor nodded understandingly.

Lily headed for the stairs, and Taylor trailed after her, descending the stairs a fair bit slower than the last time that she’d gone down. She lingered a short distance away as Lily slipped her feet into the large snow boots that she’d been wearing when she arrived. When the girl reached for her coat, Taylor stepped forward and tugged the coat up, holding it open to help Lily into it.

Lily’s sharp inhalation as Taylor slid the jacket down her arm and helped her get the other one in was confusing. That voice from earlier returned, whispering casually in the back of her mind, insidiously insisting that she was reading too much into the situation, that her assumptions couldn’t possibly be right.

But the way that Lily’s eyes drifted languorously over her face when the other girl turned to face made her wonder if she was wrong. It was exasperating to the point of frustration. They stood in tense silence for several moments, and Taylor could practically feel Lily’s gaze lingering around her face.

“I.” Lily’s tongue darted out, wetting her lips as her hands vanished into her dark jacket. Taylor watched the way that Lily’s hands clenched the fabric of her jacket like a safety blanket, before forcing herself to meet Lily’s eyes. The mixture of hope, confusion, and guilt in Lily’s eyes was breathtaking, and Taylor leaned a bit closer, wondering what the girl was going to say. “I- I… I had fun.”

Disappointment filtered through her, and Taylor allowed herself to drift back, nodding absently as she rested heavily on her heels. Self-recrimination washed over Lily’s face, and the older girl shrank a bit before her eyes, as she took a step back.

Taylor barely heard the muttered goodnight, merely standing there as Lily opened the door and stepped out into the cold. When the door clicked in Lily’s wake, disappointment bloomed into irritation, then frustration, and she didn’t even think about what she was doing as she shoved her feet into her own boots and threw the door open, charging out into the cold.

“Lily! Wait!” Slamming the door in her wake as she shouted, Taylor charged down the steps and up the path toward where Lily was lingering on the sidewalk outside the townhouse. The other girl turned to face her, and Taylor forced her feet to keep moving, gritting her teeth and refusing to let her doubts, or regrets to wash up and over her.

She had to do this, she had to know, or she’d agonize over it for months. She had to know if this was real, or if it was just her being stupid, or naive, or hopeful. She crossed the distance between her and Lily in six steps, the shifting of her body feeling weird, heavy, compared to how quickly and easily she could make the trip if she really wanted to.

“Taylor, what are-” Taylor didn’t stop, didn’t let Lily speak, it’d just give her a chance to chicken out. She crossed the distance between them in an instant and reached out, one of her hands latching onto the woolen fabric of Lily’s jacket, and she gently tugged the other girl closer. Lily’s words died, but the girl didn’t resist, staring at her as Taylor closed the distance between them.

In Taylor’s daydreams, this had been different. First of all, the person she’d been doing this to had been a boy… well, they’d been a vaguely humanoid person with no face, really. More than that though, dream-Taylor had been pushing up onto her tip-toes, she’d been stretching, but Lily was short compared to her, so real-Taylor had to duck down.

One of her hands came out, tracing along the line of Lily’s jaw as if she actually knew what she was doing. She gently turned the girl’s face away from her and leaned in close, allowing Lily’s perfume to wash up and around her for a moment before she feathered a soft, tentative kiss over the girl's warm cheek. She let the contact linger for one moment, maybe two, before she pulled back a bit and spoke softly.

“Happy Valentine’s Day. Sorry that it was both more and less exciting than you’d planned.” The words were subtle, laced with far more confidence than Taylor actually felt. The modest amount of confidence withered quite quickly when Lily didn’t react with a chuckle or a hug, or… anything, merely remaining stock still as her cheeks started to burn brighter and brighter.

That tiny voice practically cackled in her head as Taylor’s thoughts swirled up, her powers accompanying them as she internally freaked out. She’d made a mistake, she’d been wrong. She’d made a fool of herself. Lily had worked this hard to save their friendship, and she’d just smashed it on the sidewalk outside her house. She’d never be able to-

Lily’s hand tightening on the material of her sweater snapped Taylor out of her internal panic, and she jerked back to the situation at hand. She expected Lily to push her away, to say something gentle, but disappointing. She didn’t expect the girl to tug her closer. Taylor’s gaze turned toward Lily, and she froze when she saw Lily’s head tilting up toward her as she was drawn in.

‘Is she…’ Taylor thought to herself, cheeks continuing to burn a brilliant scarlet as the older girl leaned closer, head tilting to the side. Lily’s eyes were locked on her lips, and Taylor swallowed heavily, absently feeling her own eyes slowly lidding as Lily came closer. ‘She is… This is happening.’

Her heart pounded in her chest, and that familiar nervous buzzing vibrated up and down her spine, from the tips of her toes to where her hair was anchored to her scalp. It was nervous, confused, though. Not angry, or worried, or any of the other sensations that she’d felt. Taylor tried to push the sensation to focus on the situation at hand. She couldn’t think, her mind was filled with warm wool, and Lily was getting closer, and closer.

The fear and nervousness in her stomach mixed with anticipation, excitement at what was about to happen. It was too late to back out now, though, and Taylor let her eyes drift shut finally as she felt Lily’s breath ghosting over her lips. Any second now-

Taylor wasn’t sure if she actually felt the warmth of Lily’s lips or not, but something in her changed, and then suddenly, she was much colder. Jerking back, Taylor’s eyes snapped open, and she glanced around in confusion.

‘The… porch…’ She flushed bright red, eyes snapping down to where Lily was standing on the sidewalk, now forty feet away. The older girl was staring up at her in confusion, finger-tips dragging over her lips. Taylor had thought that she was blushing as brightly as was humanly possible, but, somehow the heat coming off her face redoubled.

“Lily, I-” Taylor’s throat dried up, and she tried to force out something, anything, to go with that sentence. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that, I can’t control my powers.’ She angrily wrestled with her own thoughts, but none of that washed out. She tried to force herself to move, but fear and concern washed through her.

Lily was her friend, she cared about her. She didn’t even know if she could do this. She didn’t even know what she was getting into. Lily was expecting things from her that she had no idea how to do. This wasn’t fair to either of them. Th-This was moving too fast. She needed to think. She needed to figure out where she stood. She needed to-

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Taylor.” Lily’s voice startled Taylor from her own self-recriminations, and Taylor’s attention snapped back to the other girl. Lily had seemingly recovered from the shock, a mixture of amusement and affection visible behind her eyes, though Taylor couldn’t quite shake the impression that the smile on Lily’s face was a sad one.

A momentary flicker of disappointment washed through Taylor, as she realized that she might have just sent the wrong signal. She frowned quietly, trying to figure out how she could explain without, well explaining. She didn’t want to give up on Lily, she just wasn’t sure if she could be what the other girl wanted… yet. She just needed a little more time, just a little bit more-

“I should probably-” Lily started, and Taylor quickly cut her off.

“Yeah, I get it. Uh…” Taylor swallowed nervously before shifting toward the railing in front of her. “I’ll see you on the bus in the morning?” Taylor laced her voice with the hope she felt, allowing her blush to shine out. Lily lingered on the street for a few more moments before her own expression perked up a bit, and she nodded firmly.

“Yeah. Tomorrow morning.” Taylor nodded back, quietly watching as Lily turned and headed toward the nearby bus stop. She lingered on the porch, watching Lily as she headed to the bus stop, only retreating when she couldn’t stand the cold anymore.

Closing the door in her wake, Taylor flopped back against it and closed her eyes, softly banging the back of her head against the metal door several times as she slowly sank down the door to crouch on the floor, her hands coming up to cover her face.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why am I such an idiot?” Taylor let out a long groan. The low, warm chuckle from across the floor caused Taylor to freeze.

“That, my dear, I think, is genetic.” Taylor’s fingers parted so that she could peer between them at her grandmother, as the older woman sat on the stairs, a look laden with warm sympathy on her face. Taylor felt the fading blush on her face returning with a vengeance as she remained in place, pinned by that stare. “Your mother was always like this when it came to matters of the heart.”

“I…” Taylor started, trying to find something to say, something to say in response to that knowing look. In the end, she merely remained crouched against the door, staring worriedly up at her grandmother in silence.

“C’mon.” The older woman pushed to her feet with a groan, gesturing for Taylor to come closer. Tentatively allowing Gram to pull her to her feet, Taylor was shocked when an arm swept her into a strong hug. She returned the grip silently, inhaling the strong peppermint scent that always lingered around the woman. “We’ll brew up some tea, and we can talk about it, alright?”

Taylor stared into the warm, kind eyes of her grandmother for a moment before letting out a tiny relieved chuckle, nodding to the offer. Gram’s arm remained around her back as they climbed the stairs was especially comforting to Taylor’s battered heart.

Chapter Text

“...Taylor.” Danny hated the way that his voice choked up as he spoke, robbing the words of the intended gravitas he’d been trying to layer into them. Moreover, he loathed the way that the words caught against the back of his throat when he opened his mouth to speak, the way that they refused to emerge. When Taylor let out a low, hesitant sigh, Danny swallowed, hand clenching around the molded plastic of the phone as he fought back his temper.

“Dad, really. It’s fine; just a few scratches. She chased me down a couple of alleys, came after me with a crossbow of all things? Can you imagine that?” The disbelief in Taylor’s voice caused Danny to grit his teeth. In truth, he could imagine that, he’d been imagining that for over a week, but he couldn’t tell Taylor that. Opening his mouth, Danny wasn’t able to get a word in edgewise before Taylor’s voice hastily continued, “But the Protectorate caught her. One of the local heroes shot her after I got away. She’s been locked up.”

“That’s… good, Taylor.” The distinct flavoring of approval and thankfulness in Taylor’s voice was particularly galling, considering just how monumentally that particular organization had dropped the fucking ball with Sophia Hess in the first place. That Taylor was apparently this impressed with them cleaning up their own mess was… unsettling. Lifting one of his hands, Danny pushed his glasses up with his fingers, scrubbing at his face. Grimacing when his palm dragged unpleasantly over the coarse stubble coating his chin, he continued. “That’s really good. I’m… glad that you’re not hurt.”

A lingering silence washed down the line between them, and Danny frowned, moving away from the phone’s cradle, leaning against the side of the couch and glancing around the empty living room in silent contemplation. After listening to Taylor breathe for nearly thirty seconds, Danny let his voice continue, doing his best to contain the traces of hope that so desperately sought to creep into the words that he was uttering.

“You know, Taylor. They transferred Emma out of Winslow, and Sophia’s out of the picture now, if you wanted…” Danny trailed off at the slow, reluctant noise that came from his daughter, well aware of the words that would come from the girl on the other end of the line.

“Dad… I miss you, I do. But… I’ve...” Taylor trailed off, and Danny lowered himself into the chair, allowing his body to slump as he waited for Taylor’s response. “I’ve… I’ve got friends here now, people that l- care about me. I’ve got-” Taylor ground to a halt, and Danny felt his lips curling into a frown at Taylor’s slip of the tongue.

Opening his mouth, Danny felt a trickle of his disappointment and worry as he considered the idea of people flirting with his daughter. Still, the momentary image of Annette that flickered through his mind crushed the words that were eagerly waiting to spill forth. For a brief moment, the memory of her cool, distant eyes was crystal clear in his mind, and he forced himself to remain silent, merely listening as his daughter collected her thoughts and continued a bit more tentatively.

“The school is also letting me retest into a bunch of things, so my grades will be better, and the teachers like me, and I… I’ve joined clubs. Well, one club. And I’ve got places that I visit with Charlie and… Lily. There’s…” The low stream of nervous babbling washed over him, and Danny slowly relaxed into his seat. Disappointment ebbed, replaced with melancholic amusement, and he coughed to cut off Taylor’s stream of consciousness, smoothly cutting in.

“There’s a life for you there-” Danny trailed off, listening to Taylor nervous inhalation, and despite how painful it was to say, he forced himself to finish the thought. “That’s actually what I was hoping for when I sent you away. It wouldn’t be fair of me to begrudge you finding a place that was willing to see you for the delightful girl that you are when Brockton Bay proved to be too stupid and blind to do so. I’m just-” Danny stared down at the coffee table before him, doing everything he could to push more cheer into his voice, to keep Taylor from worrying. “I’m just glad that you’re happy, Taylor. You- You deserve it.”

“I am, Dad… happy that is.” His daughter’s voice was soft, tentative on the other end of the line, and Danny felt his heart clench at the uncertainty there. “I miss you, a lot, Dad. But… .” The faint hints of apology in Taylor’s voice was heartbreaking, prompting him to respond gruffly.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, Taylor. It was a silly idea, really. You’ve got the semester to finish, and changing schools again would be ridiculous. It’s just that I miss you too, Taylor. But summer is in a few months; we’ll see each then at least. ” Danny blew out a breath, listening to the relieved sigh from the other end of the line.

“Yeah! And maybe-” Her voice cut out, and Danny listened to the distant sound of a feminine voice from down the line, though Mary’s words were far too faint for him to pick up through the call. After a moment, Taylor returned, speaking apologetically. “Hey, sorry, Dad. Dinner’s nearly ready, and I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you later, alright?”

“Go on then, Taylor. I should start my own dinner soon.” His chest tightened a bit at the subtle lie, but something told him that Taylor probably wouldn’t be particularly enthused about the old friend that was visiting when she called. Exchanging goodbyes with Taylor, Danny turned off the portable phone. He stared at the off-white plastic for several moments, fighting off the urge to throw it into a nearby wall, merely pushing to his feet instead. Walking out of the living room, Danny dropped it in the cradle as he headed toward the kitchen.

“-well, Go hIfreann leat a shlíomadóir lofa!” The faintly accented voice cursing up a storm in Gaeilge brought Danny up short, and he froze in the arch of the kitchen. He had to push past the hazy memories of Connor Holbrook’s face shining a brilliant crimson as he said some of these same curses. Returning to the present, he found himself staring across the room at Connor’s daughter, Zoe Barnes, as she angrily tapped a no doubt scathing rebuke into her phone.

Seeing the way that her shoulders were shaking just a bit, Danny didn’t open his mouth, well aware that if he gave her a target for her ire at this point, she might actually throw a handful of the aged ivory dominoes that lay on the table before her at his stupid face.

Carefully slipping into the kitchen, Danny pulled out his chair, wincing a bit when Zoe’s head snapped up to stare at him, but he was saved from her wrath when the redhead’s phone dinged loudly, drawing her attention back down to it. Dropping into his seat, Danny studied Zoe as she glared at her phone.

A momentary pang of distaste washed through him at the idea of involving text messages in arguments like this. When he’d done something so grievously stupid as to rouse Annette’s ire, she’d had the decency to verbally rip him to shreds to his face. Hiding behind a phone made things too easy, too… distant. It was far too easy to say something that you’d never say when the person was standing before you. Too easy to forget, you couldn't avoid seeing them indefinitely.

“You look so much like my dad when you sit like that.” Zoe’s voice startled Danny out of his thoughts, and he jerked up, snapping his eyes to her. She smirked at him for a moment before nodding toward the table before him. His gaze drifted down to the table, taking in the stack of dominoes that he’d created before him, his fingers absently shuffling the tiles as he’d been lost in thought.

Zoe was right, after all. It was a nervous gesture that he’d learned from Connor, during the long nights they’d spent playing with this particular set of tiles. His mind drifted back to those nights, sitting in the small kitchen at the Holbrook house, watching Zoe kicking her dad’s ass at these games as he constantly struggled to find some way to beat the girl.

It’d confused him at the time, why Connor had been so content to let Zoe crush him night after night like that, but he sort of got it now. Zoe didn’t handle stress well, and having something like this, something with simple rules, a simple goal to accomplish, it let her focus on the game for a little while and bleed off the stress in the rest of her life. And that’s why he’d been letting her crush him underfoot so much over the last few weeks.

“So, how’s Taylor?” Zoe’s voice was now smooth, comfortable as it jarred him out of his thoughts once more. Danny lifted his head, studying her carefully. Clearly fresh out of work, the woman was in a business-casual suit, wild red hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. She was staring right back at him, and despite the open, curious look on her face, he could see the lingering discomfort around her form, hints of the guilt she felt, and tension from the argument he’d witnessed.

“Fine. Thanks to the Protectorate, apparently… somehow.” Danny muttered as he reached out to grasp his tray, dragging it close to make sure that all his dominoes remained where he’d left them. Zoe’s voice drew him out of his thoughts, and he lifted his head when she spoke.

“Mn. I’m guessing you were right about where she’d go?” Danny frowned as he considered Zoe for a few moments, nodding absently as he let his fingers trace over the smooth ivory tiles in his tray.

“Mhm. She attacked Taylor last Friday, apparently. She called to let me know about it. I guess they only told her recently that they’d caught Sophia.” Seeing the minute widening of Zoe’s eyes, Danny quickly waved a hand. “Taylor’s fine. Sophia didn’t manage to hurt her much before she was caught by a local hero.” Danny sighed, sinking back into the chair.

Surprisingly, she didn’t immediately respond, and Danny leaned forward, staring at the woman as she nervously rearranged her tiles, fingers tapping the ivory pieces. It took Zoe several minutes of staring at her tiles in silence before she finally started to speak, though her gaze remained locked on the ivory under her fingers.

“Alan’s been getting calls from New York, and he’s been…oddly angry. I guess the firm cut off his discretionary accounts, and he’s been poking at me to use my connections at city hall to get him a meeting with Roy, and he’s been getting more and more… upset when I’ve refused.” Danny frowned quietly down at his own tiles, contemplating the implications.

“I suppose that explains the fact that my shadows have finally moved on.” Danny glanced at Zoe, chuckling when her gaze lifted to him curiously.

“The two people that had been keeping a watch on the house. I assumed that one was from the PRT, in case Hess made a move against me, and the other was working for Alan, I guess.” When Zoe raised an eyebrow, Danny waved a hand. “Private investigator of some fashion? Took pictures occasionally when I went to work, but he kept a respectful distance away.”

“He’s been having you followed? Danny, why didn’t-” Danny winced when a clear look of anger bloomed on Zoe’s face, rubbing nervously at the back of his neck as he cut her off as gently as he could.

“And get you into another pointless argument with Alan? I doubt he’d have just stopped if you’d asked, and you’ve already done plenty, Zoe.” Danny grumbled, his eyes flicking over the tiles before him, reversing the order of the pieces as he continued to speak. “If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know what I would have done to force the school to play ball, never mind everything else. The guy was just doing his job, and he was respectful about it, and honestly? I’ve got nothing to hide.” Glancing up, Danny flashed Zoe an amused smirk. “You’ve said it for years; I’m the most boring person you’ve ever met.”

Grinning when Zoe rolled her eyes, Danny turned his attention back to the board, carefully checking it to make sure that it hadn’t changed while he’d been on the phone, chuckling when Zoe chimed in a moment later.

“Please, Danny. I’ve been beating you at this game since we were both eight, I don’t need to cheat.” Rolling his eyes, Danny reached down, grabbing one of his tiles and setting it on the table, leaning back in his chair and watching Zoe as she leaned forward.

Her expression shifted, discontent and irritation bleeding away as her eyes focused on the board, considering every tile visible before flicking back to her hand. This process repeated several times as she puzzled out her move, and Danny couldn’t resist the amused chuckle that bubbled up when she lingered over three of her tiles, torn between her apparently multiple choices.

“So,” Danny spoke, ignoring the faux-scathing look that accompanied her, finally dropping a tile. “Why would he want to speak with the Mayor?” Splitting his attention between the tiles before him and Zoe’s contemplative features, Danny considered his next move as she responded.

“I don’t know, Danny. I’ve sort of lost track of what Alan’s current plan is, truthfully. I still have no idea why he’s doubling down so hard on Sophia ‘Thuggish Vigilante’ Hess, of all people. There doesn’t seem to be anything remarkable enough about her that he’d make that the hill that he’d die on, but here we are.” Rubbing tiredly at her face, Zoe leaned forward, and Danny felt that familiar flicker of concern bubbling up through him.

“Zoe, I mean- She did save Emma’s and his life. There is a debt there. If someone had saved Taylor, I’d give-” Danny frowned, staring down at his tiles, considering what all he’d be willing to do to repay something like that.

“That’s-” Zoe spoke softly, pausing for a moment before pressing on. “That might be true, Danny, but I’ve seen you deal with thugs before. I doubt that there’s any debt out there that would let you enable one.” Rubbing at her temple, Zoe tapped her tiles in thought as Danny made another play. Surprisingly she didn’t immediately consider his move, seemingly lost in thought. “I think, honestly, that this has been coming for a while, Alan’s been… different ever since that alley. I should have made a bigger fuss about him getting therapy over it, him and Emma both.”

Danny frowned, wishing that he could argue with Zoe, but deep down, he knew that someone should have stepped in after… everything. Alan was clearly adrift at this point, and he was only getting worse. Danny was… familiar with downward spirals, and he wondered how far Alan would fall before something forced him to come to terms with the reality before him, like Taylor’s tearful confession had jarred Danny himself out of his melancholy.

The sound of a phone letting out an imperious three-toned ding jarred them both out of their thoughts, and Danny lifted his head as Zoe fished out the device, carefully flipping it open. The look of irritation that washed over his friend’s face startled him. Watching Zoe’s free hand clenching around the tile in her hand, Danny leaned forward curiously.

“Sometimes…” Zoe’s voice was low and laced with irritation and disbelief as she stared at her phone. “Sometimes, I wish that I’d listened to Dad when he’d sat me down to talk about Alan.” Shaking her head, Zoe glanced up at him, blinking in confusion as she evidently realized that she’d said that out loud.

“Connor didn’t like Alan?” Danny spoke curiously, his voice no doubt cut through with the surprise he was feeling. Danny had never known Connor Holbrook to be a man prone to keeping his opinions to himself, but he’d never said an unkind word about Alan where Danny could have heard. Danny watched as Zoe’s expression firmed up a bit as she slapped her phone shut and stuffed it away.

“Dad and Alan never really saw eye to eye… about a lot of things. They had a few arguments over the years,” Zoe’s expression fell a bit, and he frowned, staring down at the board.

“Huh, I always assumed that your dad was pretty… forthright about what he thought of people.” A tiny flicker of familiar doubt and concern whispered through him, and he froze when one of Zoe’s tiny white tiles bounced off the side of his head. He glanced up, shocked to catch Zoe’s narrowed eyes on him.

“Dad never let Alan forget what he thought of him and his white knight personality, Danny. If he’d had a problem with you, you’d have known it.” Danny flushed, nervously adjusting his glasses as Zoe stared at him, continuing after a moment. “Dad was proud of you, Danny, right to the end. His only regret was that he never gave in to the temptation to clean your dad’s clock when he had the chance.” Danny felt his cheeks burning just a hint as Zoe continued warmly.

“You know it, Danny. He was always crowing about you at the O’Malleys, as long as I can remember. Considering what you’ve done with the union, and everything else, he never let anyone forget that it was Connor Holbrook that got Danny Hebert started with the union.” Grumbling under his breath, Danny adjusted his glasses quietly. Looking for a change of subject, he gestured toward Zoe’s phone on the table.

“What did Alan want?” Zoe peered at him, eyes narrowing when he grabbed the tossed piece from her and set it in his own hand, but she didn’t call him on it, merely nodding to her phone.

“Alan merely wanted to inform me that, since my ‘hissy fit’—" Zoe actually paused here to do air quotes, and Danny winced at the subtle hints of Zoe’s accent that started to creep into her tone as she continued angrily. “—was taking so long, and that it didn’t seem like dinner was ever going to be made for ‘our family,’ that I should probably locate something to eat on my own, since he's taking Emma out for dinner.” Danny winced as the woman trailed off her gaze, settling on the table.

Part of him was tempted to jump in on the Alan-anger, to let his own frustrations loose with Zoe, to see her flare up further. Part of him even imagined that Alan might deserve the righteous argument that was coming his way tonight when his pettiness was turned back on him. But that being said, Zoe was his friend, and he’d learned a long time ago that getting too invested in her relationships was a bad idea. Instead, Danny shook his head and opted to try and change the subject.

“Well, I mean-” he started, waiting until Zoe glanced up from where she’d dropped her phone, offering her a teasing smirk as he blatantly offered up a verbal segue. “I’ve been considering another attempt to figure out the secret recipe to Holbrook family stew that your father apparently took to the grave with him.” Danny watched as Zoe’s irritation faded, replaced with bemusement and subtle amusement.

“Danny…” Zoe tried again, before chuckling as she leaned back in her chair. “You and I both know that the only secret ingredient in my dad’s stew was whiskey.” Loosing a chuckle in response, Danny pushed to his feet and stalked over to the nearby cabinets, smoothly opening one up and pulling out a bottle of amber liquid.

“What a coincidence,” Danny offered, his voice teasing as he held the bottle up to catch the light, “I seem to have mysteriously been keeping this bottle of Black Rabbit around for some… strange reason.” He grinned when Zoe pushed to her feet, stalking toward him. When she grabbed the bottle, he offered no resistance as she inspected it curiously for a moment before heading to a nearby cabinet to pull out two glasses.

“Fine.” Zoe’s voice was laced with more amusement than her words implied, and Danny leaned against the counter, watching as she poured a small amount into her glass and waved him toward the cabinets as she sipped at it. “You can start with the carrots and potatoes. I assume that you’ve got some chuck meat in this rabbit’s den?” A tiny smile ghosted over Danny’s features as the last remnants of anger and disappointment seemed to melt of Zoe’s expression. She didn’t even wait for his response, fishing through the fridge to find what she needed.

Ingredients were fetched, cleaned, and laid out, and Danny fell into the familiar routine of working around someone else in the kitchen. When the radio was turned on, and a familiar voice began to sing along with it, distant memories of cooking pasta with Annette faded, replaced by even more distant memories of following Connor Holbrook’s directions around a smaller kitchen, and listening as a pair of Irish voices heatedly argued about the best way to blanch potatoes in the background.

In the end, the music was sweet, the company was pleasant, and the whiskey kept him warm far longer than the stew did. And Danny didn’t lose himself in thoughts about Taylor until well past when Zoe had headed home.

Chapter Text

'I heard them calling in the distance. So, I packed my things and ran. Far away from all the trouble I had caused with my two hands.'

Bobbing her head in time with the music, Taylor considered the song as she wove past the milling students. It was something that Lily had downloaded onto her phone, and Taylor idly wondered if the other girl had chosen the songs with her in mind or not. There was a substantial meaning in the lyrics that strummed at a chord in the middle of her chest. That thought merely brought up the looming questions that still hung in the air between them, things that neither she nor Lily had been able to broach over the last week.

She came to a stop at the end of the hall, her thoughts once more dissolving into the familiar foam of uncertainty and hesitance that Lily often brought these days. Rather than focusing on that, though, she distracted herself by staring around at the sea of unfamiliar faces moving around and past her, wondering why so few seemed to be heading for the exits. Classes were done for the day; after all, though, as she considered the bracing winds outside and the transit schedule, Taylor wasn't all that surprised that few people seemed to be moving with any real haste. Truthfully, even Taylor hersel-

A two-toned ping momentarily interrupted the music that she was listening to, accompanied by an equally brief flicker of buzzing and swirling under her skin that quickly stilled when the drums and piano rose back to prominence. Pulling out her phone and seeing that her grandmother had responded to her earlier text about being home a bit late tonight, Taylor quickly thumbed in her access code, pulling up her texts.

'Alright, hope you have fun at 'Charlie's' meeting, dear. If you girls decide to go out afterward, just let me know.'

Blushing, Taylor moved to respond, hurriedly tapping her thumbs over the screen's keyboard. In fact, she was so intent on crafting a suitably snarky response that the world around her faded into faint white noise. That is, until someone crashed into her back, sending her staggering forward.

Lunging, Taylor's hand lashed out, catching her phone moments after it slipped from her fingers, fumbling the device for a moment as her blush darkened. Heart sinking as she got the phone back under control, Taylor cupped it to her chest, almost protectively. That familiar buzzing swelled up within her chest, ghosting across the back of her mind and she spun around looking for who'd pushed her, eyes tracing over the watching crow-

There was no watching crowd; a few eyes glanced at her, amusement visible on their features before they returned to their conversations. Halfway down the hall, a heavy student continued on, distractedly talking into his cell phone. Just… an accident, Taylor realized, and her racing heart almost immediately began to slow, the music once more penetrating the haze of adrenaline and fear that'd momentarily suffused her entire being.

'Some had scars, and some had scratches, it made me wonder about their past. And, as I looked around, I began to notice that we were nothing like the rest.'

She contemplated the oddly poignant words, glancing around at the nearby student. Realizing that no one was even looking at her, Taylor felt her shoulders relaxing, blush quickly fading once she realized that no one cared. With a shake to end the brief moment of introspection, Taylor promptly finished off her message, sending it off to Gram before making her way toward the door that Charlie had shown her on their way to lunch.

Dodging around another person that was more invested in their phone than where their feet were taking them, Taylor slid up to the door, twisting the knob and pushing it inwards to reveal… a classroom. An innocuous, seemingly unremarkable room, singular only in the fact that Charlie and a teacher, an older woman, were present and in mid-conversation.

Honestly, she wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when Lily had pointed out that this was where the 'Triangles' met, but this wasn't it. Stepping into the room, Taylor reached up, tugging her headphones out of her ears and wrestling with a resurgence of the faint, looming buzzing that had been her constant companion for almost two weeks now.

Pushing past the sensations, Taylor saw Charlie turning to glance in her direction and forced a smile onto her face, the act a fair bit easier once the other girl returned it. That being said, the hint of surprise and confusion in the redhead's eyes didn't do much for the faint, enduring anxiety that she felt these days, and she found herself wondering if she'd been wrong about the meeting being today. Perhaps Charlie had just been-

"Taylor! You're uh… early. Really early." Charlie glanced down, grabbing her phone to check the time before peering back at her. "The meeting isn't until three-thirty."

Blinking in confusion, Taylor glanced at her phone, embarrassed to see that it was barely past three. She hadn't even realized that the meeting probably wouldn't start immediately once school was over. Embarrassment began to well up in the back of her mind as she thought about her haste in working her way here once she'd escaped her final class of the day, and she could feel her cheeks starting to burn.

"-But, that just means that you've volunteered for all of the physical labor." Glancing up at the words, Taylor felt as her blush faded once she considered Charlie's seemingly genuine amusement and the way her lips remained in that welcoming smile. Taylor fidgeted for a moment, considering just offering to step out, then return later, when the meeting was supposed to start, but the teacher pushed to her feet, removing the option from her entirely.

"I'll leave you two to it, then. If I'm to be tasked with wrangling your lot this afternoon, a cup of coffee wouldn't be remiss." The woman's voice was warm and casual, despite the words she said, and the subtle hint of an English accent somehow managed to ease what should have been some biting commentary. Glancing over, Taylor finally focused on the woman.

Short, chin-length silver hair framed an age-lined face with warm brown eyes. The teacher offered her a smile that Taylor found herself returning with an ease that surprised her. Stepping aside when the teacher approached, Taylor watched her vanish out the door, restraining the urge to fidget in place until Charlie spoke.

"That's our main faculty sponsor, Miss Grant. She's part of the English department with Barrs. Teaches creative writing mostly." Turning toward the voice, Taylor glanced at the other girl and opened her mouth to speak, but some manner of lingering uncertainty hung over her like a pall, and no words emerged.

"Right. So, since you're here early, I guess that means you can help with the setup." Thankfully, rather than allowing her to wallow in awkwardness, Charlie pressed on, dragging Taylor out of the mire of her trepidation. "We'll need to get all the desks out of the middle of the room. We can just line them up on either side and then we can just set the chairs out in a ring."

It wasn't hard to figure out what Charlie had in mind, between the other girl's gesticulations as she'd been explaining, then watching her as she started the process and moved one of the desks to the far wall. Walking over, Taylor joined in, hefting up a second desk and slowly carrying it over to set it next to the one that Charlie had moved.

From here, things devolved into silence, though contrasted with the awkwardness that hung over them not five minutes ago, this quiet was more… companionable. And it wasn't really that silent, either. The air was filled with the scraping of metal on concrete, and the faint labored breathing of the two girls exerting themselves. And yet, when Charlie's voice did cut through the air, it felt almost explosive. Though, perhaps it was what the other girl had to say.

"So, what's this I hear about you kissing my best friend?" Tension suddenly bloomed over Taylor's shoulders, coiling down the center of her back, and she froze where she'd been standing, bent over one of the remaining desks. She tried to force herself to lift her head, to glance up at Charlie. The other girl's voice had been playful, teasing like everything would be fine. And yet, some tiny part of her reminded her that Lily was Charlie's best friend and that Taylor had, in the same day, told her that she wasn't gay, and then proceeded to kiss said best friend. It wasn't-

Taylor's hands tightened on the desk that she was gripping when the heavy, oppressive silence that they'd found themselves in was suddenly broken. The sound of Charlie's sneakers dragging over the carpet as she approached became the distant sound of waves crashing into the shore to herald an oncoming storm. The tension in the air grew taut, and Taylor waited for the harsh accusation to come, the low, disappointed words and the recriminations.

"Taylor." The tone was gentle, concerned, and Taylor nearly lost her tenuous grasp on her powers when Charlie's hand settled on her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, she swallowed heavily and lifted her chin, glancing toward Charlie and studying the apparent concern and worry on the redhead's face. "Are you alright? You look terrified."

"I-" Taylor trailed off, realizing that Charlie wasn't mad, and the cloying tension that had been lingering over her snapped, the omnipresent fluttering under her skin falling blessedly silent as her entire form slumped in relief. "I thought you'd be mad. Y-you told me not to…" Taylor swallowed slowly, lips curling into a self-conscious frown as she pressed on hurriedly before Charlie could cut in. "I'm not leading her on. I didn't mean to-"

"Taylor, Taylor!" Charlie's voice was gentle, that steadying hand on her shoulder, tightening its grip while shaking her gently out of her verbal diarrhea. Taylor fell silent, swallowing again as she stared nervously at the older girl. "I'm not upset. Lily's fine as well. I'm just… curious. How did it happen?"

"I-" Taylor started and froze again, as the words failed her, and she finally dragged her gaze away from Charlie's eyes and turned toward the blackboard at the front of the room. She'd been asking herself that question for the last week, and she still couldn't come up with a good reason for doing what she'd done. "I- I don't know, Charlie. I just. She seemed down-" Taylor paused, frowning at the way that Charlie's amusement seemed to visibly dim before her eyes, and she hurriedly pressed on.

"It's not. It wasn't a pity thing. It was- I don't know what it was, Charlie. I just... It was Valentine's Day, and she looked so dejected when she'd left. She'd spent a whole week trying and failing to ask me out, and the entire time, I'd been this frustrating mixture of terrified, confused, nervous, flattered and terrified. And then-" Taylor paused, swallowing the words that she wanted to say, waving a hand. "-then we had that disagreement. And things went all to hell." Taylor turned away from Charlie, not wanting to see the judgment in the other girl's eyes as she nervously fidgeted her hands and stared toward the closed classroom door.

"I just. I saw her leaving, and there was, like, this shroud of disappointment and loss around her, and I could just tell that she was certain that she'd screwed up. She looked so devastated, and before I could really think about it, I was moving. I-" The deluge of words washing out of her lips suddenly ran dry, and Taylor swallowed against the lump in the back of her throat.

"So, you kissed her?" Taylor lifted her head when Charlie spoke, glancing at the older girl and taking in the confusion, concern, and worry visible on her face. Something about the look on the redhead's features sent a flutter of fear and worry lancing through Taylor's middle, and she leaned forward, speaking hastily once more.

"I-It wasn't like that. I just. She looked- It felt like-" Taylor paused, swallowing once more while trying to force her whirling, panicked thoughts into things that she could actually vocalize. "I- She looked so broken. She stepped down off my porch, looking for all the world like she'd had her chance, that she'd blown it, and suddenly I was gripped with this feeling that if I let her leave like that, that it'd be done. That it'd be over." Charlie's eyes softened, and Taylor turned, not quite able to meet the other girl's eye anymore. Her gaze lowered, settling once more on her hands as she nervously picked at her fingers.

"I- I couldn't just let her go, thinking that. I don't know what I planned when I started moving, but one step turned into three, then five, then ten, and then suddenly I was there next to her, my hands tangled in her coat, my lips pressed to her cheek." Taylor's voice was hoarse, her lips dry and she resisted the urge to swallow again, since it accomplished nothing, merely forcing herself to continue. "I-I didn't expect her to react… to try and kiss me back. I panicked."

"Why?" Charlie's words were soft, and yet Taylor couldn't help but imagine that some tiny bit of warmth was gone from the other girl's voice as she responded. That familiar anxious swirl in her gut returned, and Taylor tightened her arms as if that might soften the fluttering that she could feel like she was trying to hold herself down. As she shrank into herself, Taylor wondered whether Charlie was asking why she'd kissed Lily, or why she'd panicked when the other girl had tried to kiss her back.

She'd asked herself both questions several times over the last week as she and Lily spent their days going to and from school together while pretending that neither had happened. Though in the end, it didn't matter because the answer to both was the same.

"I didn't want to lose her," Taylor muttered softly, finally as she stared at her hands. Charlie shifted beside her and let out a slow, sad exhale, and Taylor winced.

"Do you like her?" The question ghosted over, and Taylor frowned, refusing to look up from her hands.

"I- I don't know," she muttered, shifting nervously away from Charlie when the girl inhaled sharply. Taylor pushed off the desk and straightened up, rounding on the other girl. She spoke, hoping to stave off the condemnation and judgment that was surely in the other girl's eyes. "I honestly don't know, Charlie. I-I've never had to deal with this before. No one's ever looked at me the way that Lily looks at me, and I- I just- I just couldn't let her walk away." She finally lifted her head, her rambling stuttering momentarily at the stark, poignant understanding in the other girl's eyes. Slowly, tentatively she pressed on. "I-I needed more time. I just… I couldn't let it end there; I couldn't lose her before I even understood if I wanted her." Taylor's arms tightened around her middle once more, and she stared at Charlie in abject silence.

Charlie never got a chance to respond, as the heavy oak door crashed inwards before either of them managed to marshall their thoughts. A wave of teens came pouring in, and suddenly Charlie's friendly, casual smile slid back into place as she greeted them, and Taylor was once more adrift in a sea of faces sporting friendly, if curious smiles. A pair of powerfully built boys took over the moving of the remainder of the desks, and Taylor found herself once more buoyed along in Charlie's wake as the friendly girl introduced her around.

To Taylor's astonishment, she started to notice hints of recognition in the gazes of the other kids, even managing to place a few faces in return. Hesitant smiles were exchanged with one of the boys that she'd seen playing cards with Lily last week. The fluttering in her stomach dulled when a trio of girls she vaguely recognized from the darkened interior of Jumpstart introduced themselves to her again and started asking how she'd met Charlie, listening with rapt attention to her nervous response.

Somehow, despite her distinct lack of social finesse, the three girls had kept the conversation going, and when they'd all taken their seats as the meeting started, Taylor found herself settled in the midst of them, sitting across the ring of chairs at an amused looking Charlie. After a few moments of seemingly just watching them chatter, the older girl let out a sharp whistle, causing the conversations around the ring to fade to silence, with a few grumbles.

"Alright, alright, you guys," Charlie called, voice low and playful, as she glanced around the circle." We can all shoot the shit after this is done, but Miss Grant has stuff that she needs to do later." Charlie bowed her head toward the teacher that Taylor had seen earlier, the woman having apparently returned while Taylor was distracted.

"So, to start, since we've got a few new faces this week, we'll go around and introduce ourselves. I'll start. I'm Charlie Middleton, I'm a lesbian, and I prefer She/Her pronouns." Charlie waved playfully when the rest of the kids offered half-hearted 'hello's' in response, and Taylor tried to ignore the wave of roiling wing beats that she could feel under her skin as she realized that she'd be obligated to introduce herself like that.

There were seven people between her and Charlie in the ring, and Taylor didn't get any of their names, her mind desperately locked on keeping herself from flying away as she tried to figure out what she'd say right up to the point that one of her new friends gently nudged her. Jerking out of her thoughts, Taylor lifted her head and nearly vanished on the spot when she realized that everyone was looking at her.

She wet her lips, gaze drifting around the entirety of the ring, nervously studying each face that stared back at her until she settled on Charlie. The older girl seemed to realize what was going on, leaned forward, clearly intent on saving her. At first, relief washed through Taylor, though when the older girl opened her mouth to speak, something… changed. Some tiny kernel of cold, hard emotion deep, deep inside her shifted, and the fluttering ceased as a wave of frustration and stubborn determination washed through her. Leaning forward, Taylor cut in, speaking before Charlie could.

"Hey, sorry. Got a bit lost in my thoughts. I'm Taylor. Taylor Hebert. Uh, She/Her pronouns work. I'm a-uh, a bisexual." Taylor held her breath for a moment, glancing around. No one seemed to react really; there were no accusations, no harsh looks. A moment passed, then another, and then the teens offered up an equally monotone greeting as well, and the introductions continued around the circle. The attention shifted away from her, and Taylor felt her back straightening as she settled back into her seat.

A hint of movement caught her eye, and when she followed it, she saw Charlie staring back at her. When the older girl raised one of her eyebrows, Taylor nervously shrugged up a shoulder, which seemed to satisfy her, and she turned back to the rest of the teens as the introductions finished.

"Right. Now that we know that all of you heathens know each other, let's get this party started. Same rules as always. New Business at the end, Garfield!" Charlie pointed at one of the heavy-set boys that had taken over re-arranging the room, causing him to jerk a bit in confusion at the sudden shout, pointing nervously at himself. "Yes, you. Did you think we'd forget about your birthday? Now then. On three. One, Two, Three… Happy Birth-" The boy blushed, shrinking back into his seat, and Taylor found herself swept up with the rest when they began to sing happy birthday.

The smile that bloomed over her face as she was singing didn't dim for the rest of the meeting.

"I don't know, Charlie. Maybe I'm just tired of running from who I am, what I want." Taylor chuckled at the sharp bark of laughter that the other girl offered up when she said this. Shoving her hands into the deep pockets of her jacket, Taylor ducked her head a bit, hoping to hide from both the cold and the penetrating stare coming from her friend. Rather than focusing on Charlie's teasing, Taylor turned her thoughts toward the meeting that she'd just left.

The most surprising aspect, to Taylor at least, had been the seriousness of it all. There had been some merriment, like the birthday song, but once that had passed, things became a lot more somber then she'd initially expected. There had been a discussion of the highs and lows of the previous two weeks from a few of the members, advice had been solicited and received, and then the group had turned to their place in the surrounding community as a whole. Despite her admission, Taylor didn't actually have much to contribute, and she'd been content to remain mostly quiet, listening as the others spoke.

A surprising number of the kids present had discussed the charities that they worked with, clearly hoping to entice her and the other new faces into helping out. They'd waxed poetic about their groups, the good that could be done to help the homeless, or the various battered women's shelters, but there'd also been this subtle undercurrent of things that were more… hinted at then outright spoken, words like visibility or perception that cropped up slightly too often to be accidental.

While it'd been clear that the other teenagers truly wanted to help, that they wanted to make the city better for their passage through it, it was also clear that the kids wanted- or perhaps needed -to show off their colors with pride while they did it. It wasn't enough to make the world better; any one could do that. No, they also had to force the world to see them for who they were as they did it. To make the rest of the world see that despite what they felt, or who they loved, that they belonged to the community and more than that, that they were a positive influence on it.

The idea had been almost... heavy to Taylor. The smile that'd been on her lips had dimmed, and a resounding, almost ponderous trepidation had pooled in her chest as she stared at the faces around her. She was left with the sensation that she was standing at the top of a great cliff, mere steps away from the yawning chasm below. She wasn't sure what was beyond the edge, she hadn't gotten close enough to really see yet, but she was close enough to get an idea of the danger that she was approaching.

It'd been… unsettling, for several reasons, and the lingering sense of uncertainty still clung to her, even now that she was away from it all, and alone with her friend once more. Part of her wondered if she really knew what she was getting herself into, if this was all a good idea or not, she hadn't even really-

"You alright there, Taylor? You seemed to have disappeared into outer space." Charlie's finger dug into her side, and Taylor jerked out of her thoughts, standing up a bit straighter and blushing in embarrassment. A shake of her head dislodged the dark thoughts from her mind, and she pulled her face out of her jacket, attempting to do everything that she could to look regal, refined as she stared down her nose at Charlie.

"Fine. Just contemplating what I'm going to get when we get to Jumpstart. Have you heard from-" Taylor trailed off, her eyes narrowing as she caught a familiar flash of reflective light, eyes leaving Charlie's face as she fell silent and turned to see what'd caught her eye. Across the parking lot, Saviero was walking toward his car, juggling a bag, a stack of documents, and his briefcase as he attempted to collect his keys from his pocket.

Taylor only realized that she'd stopped walking when Charlie suddenly appeared in her line of sight, waving a hand at her as she spoke, drawing Taylor's attention back to her.

"-rth to Taylor. You just spaced out, again. Part of me is getting offended that you don't want to stay here on terra firma with me. What's up?" The girl turned, glancing over her shoulder, following the line of Taylor's gaze, a sharp bark of laughter emerging when the older girl caught sight of Saviero tripping and dropping his papers on the snowy parking lot.

"I, uh. I've gotta talk to Saviero." Taylor's voice slipped free without her even thinking about it, and when Charlie whirled on her with confusion, she pressed on, hoping to stave off any awkward questions. "I completely forgot that I was supposed to ask him about some of my placement tests. Look, you can go on ahead of me, meet Lily, hold my table?" Taylor watched the way the older girl's eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth, clearly intent on arguing.

"It'll be like ten minutes, tops. Just uh. Wait here?" She stared at the other girl, doing her best to look determined, at least until the redhead deflated, offering her a long-suffering sigh and a nod of acceptance. Not wishing to test her good luck, Taylor didn't linger, moving quickly across the hard-packed snow toward the guidance counselor.

When a stack of papers just out of the bald man's reach caught a breeze and fluttered up into the air, Taylor dropped her bag and charged forward, leaping up and snagging them out of the air with a grunt of effort and a rather ignoble staggered landing. The amused clapping that the older man offered her did little beyond staining her cheeks once more a brilliant crimson.

Turning toward him, Taylor offered out the stack of papers, nodding simply at the muttered thanks that the older man had offered her. As Saviero checked his papers for damage before tucking them under his arm, Taylor remained fixed in place, utterly silent as she inspected the unassuming man.

He wasn't overly tall or broad. He had no presence. If it wasn't for the fact that he was entirely bald at such a young age, Taylor might have even said that the man lacked anything that made him unique, and yet— She'd been so utterly certain that the man before her was the cape that'd come to her house the night she triggered. Strangely, seeing him like this-

"Something I can help you with, Miss Hebert?" She lifted her head, meeting the man's dark eyes, watching his eyebrow raised in a mixture of amusement and curiosity, and suddenly the confusion, the disbelief vanished. Taking a step back, Taylor balked as she stared up at Saviero, once more wholly convinced that the man before her was a cape. She blinked in confusion for several moments, glancing around and checking to see if they were alone.

"No one can hear us, Taylor, say what you need to say." The words were low, warm, and clearly intended to be inviting, and yet something about them unsettled Taylor. That fluttering sensation washed up along her spine, and Taylor pulled her shoulders in close as she took another step back, turning to stare at the older man's inviting smile and curious eyes. The silence between them lingered for a few moments until the question that had been rattling around her head for two weeks whenever she saw the man finally bounced its way out of her lips.

"You revealed yourself to me on purpose, didn't you? You knew what you were doing, and you did it anyway. Why?" The man blinked, surprise momentarily ghosting over his features before that mild amusement replaced it once more. He shrugged up one of his shoulders, his free hand coming up to rub the top of his head.

"What has Lily told you of my powers, Taylor?" The question surprised her, though it really shouldn't have.

"I-uh. Nothing. Lily hasn't told me anything about anyone but herself. Though I did do a bit of research on you, and the Lancers. You're a thinker… right?" The man's head cocked slightly to the side as his lips curled into a surprised expression that Taylor imagined matched her own. After a moment, though, the man nodded as he responded.

"Astonishing, I'd expected Lily to be a bit more… forthright. I'm impressed." In truth, Lily and Taylor hadn't really discussed their powers, or the consequences of them having them since they'd spoken a week ago on Valentine's day. It was one of the many things that they'd both silently agreed to pretend didn't happen as they fell back into acting out their mutually oblivious friendship.

"In any case, yes, Thinker works as good of an explanation as any. I see more about people than they can see about themselves. As to your question, I did it because I could see that the fragile connections that you'd built here were so very close to shattering, and if something didn't give, you'd have lost it all. I merely… helped things along without forcing Lily to choose between you and her team-mates." Glancing up when Saviero spoke, a tiny, almost oily flame of roiling distaste and suspicion blooming in her chest at the man's words.

She opened her mouth, a half dozen accusations or cruel assumptions pooling in the back of her throat, but the expression on Saviero's face stilled the vitriol there. The man looked… passive, accepting. And she took a moment to consider what he'd said mere moments ago. He'd opted to bear the burden of revealing himself onto her, to save Lily from having to weather it. And something told her that he'd be equally happy to weather the storm of her dark thoughts about the PRT for similar reasons.

Something about this bothered her and Taylor forced herself to swallow back the dark feelings, for the moment at least. There were other reasons that she'd come here. Other questions that she'd wanted to ask.

"Is Lily in trouble?" Again, her words seemed to startle Saviero, earning Taylor a look that somehow managed to be both assessing and prideful. She felt her cheeks darkening at the look, and she frowned.

"Why do you ask?" The question was frank, straightforward, and Taylor tucked her arms closer to her sides.

"She's been… tense. We haven't… We don't talk about her work with the Wards. Though she did give me a very basic overview of the local program, and when everything came out, considering the things that I'd overheard that Jou-" She paused, swallowing at the man's strangely sharp look and reeled her thoughts back in a touch. "Josh, rather, and Lily were arguing about. She, uh. She was forced to explain some things, then." Saviero's expression softened here, and Taylor nervously shoved her hands back into her pockets.

"She hasn't… talked about it since, but there's been this… feeling that I've gotten lately that things aren't going great… there. From what she hasn't said." Taylor pressed her lips into a thin line when Saviero merely rubbed the back of his head again, giving the area around them a brief glance.

"Lily was technically correct when she told Josh, and presumably yourself, that the instructions that she'd gotten were worded as 'suggestions.' That being said…" The man paused, checking his watch with a frown. "That being said, Taylor, there is a certain expectation that suggestions offered by Lily's superiors would be a bit more binding than she'd been treating them, especially when she wasn't just risking herself." Taylor frowned, momentarily feeling a surge of distaste and guilt welling up in her at that.

"So, she's in trouble then," Taylor muttered, earning herself an amused look for Saviero.

"Nothing quite so severe as you're imagining, I bet. She's merely been reprimanded, Taylor. A mark in her file, some strongly worded warnings from concerned capes that have been through this sort of situation in the past." Taylor opened her mouth, though nothing came out for several seconds as she considered the words. She'd been expecting something else, though she couldn't really articulate, even to herself, what it was that'd been percolating in her mind, merely that it was 'bad.'

She'd also imagined, like, coming in and saving Lily, offering herself up to the sacrificial altar to 'fix' things. Her grandmother had been making increasingly pressing comments about her deciding what she wished to do with in regards to her powers while commenting on her own 'connections' and how she might-

Taylor froze, staring at Saviero in mild dismay.

"You're my grandmother's friend," she muttered softly, staring at the man. The man grinned and crossed his arms, but he didn't respond. It only took Taylor a second to realize the idiocy of the statement that she'd just made, and she hurriedly continued, clarifying. "Her' friend with powers' that she wants me to talk to about everything." The smile on Saviero's face dimmed a touch but lingered, and he merely nodded.

"I've had this job for nearly two decades, Taylor. But I'm not the only person in the school that's obligated to interact with parahuman children. There is a support structure in place, and certain other counselors and teachers are kept in the loop, just in case. Your grandmother was one of them, though I don't think that either of us expected her to be on the other side of this particular arrangement." Taylor frowned, considering the man for a few moments before glancing over toward where Charlie still lingered by the nearby bus stop. It'd been nearly fifteen minutes at this point. Not sure how much longer she had to linger before Charlie finally intervened, she opted to get to the point.

"I- My grandmother's been trying to convince me to speak with you. To at least look into what the Wards program has to offer in regards to learning to control my powers." She paused, before opting to throw caution to the wind, and maybe helping Lily a bit in the process. "Lily's also made a few attempts at convincing me to join up, despite everything that happened with Sophia." Here, the guidance counselor actually cringed, and Taylor felt some small, momentary hint of victory.

"Let's… let's get this done with, just…" She paused, eyes drifting away from Saviero as she considered a touch softer. "Maybe you could make sure that people realize that, without certain people bending the rules, this could have gone a lot differently." Taylor glanced back at the subtle chuckle that Saviero offered, but the man's answering nod was… reassuring.

"Very well. I'll have to make a few calls, Taylor, but I'll get in contact with your grandmother. We'll get the process started." The man trailed off suddenly, cocking his head to the side before turning toward the street, and Taylor followed his view, watching Charlie's unexpectedly rapid approach. "It seems our time is up, though, Taylor. Enjoy your coffee; I imagine that you'll be seeing more of me in the coming weeks."

Swallowing nervously, Taylor glanced over at Saviero, blinking in confusion at the back of his shiny head as he headed toward his car. Abrupt. Shaking her head, she turned toward Charlie's approaching form and moved to cross the parking lot in her direction to meet her halfway.

"Right!" she spoke first, to forestall any awkward questions about that whole conversation, pushing toward Charlie when she slowed. "I'm freezing, and there's a hot cup of chocolatey goodness waiting for me. Let's go."

Thankfully, Charlie didn't argue, and the subject of her chat with Saviero was left alone, the conversation once more drifting to Charlie's attempts to make her blush by discussing the Triangles meeting.

Chapter Text

February 26th, 2011

NYC-South Wards Training Base, Brooklyn

“Taylor?”

Her name being called snapped her out of her thoughts, and she dragged her eyes from the off-white patterned ceiling back toward the woman that called her name.

“Sorry, this is taking a while, but we’re almost done. We just need you to sign one last thing. We need the date, here, and your signature... here.” Taylor glanced between the stern woman and where she was using her pen to indicate the bottom portion of the contract on the desk. Picking up the pen that she’d set aside, Taylor glanced toward her grandmother, waiting for the now familiar nod before leaning forward and scribbling her name and the date across the final lines on the contract.

As with the other contracts she’d already signed, Taylor moved to slide the contract over and settled back as Gram and the Administrator on the other side of the desk slipped into an easy conversation while Gram carefully triple-checked the contract. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before Taylor felt her eyes drifting upward, once more settling on that roof.

A familiar creeping, almost heavy sensation came, and Taylor shivered a bit as she once more found herself considering the gritty material the ceiling was made of. Distantly, she remembered her father referring to this type of roof covering as ‘stucco,’ but she wasn’t sure why it was designed like that and why the ceiling itself was so-

“...you think, Taylor?” The woman’s voice again jerked back to attention, her eyes snapping to the woman. Taylor’s gaze flicked between the bureaucrat and her grandmother for several long, awkward moments, struggling for something to say before finally admitting defeat.

“Uh… Pardon?” Taylor tried when neither woman spoke, earning her grandmother's curious, almost concerned look in response.

“Taylor.” The low, familiar voice coming from behind her startled Taylor, and she turned in her chair, eyes widening when she caught sight of her reflection in a smooth, reflective silver helmet. Belatedly she realized that she’d been so lost in her thoughts that she’d managed to miss the arrival of an entire person. One that had even spoken to her.

Thankfully, the man’s form seemed relaxed, though that did little to stem Taylor's awkward embarrassment and even less to dim the coloring of her cheeks. In a fascinating contrast to the other times that Taylor had seen him, Sophist seemed wholly at ease, despite the rather bulky outfit that he wore. And when he finally spoke, he didn’t seem perturbed at being forced to repeat himself.

“I asked if you’d like to take a short walk and perhaps meet some of the other Wards.” Embarrassment dimmed, rather quickly replaced with a swirling upswell of surprise and fascination at the suggestion. Though, rather than answering immediately, she turned once more toward her grandmother and the administrator, earning smiles from both of them, though Gram was the one that opted to respond.

“We’re mostly done with you here; I’ve got to speak with Mrs. Carmichael for a bit longer about things like your financial stuff and school things, but if you’d care to get out of this office, feel free. I’ll text you when I’m heading out, alright?”

Nodding, Taylor slipped out of her seat, grabbing her jacket from where it’d hung over the back of the chair before turning toward Sophist. Or at least where he’d been, as the man had already stepped out of the office by this point. Hurrying in his wake, Taylor squeezed past the closing door, emerging into the empty outer office to find Sophist standing near another, younger cape that somehow managed to be more eye-catching than a man wearing a mirror over his entire face.

“Taylor, allow me to introduce you to Squall.” The girl was tall, which was saying something coming from Taylor herself, but the girl was nearly as tall as Sophist even, and Taylor found herself in the unique position of being forced to stare up at another girl. Though, more than being merely ‘tall’, Squall was imposing, for lack of a better word. Her face, at least the part visible past her half-mask, was eye-catching, with a powerful jawline and lips painted a stark black that matched the mask.

When Squall offered a gloved hand, Taylor took it, watching how the older girl’s costume shifted as they shook hands. It was made of blue and black leather, a fascinating complement to her rich, dark skin. Her long black hair was woven into braids tied back into a pseudo-ponytail. Everything about the older girl screamed out this intimidating mixture of competence and skill that left Taylor scrabbling for a few moments before finally managing to speak.

“It’s, uh, a pleasure.” Taylor started shifting under the older girl’s piercing dark gaze, only belatedly realizing that while she’d been introduced to Squall, the other girl hadn’t been introduced to her in kind. “I’m Taylor. I don’t, uh, have a cape name. Yet.” She blinked when the older girl’s lips cracked into a warm broad smile, somehow holding back both a flinch and a start when one of the girl’s strong hands came down onto her left shoulder and offered it a squeeze.

“It’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Taylor.” There was a subtle cadence to the girl’s voice, not enough to be termed a natural accent, but certain words were rolled in odd ways, and the girl’s deep timbre made Taylor’s name practically vibrate as it rolled off her tongue. “I should mention that there’s a somewhat hasty and cobbled-together weave of courtesy and self-enforced lack of curiosity among the capes of New York. I imagine that someone will eventually explain all the minor details to you, but for now, since you’ve introduced yourself to me with your name, I shall return the favor.”

The older girl fiddled with something hidden in the mess of braids atop her head, then the half-mask she wore came loose, and she smoothly removed it. She held the mask loosely in her hand and offered Taylor another warm smile.

”My name is Nyambura.” The older girl’s accent, which had been subtle up to this point, became more pronounced as she said her name, the first two letters rolling together in a way that Taylor doubted she could replicate. Sensing her uncertainty, the old girl grinned before pressing on. “Honestly, few people can accurately replicate the pronunciation, do your best, and I’ll try not to judge you too harshly.” Swallowing, Taylor watched the girl re-affix the mask, and something about the look the girl gave her implied that while she was obscured like this, Squall was a better choice, though she didn’t get a chance to test this. Behind them, Sophist offered a polite, if impatient, cough, clapping his hands when they turned to face him.

“Right.” The man shifted, and with a flourish that seemed almost prestidigitation-esque, he produced a simple black half-mask that would cover everything above Taylor’s lips, smoothly offering it over. Blinking, Taylor accepted the mask and moved to study it. Strangely, the thing lacked attachments or banding, merely being a solid piece of what seemed like plastic. After a moment, though, Taylor opted to at least try placing it over her face, and surprisingly the mask remained firmly affixed to her forehead when she removed her hand.

“...huh, that’s-” Taylor froze, blinking as she considered the words she’d just uttered. Her voice was different, subtly lower, deeper. She frowned, glancing up at the pair, flushing when she caught sight of Squall’s smile, though Sophist resuming his speech drew her focus away from the Ward.

“Miss Carmichael might have been willing to give her staff a later start today to accommodate your privacy, but the rest of the base is still populated. Better safe than sorry, yes?” The man turned toward the door, though he stopped briefly before moving toward it. “Oh, also.” He glanced back over his shoulder at Taylor, and Taylor distinctly got the impression that the man was smirking back at her. “You might want to consider a temporary nickname or something that we can use to introduce you around.” With that, the man gestured casually for them to follow, leading them toward the outer office door and out into the base proper. As they walked, the man began to speak, rattling off information.

“So, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Protectorate South. Much like most of the Protectorate and PRT infrastructure in the city, it started as a Cold War-era fallout shelter. When they started decommissioning these things in the nineties, the PRT stepped in to scoop up a few of the more well-built ones for the Wards program they were designing.” The man hummed as he spoke, glancing over his shoulder at Taylor as if making sure that she was listening before continuing.

“Beyond us, there are two other bases in the city. There’s Protectorate North, up towards Yonkers and Englewood, and then Protectorate Central, downtown. It’s also attached to the Local PRT branch, so you can expect to make the occasional trip out there for testing and citywide training. The five local Protectorate teams and their matching Wards teams are distributed between the three bases. North houses the Archers and the Oracles, Central has the Hoplites, and this base here is shared between the Lancers and the Chirurgeons.” Humming, Sophist paused, momentarily wiggling his hand before correcting himself.

“Well, it’d be more accurate to say that the location is shared. In effect, both teams possess their own separate but connected bases. Each team has private staging areas in each base, sharing things like a medical ward, certain special training rooms, and a communal area where the teams are encouraged to mingle.” The man gestured vaguely forward as he walked onwards. As they walked, they left the worn 50’s era sea-foam green of the offices behind and slipped into more modern hallways with floors painted a slate gray and walls paneled in dark woods with colored lines painted high up on them.

“We’re actually heading toward that communal area at the moment since the Wards just finished a joint training exercise. Typically, at this point, you’d be taken to meet the team we’d be having you work with for the initial stages of your training. But, considering how little time we have and the public venue, we’ll have to settle for allowing you to meet everyone in costume for now. You’ll have time to get better acquainted with the team when you return later this week for a proper orientation.”

Taylor nodded, trailing along in the wake of the other two, surprised at how Squall lingered at her side, watching her as they walked instead of offering up any information of her own. They moved down still-deserted halls, They walked past doors marked with vague names, and Taylor let her attention shift from the doors on either side of her and up toward the ceiling, staring at the concrete molding and light fixtures.

The ceiling looked like any school or office building she’d ever been in, yet something about it caused Taylor’s heartbeat ever so slightly to pick up. A subtle, worried undercurrent lapped at her ankles, though she couldn’t find an exact reason, merely finding herself fixated on the off-white stucco again. It took a few minutes of wading through that oppressive feeling before something finally occurred to her, spurring her to break the awkward silence around their small group.

“Are we under the river?” Taylor spoke, glancing up at the thrumming fluorescent lights over their heads. When she turned, only to find Sophist’s gleaming helmet turned toward her, she cocked her head to the side, resisting the urge to make herself smaller as the man’s attention shifted, and she could somehow tell he was staring into her. Rather than giving in to the temptation, Taylor pressed on, doing her best to explain. “The entrance we entered was in the Navy Yard, right, and we’re underground. Something about the air is… heavy.” Muttering, Taylor glanced between Sophist and a visibly fascinated Squall, coming to a stop as the pair stared back at her until Sophist finally responded.

“Yes, you’re right. The base here runs alongside the nearby MTA line. We’re roughly halfway between Queens and South Manhattan ” Taylor blinked, glancing around and realizing that that explained things. Sophist resumed walking, and Taylor fell back into step with the taller man.

Less than five minutes later, and entirely too soon for Taylor, who still hadn’t come up with a name, their evident destination became apparent. Sophist led them around a corner and down a corridor no different from the rest of the facility’s labyrinthine, cookie-cutter hallways.

A simple pair of metal double doors blocked further travel at the end of the corridor, with a gleaming computer panel set into the wall next to it and a bulb above the door glowing a sharp amber in the stark hallway. Sophist headed toward the doorway, and Taylor followed, watching as he accessed the panel and typed something into it. He turned back toward her after he’d finished whatever he was doing, crossing his arms.

“We’ll need to wait for them to get ready; it’ll be just-” Above the man’s gleaming helmet, the light instantly dimmed, and he perked up, peering over his shoulder before continuing. “Speak of the devil, seems that they were close to a stopping point. I imagine that you’re excited to meet the others, yes?” Taylor blinked, staring in confusion at her reflection on the smooth surface of Sophist’s helmet for several seconds before swallowing.

“The uh… Wards are through there?” Taylor asked nervously, staring at the doorway and stepping back when the man merely nodded. “Do they all know who I am?” She fought off the sudden upswelling of panic at the idea, fingers twitching as the temptation to adjust her mask washed over her. However, something must have shown on her face because Sophist merely stepped closer, waving a hand to garner her attention.

“The only people in that room aware of your trigger, Taylor, are Jouster and Flechette. Introducing yourself to the rest of them will be up to you.” Taylor blinked, the panic she felt stalling at the correction, and she fidgeted back with a frown. She hadn’t… expected this, for it to be so fast, so… sudden.

Swallowing slowly, Taylor studied the door behind Sophist with a subtle fluttering in her chest before once more watching her head nod in the reflection on the man’s helmet. She took a few deep, steadying breaths, responding as she did her best to return the encouraging smiles.

“Erm, you can just call me Flutter for my temporary thing.” The words spilled forth before Taylor could think better of them, and then everything was suddenly in motion again. The pair nodded casually, turning toward the door. Saviero keyed something into the panel, and the doors let out a ponderous, heavy thunk, and then they parted, swinging inwards of their own accord.

The room beyond was spacious, a lounge of sorts with numerous couches, chairs, and tables. It also seemed to have two violently contradictory color schemes, which confused Taylor. The furniture and paint in the closer half of the room were decked in silvers and blues, while the other side featured more reds and yellows, the colors mingling when they met in the middle of the room.

Taylor’s focus shifted from the decor to the number of faces that turned toward their little group. Far too many to merely be the Wards she’d researched, though belatedly, she realized Squall was the leader of an entirely different team, and the remaining teenagers were probably hers. She paused on the inner side of the doorway, taking a deep breath to firm up her resolve before moving to follow the older cape.

They’d barely made it five steps into the common area beyond the door before Taylor caught sight of Lily striding across the open space between them, though the fact that her friend was fully kitted out in costume with that weapon on her back did make Taylor come up short. The fact that Josh, or rather Jouster, was trailing relatively close behind Li-Flechette, was also intimidating.

“T- Uh. Hey! You’re finally joining up?” Flechette’s words were light, a faint mixture of amusement and welcome surprise, though the friendly smile on her lips didn’t linger, fading rather quickly when she glanced past Taylor towards Sophist and Squall. “Why hadn’t I heard about any new members? We usually get a bit of warning.”

Something about the way that the silver-masked cape shifted in response gave Taylor the momentary impression of surprise. However, the man covered it deftly, glancing up and past Lily to where Jouster lingered several feet away from the small knot of people.

“Uh, Flechette?” The boy’s voice was soft, laced with a mixture of discomfort and weariness, and Taylor winced as Lily rounded on him, expression visibly darkening. “Yes, well. It, uh- It was pointed out that it might not be the best idea, considering well— the various interpersonal entanglements, for her to join the Lancers. Flechette, you-” Jouster had been hoping to head off an argument, his voice even and firm, though he’d barely gotten a sentence into his explanation before Lily cut him off.

“Seriously?” Lily hissed. “Are you kidding me, Jouster? Personal entanglements? Is that what we’re calling it now? Perhaps we should discuss your own issues with keeping the line between teammates and more from blurring. What about whatever the hell's been going on between you and Songbird?” Lily’s voice was sharp but controlled, and Taylor felt her cheeks darkening as Lily started to tear Jouster a metaphorical new one.

“This has nothing to do with me and Songbird, Flechette. The fact of the matter is that you’ve both got-” The response wasn’t cold, so much as brusque, muted. His mask obscured the older boy’s face, but beyond it, Taylor imagined his features from when she’d stumbled on him confronting Lily. Brow furrowed, hazel eyes dark and expression impassive. She had to restrain the urge to place herself between Lily and the boy, though thankfully, someone else opted to step in and break up the brewing argument.

“Flechette! Jouster! Enough.” Sophist’s voice was flat and even, clearly unimpressed. He gestured vaguely at the door to one side of the room, and the two Wards glanced at him momentarily before slinking off. At least Flechette managed to flash her an apologetic or embarrassed look before following the other two off through the doorway that Sophist had indicated. Taylor glanced around at the other capes gathered, finding the rest of the Wards deliberately looking anywhere that wasn’t directed at her.

Taylor’s face, which had been a faint pink up to this point with all the eyes on her, turned an almost violent crimson as she remained pinned in place, standing at Squall’s side. Between the way her heart thundered in her chest and the struggle to keep her powers from slipping their leash and dragging her to the moon, she was effectively dead to the world for a few moments, at least until a warm hand gripped her shoulder and managed to shake her out of shock. Turning, Taylor tried to focus on what Squall was saying to her.

“That was unfortunate. Jouster probably should have spoken to Flechette privately about this before your arrival, and Flechette definitely shouldn’t have escalated it like that with everyone here. And, despite Flechette’s immediate assumption, this isn’t about any personal connection you might have with her.” The girl paused, and Taylor took a deep breath, continuing to do her best to fight off both the color staining her cheeks and the urge to flee from this conversation, merely staring up at Squall. “There is some small amount of scrutiny about that sort of thing, though it’s rarely necessary to separate the capes unless… issues come up.”

“So, uh, if it wasn’t about that, then what was it about?” Taylor frowned, glancing over at the door that Lily had vanished into with Sophist and Jouster. Thankfully, whatever discussion was happening within wasn’t being held at a volume that could travel into the lounge area.

“From what was explained to me, Jouster expressed a… concern about having you on his team.” The comment startled her, and Taylor felt her mind drifting back to her fears after catching Lily and Jouster arguing about her secrets. A shoulder nudged her, and Taylor glanced over to see that Squall had moved closer to her, that she’d somehow missed the other girl folding her arms over her chest.

“Nothing quite as dramatic as what you’re imagining, I bet. It’s more that, Jouster was concerned that you’d… established an opinion of him and his team that might have made it difficult for you to integrate socially. Jouster is big on the idea that your team is your family.” Taylor sighed at that, briefly letting the words roll around her head. Squall continued, “He was the one that suggested that you should be introduced to my team instead—the Chirurgeons. We also share this base with the Lancers, so you would not be wholly without opportunities to spend time with Flechette around the shared common room here, perhaps...” Taylor considered the idea for a few moments more before turning to peer up at Squall finally understanding why the older girl had been watching her this entire time.

“Mind you, other issues were brought up as well, more mundane things like power compatibility, scheduling issues, and the dreaded subject of proportional team sizes.” Shrugging, Squall leaned forward, flashing Taylor a smile as she pressed on. “Whatever the case, there’s no pressure, and it is just an informal meeting, but it can’t hurt to say hello to the other girls, at least. Explore the option?” Here, Squall finally fell silent, allowing Taylor to contemplate the idea privately. Truthfully, the idea of working closely with Josh had been somewhat intimidating to Taylor, and given a moment to digest the reasoning behind it, she could appreciate them doing their level best to ensure that she started out as comfortable as possible.

That being said, Taylor glanced at the door and frowned at the idea of Lily alone in the office, furiously arguing with the two men on her behalf. Almost on instinct Taylor’s hand vanished into the pockets of her jeans, and she tugged out her phone, swiping out her password and navigating toward her messaging app.

“While I appreciate the can-do attitude, that probably won’t work here. Most phones are blocked this far underground. Also, even if they weren’t, Flechette probably doesn’t have her personal phone on her.” Squall’s voice startled her, and Taylor flushed, embarrassed, before hastily stuffing away her phone. “If you like, I could pass along a message, hopefully, stave off whatever argument is going on in there?” The girl gestured vaguely in the direction of the office, and Taylor turned to stare at the door silently before nodding.

“Just, uh. Let her know that I, um….” Taylor felt her cheeks starting to burn as she imagined Squall’s eyes boring into the side of her head, though she didn’t bother to glance over to see if her imaginings were correct. “Just, uhm, let her know that I appreciate her enthusiasm but that it might be best to let the matter drop for now.” Nodding when the words tumbled out in something approaching coherence, Taylor exhaled slowly, finally letting herself look back at Squall.

Thankfully, the older girl seemed to have a straight face, forced or otherwise. Equally reassuring was how she easily went with Taylor’s lead, reaching up to touch the collar of her suit. The girl’s fingers squeezed, then she waited for… something before speaking into what Taylor assumed was a radio. “Console, Squall here. Can you patch me into Flechette, please?” The older girl paused, and Taylor turned, staring at the metal door into which the trio of capes had vanished.

“Flutter wanted me to pass along a message. She appreciates your… passion, Flechette, but-” Squall paused here, and Taylor watched, worried at least until Squall resumed after a moment, seeming unperturbed. “She’s also come to understand the gravity of the situation and what it can mean for team dynamics.” Several long, heavy moments passed before Lily evidently responded, Squall chuckling at whatever was said.

“That is, certainly, a point in her favor.” Releasing the collar of her suit, Squall glanced down at her and grinned, her teeth starkly white as they peeked past her lips. “Flechette said that you do have the right build for my team.” Rather than explaining that in detail, the older girl merely gestured for her to follow, leading Taylor away from where the remaining Lancers had assembled and toward a collection of younger capes arrayed around a couch and a series of squishy-looking chairs. “Just as a warning, Flutter.” The girl spoke softly as they approached, her voice playful. “The girls like to show off, so be prepared for that. And don’t worry; they’ve all got enough training to know how not to hurt anyone while doing so.” Taylor nodded, even though Squall wasn’t looking at her. The older cape was instead waving at the group, who all turned to greet them, the few partial faces that Taylor could see offering welcoming smiles as they approached.

“Guys. Allow me to introduce Flutter.” Squall shifted to the side, allowing everyone to get a good look at Taylor before gesturing to the closest of the Wards, a dark-haired young woman with skin nearly as dark as Squalls. The girl was dressed in a costume that was mostly flowing silks. The girl moved forward, her form exploding into a twisting tornado of sand that whirled toward Taylor, moving over and around the small table she’d been sitting at. The dervish of sand stopped a foot before Taylor, re-resolving itself into the silk-clad young woman that reached out, offering Taylor her hand.

“Khamsin. Nice to meet you.” Taylor took the hand, shaking it, doing what she could to keep her mouth shut to avoid looking like a gormless idiot. The girl seemed amused but quickly backed off, allowing herself to be replaced by a tall, heavily built figure in gleaming violet armor. When Taylor offered her hand, the armor flickered out of existence, revealing a much different figure within. Long dark hair fluttered as a small, thin girl dropped nearly half a foot to land expertly on the ground. Still decked out in whatever tinker tech had created that armor, the tiny girl bounded forward, scooped up Taylor’s drooping hand, and shook it vigorously as she spoke.

“Hiya, Flutter. I’m Stormcore.” The voice surprised Taylor, much higher than she was expecting, and for a moment, Taylor wondered if the girl was old enough to be a patrolling Ward, considering the information she’d gotten from Lily. Thankfully, before Taylor could open her mouth and make a fool of herself, a blur of white caught her eye, and she turned, staring wide-eyed at the hulking form of a snow-white bear that hadn’t been there mere moments before as it paced around the back of a couch and approached her.

Taylor only had to wrestle with her panic for a second or two before realizing it was almost certainly a Ward. When the bear got close, it reared onto its hind legs and rapidly shrank into a short, squat girl in a heavy fur-trimmed jacket with an ornate bone-white mask on her face. The girl offered a half bow before speaking, her warm, friendly voice clear despite the mask covering the whole of her face.

“Qailer.” At first, Taylor felt a surge of panic, wondering if the girl had figured out her name or if someone had told her, at least until she noticed Squall, who merely shook her head. Then Taylor realized that the girl’s cape name sounded coincidentally close to her real name. Swallowing the panic, Taylor turned to return the girl’s nod before she was once more distracted by the approach of the final Ward.

The girl strode around Qailer with a merry grin on her painted lips, barely two inches taller than Stormcore, though she swaggered like Taylor imagined a boxer might. Long blond hair messily framed her face, and her form was wrapped in a fitted red and black bodysuit with a matching domino mask that drew attention to a pair of mischievous blue eyes. When she caught Taylor’s gaze, the girl offered a casual salute before introducing herself much as the rest had.

“Impact. I’d offer to demonstrate my powers, but they’re a bit explosive.” Taylor nodded absently, blinking when Impact turned to Squall, offering her an almost indignant look. “You know, Boss, at this point, no one is going to believe that they aren’t doing it on purpose.” Most of the girls lingering around Taylor laughed, though Squall merely rolled her eyes.

“This sort of ties into Flechette's earlier comment, Flutter. It’s a bit of a running joke in the city that the Chirurgeon Wards team has gone…a fair while without managing to induct a male member. Despite what the girls insist, I’m fairly certain that it isn’t intentional, but it has led to some small measure of playful joking amongst the other teams.” Squall paused, glancing over to give Impact a mock-serious look, feigning some manner of exasperation with the much shorter girl. “Impact, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the girls have taken to playing up the image at times.”

Squall left it there, but when Taylor’s attention shifted to the wild-haired blonde girl, she seemed eager enough to continue, offering a broad grin while running a hand through her hair.

“They call us the Amazons, and while I would have preferred ‘Valkyries,’ it’s not a terrible legacy to play into.”

▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

“So, like…” Taylor glanced around at the costumed heroes sitting around the small coffee table with her as she contemplated the question that had bothered her for the last half an hour. “They call you guys the Chirurgeons, but uh…” Taylor hesitated, briefly lost in thought.

“None of us are healers?” The playful voice drew Taylor’s attention toward Impact, and she nodded, blinking when the rest of the girls let out various chuckles. However, Squall was the one that eventually opted to clarify.

“Healers, true healers anyway, are quite rare. There’s… one in the city, though the side effects that come from his services are quite, uh, steep. The Chirurgeon team isn’t really a ‘medical’ team. Generally, we handle things like situational support roles, though our main focus is search and rescue once the dust has settled.” Taylor frowned subtly and nodded, recognition flickering.

“Like, um… EMTs, I guess? ” She muttered; the comment earned her an agreeing nod from the rest of the group as Squall continued smoothly.

“Well, sort of. EMTs mixed with Firefighters would be closer. We tend to do a lot of picking through ruins in the wake of cape fights. Or, uh, we will. Which is why, If you want to join the Protectorate Chirurgeons team, when you graduate from the Wards program, it requires a passing grade in the New York CFR Exam, among other things.” Taylor nodded, eyes widening as she recognized the name of the infamously difficult test. After that, the group fell into a companionable silence for several moments before Taylor finally drew in a heavy breath and glanced around at the group.

“So I guess, I, uh. Explain my mojo, then?” The words earned her a few curious looks as Stormcore and Impact shifted closer, clearly anticipating something explosive. Beyond the excited girls, the rest of the Chirurgeons looked only vaguely interested, surprising Taylor. She had expected the others to be exceptionally curious about the new girl’s deal. “Right, uh, don’t get your hopes up; I’m mostly just like Khamsin.” The others perked up, especially the named cape, and Taylor vaguely waved a hand. “I can turn into a swarm of moths? Move around and through things.” She glanced at Squall as the words failed her, lifting an eyebrow even though it wouldn’t be visible past her mask. “Could, I… uh.” She paused, vaguely waving a hand and earning a brief amused smile from the team leader.

Squall held her hand up for a second, reaching down to touch the collar of her costume again, though Taylor didn’t catch whatever was said. After a moment, Squall waved for Taylor to go on. Turning inwards, Taylor drew on her power, immersing herself in it before letting her mind drift. She wanted to be impressive, to show off, and her powers burbled up, eager to please. Opening her eyes as she dissolved, Taylor’s swarm dragged her up and off the couch, flying her up and over the coffee table and spinning her around between the chairs Stormcore and Impact were lounging in before reforming her back into her natural form.

The rest of the girls were polite enough to allow Taylor to regain her seat before they rounded on her with a wave of questions. Taylor did her best to keep up with and answer these as they came at her with breakneck speed. Yes, she could go further than that and faster than that, though both affected her stamina. No, she couldn’t change the form that her swarm took, and she happened to find the dark black and grey moths rather refined. Also, she blended in well in a city of concrete and dark alleys. She wasn’t sure what would happen if the swarm was attacked or delayed, though she shared the story of March slashing through her too and how she’d taken a crossbow bolt, both with seemingly no ill effects.

The subject of taking passengers with her was broached, and Taylor vaguely laid out the sort of issues that cropped up when she did it, which caused an odd ripple amongst the group of girls. Several of them turned toward Squall, who merely rolled her eyes. When Taylor caught Squall’s eye, the older girl leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees as she spoke.

“There’s a mover on the Protectorate version of our team that has a power that induces side effects like that. Well, Panorama’s power causes disorientation, though it’s more of a headache-inducing disorientation than a nausea-inducing one. I’ll mention it to Dynamo when I talk with him, and you’ll probably have to explore that during Power Testing.”

“Power Testing?” This induced a round of chuckles from the rest of the girls, and Taylor frowned, her eyes drifting across the rest of the Chirurgeons, who merely offered her conciliatory smiles. Impact was the one that opted to speak up.

“Picture, uh, PE, but you also have to do a 350-entry questionnaire before and after you spend all day being worked over by your own personal coach. It helps with the power stuff, but it’s grueling.” Frowning, Taylor nodded, sinking back into the couch as the other girls chimed in with their own experiences, most of them matching up with what Impact said.

“But,” Impact picked up the thread when the conversation dithered, waving a hand as she sank back into her chair. “After that comes the cool parts of the superhero experience. Getting to design a costume and figuring out what your name will be. Figuring out what kind of toys they’ll make. And, of course, getting to spend time with your cool new potential teammates.” The girl smirked at Taylor, playfully batting her eyelashes.

Whatever Taylor might have said in the wake of that was lost when she finally heard the sound of the door opening at the rear of the lounge. She shifted in her seat, turning nearly entirely around and watching Lily and Sophist following Jouster out of the room. Jouster and one of the Lancers met up near the doors, vanishing through them, and one by one, the rest of Lily’s team hopped to their feet, making their escapes as well.

Sophist gestured in her direction, and Taylor nodded, turning back toward the others in time to catch Stormcore letting a long, stretched-out yawn before pushing herself to her feet, waving at Impact to get her attention as she spoke to Taylor.

“It’s been great meeting you, Flutter, but I’ve got a book report that I need to do, and seeing as my English teacher is also my dad, I should probably work on that.” Impact whined at the words but offered little resistance when Stormcore grabbed her by the arm and physically dragged her up and out of the chair. The blonde girl offered a coy farewell comment as she allowed herself to be tugged along toward the exit.

It seemed this was much like the plug finally being pulled on the tub, and the rest of the girls said their goodbyes before getting up and leaving one by one until Taylor was left alone with Squall. When she pushed to her feet, the older girl followed her up and joined Taylor in strolling across the floor toward where Sophist and Lily waited.

“So?” The question was low and warm, and Taylor blinked at it, glancing up at Squall for a moment before catching on to what the older girl was asking her.

“I, uh, I like them? They seem nice. I think that I could work with them… Maybe.” Squall nodded, lips lingering in that smile as they walked across the room. Eventually, the older girl replied with a low, thoughtful tone.

“In the end, Flutter, the Wards program exists to help you as a cape, and no one will force you to do something you don’t want to do, but I’d be happy to have you train with us. And, I mean, if it came to it when you get that far, I’d be delighted if you joined my team.” Taylor glanced briefly over at Lily and Saviero, catching both masks as they glanced in her direction. Embarrassment flared, but Taylor did what she could to keep from turning away immediately, replaying the discussion that she’d had with Squall earlier in her head. After a few moments, she turned back to the older girl and nodded her head.

“I, uh, I’d like that as well, I think. The Training. And, uh, maybe the joining up part. If I, uh, I don’t prove to be wholly useless at the rescuing people… thing.” The dark-skinned girl offered a coy, teasing smile as she followed along, responding warmly.

“Great, I honestly think you’ll be a great fit. The PRT rep will probably contact your… grandmother in the next week to hammer out a schedule, but you might see me sooner than that.” The older girl hummed, smirking mysteriously when Taylor shot her a curious look, but she didn’t clarify what the comment meant.

Taylor was tempted to argue, but by this point, they had both made their way across the room to where Lily and Sophist still lingered. When Taylor drifted to a halt near the pair, Squall politely nodded both capes before moving on, leaving Taylor peering at her reflection in the reflective visors on the two remaining capes' faces. Well, that was certainly intimidating.

“Uh. Hey.” Taylor’s words came out flat, and she shifted in place, watching Lily as the older girl pushed slowly up off the wall and stepped closer, her expressions still relatively flat. “I, uh. Sorry that I didn’t mention anything about joining up. I thought it’d be more of a fun, haha, kind of surprise.” Fidgeting with her arm, Taylor watched Lily as the older girl lifted a hand as if she might rub at her eyes, dropping her hand when she realized she still had her mask on.

“Yeah, I get it. Honestly, I doubt it’d have gone that much differently had you told me. Sorry, er, about that, by the way. I didn’t mean to, uh, put you on the spot there like that.” At that, her blush returned, though Taylor merely nodded at the apology, crossing her arms over her chest. Lily fell silent at this, staring at her, and Taylor got the impression that the girl was struggling with something as they stood there.

Thankfully, before either of them could delve too deeply into that particular subject of conversation, the mirror-masked elephant in the room let out a polite cough to garner their attention. Taylor turned to Sophist, once more getting an impression from the man that his impassive mask should preclude, this one being an odd mixture of consternation and chagrin.

“So, that was a bit more explosive than I hoped, but I’m glad you managed to meet the Chirurgeons. From what I heard, I assume you’re fine to do your initial orientation with them?” The man paused, waiting for Taylor to nod before carrying on. “Right. Good, that’s one thing solved. Thankfully Squall explained the rest of the basics, so you’re free to go. Oh, actually. Right. Your grandmother phoned up a few minutes ago. Right before we left the room with Jouster, she’s waiting for you at the front desk unless you’d care to find your own way home?"

The reflective mask shifted between her and Lily for several moments, and Taylor turned to peer at Lily with a curious smile. Lily returned it with an uncertain one of her own, and Taylor took a deep breath, pushing past the anxiety that even now lingered at the back of her mind.

“I’m kind of burned out on Cape stuff, but I could probably do with some social time with my friend.” Taylor turned to Sophist, smiling despite herself when the man merely bowed his head and stepped away. She watched him go, waiting till he was out of sight before flopping back to lean against the wall at Lily’s left.

“Sooooooooooooooooooo.” Taylor let the word drag out momentarily before looking at Lily, who’d begun to shrink down a touch. Seeing the creeping panic washing over Lily, a momentary surge of… something washed through her, and Taylor muttered the first thing she could think of to jar Lily out of her thoughts. “I kinda like you in purple. It suits you. Though I don’t think I’d be able to pull it off. Browns and Blacks, maybe?” This, at last, drew a smile from the older girl, and they turned as one, heading down the halls—although first, a brief stop for Lily to change out of her costume and into something more sedate.

Once Lily stepped out dressed for street traffic, the pair strode down the halls, and Taylor glanced around as Lily gestured around at the various doors as they passed, absently explaining what each was for as they went. As they walked along, Taylor noticed the colored lines on the wall that she’d all but missed on her trip down from the surface, and Lily must have caught her staring because she launched into an explanation.

“There’s a couple of different ways into and out of the base here. The PRT base up in the Yard tends to be pretty busy, so we rarely come and go that way. There’s another exit for us to get in and out discreetly down here.“ Lily gestured to the nearby wall indicating a series of colored lines visible on the wall. “Blue leads to the street level access, purple is for Administration. Red is the one we want; that leads to the back entrance.” Taylor stared at the lines, following along behind Lily, noticing they were following two separate lines on the wall.

“What’s green?” She spoke, blinking when Lily grinned over her shoulder at her. The girl didn’t immediately offer an explanation, merely leading the way around a couple of corners until she came to a stop where the green and red paths diverged, speaking as she gestured at the stairwell that the green line vanished into.

“Down that way is a garage where the bikes are kept.” Recognition swept through Taylor, and she distantly remembered the mention of the Lancers riding bikes in the research that she’d done. Shaking her head to rid herself of the image of Lily perched on the back of a motorcycle, Taylor turned to follow in Lily’s wake into a small security office. A PRT officer sat at a desk with various monitors before him.

When they entered, the man held a hand while staring at the screens before him. After a few moments of watching the feed, the man gestured them toward the door at the rear of the office. When opened, it revealed what looked to be a relatively tidy-looking MTA locker room, with them emerging from a door that Taylor might have assumed to be a small private bathroom if she’d glanced at it from outside the locker room.

Lily stepped through first, and Taylor followed her through, though she came up short when Lily rounded on her with a smirk. Feeling self-conscious, Taylor glanced down at herself, verifying that she had her coat, scarf, and phone. It took Lily reaching up and flicking the material of the mask that she still wore for Taylor to realize the issue.

With a blush and muttered curse, Taylor pulled the mask off and stuffed it into one of the deeper pockets of her jacket. Turning, Taylor followed Lily as the older girl approached the door and peered through a small one-way mirror on its surface. When the way was evidently clear, the older girl pushed through the door, dragging Taylor out and into a subway station. The door quickly shut behind them, revealing a simple metal door with ‘Staff Only’ stamped into a placard on its face.

Back out in the real world, the worst of the lingering tension that Taylor was feeling fell away, and she stepped up beside Lily with a grin, glancing around as they headed out onto the subway platform proper. Taking a moment to pull out her phone, Taylor shot a text to her grandmother explaining that she was going to go hang out with Lily, carefully obscuring the fact that they were already together. That handled, she glanced around, checking the signs overhead, racking her brain to try and figure out exactly where they were on the line and if she knew any place nearby.

“So, right. Dinner could be fun, right? I’ve not got anything too wild to deal with tonight. We could grab Chinese, maybe, or uh… Mexican?” Taylor turned toward the nearby track, frowning. “Though I think if we want to get anywhere near places that I, at least, am familiar with, we’ll have to ride the M to the other end. And then probably, we’ll have to-” Taylor froze when she felt Lily sidling up to her side, biting her lip as the older girl’s hand slid into hers.

“71st? That’d be quite a trip; I think the M takes, like, an hour to go all the way around. Going to Metropolitan and taking a bus or two might be faster. ” Lily offered with a surprising amount of faux casualness that left Taylor’s mouth running dry. Taylor’s fingers wrapped around Lily’s because leaving her hand limp seemed even more awkward. But at the moment, she was having issues focusing on anything beyond how loud her heartbeat sounded.

“Uh. Right. I th-think that means we need to go… up, right?” Taylor flushed a bit, glancing at the signage, trying to figure out which side of the track she was on. After a moment— and sure that she’d been staring entirely too long, Taylor started to walk toward the staircase, hoping to figure it out on the way.

Contrary to Taylor’s intentions, Lily’s fingers merely tightened around hers as the older girl stopped walking, the motion itself also dragging Taylor to a halt. As she came to a stop, Taylor turned, wetting her lips when she caught sight of the resolute expression on the older girl’s face.

“Uh, Lily?” The words were a touch hoarse, and Taylor felt herself pinned to the gleaming metal of the floor below her as the older girl’s dark eyes lifted and locked on hers.

“Taylor.” Something about Lily’s voice struck her in the middle of her chest; the way that it seemed as if Lily was fighting to get every word out caused Taylor’s heart to clench worriedly, her powers twirling just under the surface of her skin. “I-... I have to…” The girl stumbled her way over the words, her voice practically dripping with indecision, and Taylor’s heart started to beat faster as she waited for Lily to push out whatever she wanted to stay. “I can’t…” The girl visibly swallowed before straightening up and looking Taylor straight in the eye as she spoke. “What’s going on with us?” The question slammed into her, and Taylor remained pinned in place.

Taylor opened her mouth after a moment, taking a deep breath with every intention of just… coming clean. She’d explain it all to Lily, the mistake they’d made and the various issues piled on top of it. It’d be easy, just like Charlie said, and there’d be no messes to deal with. She’d honestly, seriously, intended on doing it. At least, that’s what she’d intended until she saw that vulnerable, terrified expression on the other girl’s face, the way that panic had subtly begun to creep into the edges of her expressions, and then something within Taylor had shifted. She merely stepped closer and uttered a single, simple sentence.

“Uhm, Lily. Do you want to go on a date… erm, sometime?”

Well, fuck.

Chapter Text

February 27th, 2011

14th Street Subway Station,  Greenwich Village

On days like this, Taylor often found herself baffled that Brockton Bay, the city she'd grown up in, was further north than New York. And yet, the climate here was so much more unpleasant; the momentary respite from the snow and bitter driving cold that'd hung around the city since Valentine's Day had finally broken. And in its wake, the winter chill had returned with a vengeance clearly meant to show them that Jack Frost wasn't entirely done with them yet.

Pushing through the seven-foot-tall rotating turnstile gate, Taylor stamped her way up the slushy steps to street level. A sudden, staggering gust of wind at the top of the stairs briefly brought her up short, the towering buildings on either side of the street funneling the icy air into a blast that nearly ripped Taylor's breath from her lungs.

Not for the first time, she wondered exactly why they'd had to come halfway across the city to go shopping, but she didn't really want to pull out her phone at this point to send Charlie a text asking that same question again. Instead, she pulled her hood more tightly around her head and hid the lower half of her face within the wool of her scarf.

Thankfully, her directions were well memorized, and it only took her a moment or two to figure out where she was in relation to where she was supposed to meet Charlie, and another five minutes of walking before the snow-covered edges of the memorial park peeked their way around the edges of the looming buildings on her right.

Though, Taylor was also much more thankful that she managed to catch sight of a familiar head of vibrant red hair near the park itself, and she wouldn't be obligated to stand around in this horrible weather waiting for her friend to arrive. The older girl clearly wasn't enjoying the weather any more than Taylor was, bundled up in a heavy wool jacket with a hat on her head and dark ear muffs.

Hurrying her steps, Taylor lifted her hand to wave as Charlie's head shifted in her direction, nodding when the other girl waved for her to follow. Thankfully, they quickly headed toward the intersection, crossing and heading toward a cafe further down the street from where Taylor had arrived.

When Taylor finally took a moment to look at the coffee shop itself, it brought Taylor up short. It was… exceptionally familiar in a very jarring way, something about it tickling the back of her mind. A triangle-shaped building with a long, tall wrap-around window gave a clear view of the small coffee shop within. Most of the interior space was dominated by a long angular bar with antique chrome stools, which matched quite well with a man standing behind the gleaming counters, idly cleaning glasses in a somewhat dated white uniform.

"Taylor!" A sharp word from Charlie startled Taylor out of her thoughts, and she quickly followed Charlie in and out of the storm. They took a moment by the door to stamp the slush off their feet before moving into the dining area. A series of antique red leather and stained wooden booths lined the wall near the doorway, but Charlie led them up to the furthest of the booths so they'd be sat near the 'tip' of the bar, with the point of the building just behind Taylor.

"Is this..." Taylor followed Charlie, pulling the hood of her jacket down and loosening her scarf as she peered over at Charlie's amused expression. "It's like that, uh painting. I didn't think this was an actual… place." Taylor glanced around, flushing when she saw the man behind the bar smirk subtly while moving to grab a pair of menus.

"Yeah. Though it's not, actually." Charlie paused, flashing the man behind the bar a polite smile as she took the menus, handing one to Taylor before flipping her own one open. "It's not actually that bar, of course. Inspired by it, a fan of the work. Anyway, it's a favorite of Blake's. She's got this… fascination with the '50s and loves little places like this?" The redhead glanced at her, and Taylor chuckled, moving to flip open the menu she'd been offered, eyes drifting down a list of simple, classic fare that suited the thematic flair of the place itself.

"Coffee. Black, with two sugars. And a blueberry muffin, though, could you warm it up for me, please?" Charlie's voice drew Taylor up from the menu, and she watched as the older girl handed the menu over to the man, and Taylor flipped her own closed, hastily chiming in with the first thing that'd looked good to her.

"Uh. Hot chocolate, please. And a bagel with cream cheese." Handing over her own menu, Taylor turned toward Charlie, watching as the girl pulled out her phone and absently checked it, swiping through several things before turning back toward her with an amused smirk. The expression and the subtle, teasing comments she'd gotten over the last two days left Taylor pretty sure that Lily had spilled the beans about their upcoming date, but Charlie had yet to confront her about it. The older girl was probably waiting for her to bring it up herself, yet Taylor couldn't quite work up the nerve.

In truth, Taylor was nervous that the older girl might be angry with her. Charlie had been telling her to be honest with Lily, to explain what was going on, for weeks. And when the perfect chance to do that had come along, Taylor had instead swerved left and doubled down on the misunderstanding. What sort of-

The door to the cafe dinged as it swung open, and Taylor's train of thought derailed smoothly, and she lifted her head, glancing over in time with Charlie. Though all they were rewarded with for their expectation was the sight of a hunched-over man shaking the snow off of his newspaper as he returned the familiar smile of the barista behind the counter. As the older man settled in on one of the red leather stools by the counter, Taylor turned back toward Charlie, chuckling as the other girl tried to hide her nervousness and disappointment.

"So." Taylor opened her mouth, hoping to change the subject without actually deciding on a topic that she might actually change the subject into. Opting for the low-hanging fruit, Taylor pushed the conversation toward their plans for the rest of this little adventure that Charlie had lured her out for. "S-so, remind me, Charlie, my dear friend, who I care for despite the torture she's put me through so early on a Sunday morning when I could be sleeping in. Why, exactly, did we have to go halfway across the city to go shopping? Something tells me that there are plenty of malls back near our houses." Taylor paused, smirking at Charlie as the girl stared back at her. Though feeling cheeky despite herself, Taylor chimed in when the redhead opened her mouth, teasingly cutting her friend off. "Or was this just some way to impress your new girlfriend, and I'm just along for the ride?"

The barista returned at this point, setting down their breakfasts and drinks, and Taylor found herself muttering a quick thanks in time with Charlie. The interruption allowed the other girl to retake the initiative in the conversation, and Taylor turned back to the other side of the table to find Charlie leaning forward, elbows on the table and her chin resting on her interlaced fingers.

"Cute, Hebert. Very cute. But no, we're not here to impress Blake." Taylor raised an eyebrow and watched as Charlie's cheeks colored subtly, grinning when the other girl rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like 'not only' before pushing on with her initial thought. "We're actually here to go shopping for you. There's plenty of malls back home, that's true, but I somehow doubt we'd find the sort of things that'd appeal to our little baby hipster back there." Taylor blinked, slowly leaning back and frowning at the odd word.

"Mn?" Taylor had meant the word, or sound really, to be playful, but her confusion must have shown through because Charlie merely shifted closer, that teasing little smirk on her face growing as she quickly switched tracks.

"Never heard that particular label before?" Despite the tone, the question was oddly earnest, and Taylor let out the slightest sigh before shrugging her shoulders defensively.

"It's uh. It's not like I got out much back home, Charlie. And back then, the labels hung around my neck weren't the most… interesting to explore." Taylor felt her easy-going smile fading, and she frowned. However, she did wrestle back the subtle buzzing sensation that had begun to creep up and around the back of her shoulders, focusing on Charlie's face as the older girl seemed to become ever so slightly more solemn.

"Er… Right. Fair enough." Charlie paused to pick at her muffin, ripping off a piece to dip into her coffee. She popped the morsel into her lips, chewing enough to be polite before swallowing and shifting forward once more. "In any case, I called you a hipster mostly due to your fashion sense and your taste in interior design. That's… sort of what they're into. Retro clothes and accessories, they collect Vinyl and alternative sound mediums. They tend to only listen to ancient bands or bands most people have never heard of. Some people use the term mockingly, but honestly, you seem like the type that might at least enjoy poking around in a few of these places. Also, they're the only stores you're liable to find music for your record player. I know that Lily's been sharing her ill-gotten gains with y-"

The door to the rear of the shop dinged once more, and Charlie shifted back in her seat to peer over the rear of their booth, stopping mid-sentence like Taylor had earlier. This time, at least, their efforts weren't in vain, and a familiar violently purple head of hair was visible in the doorway of the cafe. Though the dusting of snow over those colored locks was new, if not surprising.

What was surprising, to Taylor at least, was the outfit the older girl was wearing. When she'd met Blake at Jumpstart and later that day at the table, Taylor had initially assumed that the girl was something of a mall goth. Part of her had expected the other girl to arrive decked out in black, pasted with white make-up and gleaming with stainless steel that would almost certainly lead to acute hypothermia in this weather.

Instead, the girl was dressed casually enough. Warm pants and heavy winter boots, a dark wool jacket that looked comfortable, and a scarf around her neck kept the older girl’s numerous piercings warm enough, no doubt, and the make-up she was wearing was honestly a bit more muted than what Charlie was wearing. Though Taylor realized that Charlie had personally put a bit more attention into her make-up than Taylor had ever seen her use.

Taylor also realized this was probably more to do with the adventure they were currently in the midst of or perhaps the members of their 'party.' Much like the choice of meeting place, Taylor suspected that Charlie was going all out in hopes of impressing her new friend. Idly, Taylor wondered if she'd be required to do her make-up for her date with Lily. She'd never worn make-up before, and honestly, that was worrying. Honestly, Charlie's didn't look bad, though, Taylor could probably ask the other girl for help, or maybe Gram might-

When Charlie slammed into the booth's far side as she hastily and clumsily made space for Blake, it snapped Taylor out of her thoughts. She blushed, glancing over to see a mortified-looking Charlie shrinking into the corner of the booth as Blake merely smirked down at her from where she'd been standing near the edge of the booth.

Thankfully the older girl opted to take a seat instead of teasing the poor redhead, and Taylor did her best to swallow her amusement. However, that mood died a sudden and ignoble end when Blake turned to her and uttered the words that Taylor had been dreading hearing from Charlie.

"And what's this I hear about you asking our favorite little scholastic genius out on a date?" The words slammed into Taylor, and she flushed bright red, glancing nervously at Charlie. Thankfully the redhead didn't seem upset. If anything, the expression on the other girl's face was more entertained than anything, and the panic that had been coiling up in Taylor's middle on flapping wings suddenly evaporated, and Taylor felt a surge of nervousness, regret, and disquiet.

Slumping forward onto the table, Taylor buried her face into her arm and let out a long whine of irritation and self-recrimination until the other two began to laugh. She finally pushed herself up and off the table with a groan.

"Charlie. It's not funny. I was this close." Taylor held up her hand, holding her index finger and thumb a hair's breadth apart as she gave in to her desire to have a mini-rant. "-to just coming clean and telling Lily everything, and then she gave me this… look, and then I couldn't do it. I couldn't hurt her like that. Before I realized what I was doing, I was in the middle of asking her out." Charlie continued to chuckle at this, but Blake's entertainment seemed to have cooled as she spoke, and Taylor found herself nervously shrinking back into her seat as Blake glanced between the pair of them curiously.

Silence reigned for a few moments, and Taylor bit at her bottom lip, wrestling with the sensations of her power as they slowly ratcheted up in time, with Charlie's laughter dying away. She desperately wanted to be anywhere, but here, anywhere that wasn't pinned beneath the weight of Blake's curious stare.

Thankfully, Taylor didn't have to fully explain what was going on. Charlie leaned forward instead and quickly clued the older girl in on what'd happened. The mix-up with the scarf, the assumptions, and Taylor's apparently quite convincing charade of being a baby lesbian that just didn't quite get all the references and hints. Strangely when the older girl finally turned back to her, there was little of Charlie's companionable uncertainty in her eyes. The girl merely looked a bit confused.

"Em. Taylor, please pardon me if this seems a bit… blunt, but I'm not sure I exactly see what the issue is." The girl stared at her, and Taylor found her hands shifting to nervously tug at the hems of the shirt she was wearing, barely restraining the urge to qual under the violet-haired girl's curious look. "... It's just a date, Taylor." The words were uttered in a voice that was probably meant to be warm or reassuring, but all they did was coil into a weight in Taylor's middle as she felt that nervousness bubbling back up again.

"I-I mean. Yeah. I get that. On some level." Taylor's voice came out softly, and she found her eyes drifting down to the table, to her still, as of yet, untouched bagel and her hands remained tangled at the base of her shirt as she spoke. "Like, I do, Blake. But. I've never been on a date before." Taylor bit her lip, pressing on after a moment. "I've got no idea what to do, and Lily really likes me, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I also don't want to lead her on, and I have literally no idea what I'm doing. And everything is suddenly filled with so much pressure. Now I'm worried that I'll do or say something stupid. I'll break her heart and-" Taylor's voice started to come out faster and faster as she spoke, words spewing forth like they were carried on the wings of her moths, and it wasn't until Blake snapped her fingers that Taylor was startled out of her minor panic.

For a moment, Taylor's eyes lingered on the ring-adorned hand in front of her face, focusing on the fact that, for some reason, Blake had four of the same multi-colored rings that Charlie did on that hand. Shaking off that thought, Taylor snapped out of it and turned to focus on the oddly poignant look in the older girl's eyes.

"Breathe, Taylor. Breathe." The words were oddly reassuring, and Taylor shrank back into her seat, watching as Blake seemed to consider her for a few moments before carrying on gently. "I can understand the panic, Taylor. Honestly, we've all been there before. First date jitters are no joke, and that's before you even account for the whole sexuality mess that you've found yourself tangled in, but I think you need to put this in perspective." Blake shifted closer, her voice softening as she carried on, and Taylor's gaze flicked over to Charlie, watching the affectionate warmth in the redhead's eyes as she listened in.

"Lily likes you, Taylor; that's obvious. And I'm sure that she'd be happy to explore the idea of maybe getting into a relationship with you, but this is just a first date. It's meant to be fun; it's meant to be a vehicle to help you figure out if you're compatible with each other socially and romantically. This isn't about perfection or ever after. You're fifteen and sixteen, Taylor. It's a bit early to be thinking about soulmates or heartbreak." The other girl flashed her a smile before reaching over to steal Charlie's coffee, ignoring her squeak as she took a sip.

"As for your concerns, you clearly care about Lily, Taylor, but I think you're letting that worry cloud everything else to the point that you're not really letting yourself figure out what else you feel for her." Taylor swallowed sharply at that, her hands moving to steal her own drink, and she finally took a nervous sip as Blake stared at her. When she didn't respond, the other girl pressed on gently, clearly trying to draw her out.

"At this point, you've been aware of Lily's interest for what… weeks, right?" At that, Taylor nodded jerkily, fingers tracing the lines of the stark white porcelain mug in her hand. "And in all that time, you haven't even once idly just… thought about maybe going along with things to see how it goes?" The words were curious, plying, and Taylor felt her cheeks burning as she drew her mug closer. She muttered out a response, though it was too soft for anyone to hear. "What was that?" The question bubbled out of Blake's lips with a bit of the teasing from when she'd first arrived, and Taylor pushed the words out faster, slightly louder, as she felt her cheeks burning all the more.

"Of course. I-I've… th-thought about it. B-but i-it's not fair. I-I've done some reading, and… and…" Taylor paused briefly, well aware that she was merely repeating her deluge of self-recrimination from two weeks ago with Charlie, but the words wouldn't stop coming. "I've read h-horror stories th-though about girls that go out with queer women j-just to satisfy th-their own curiosity, and I w-wouldn't. I c-couldn't do that to Lily." Taylor forced her head up, and she watched twin looks of hurt and concern flicker over the other two girl's faces, something about the expressions forcing her to press on. "I-I wouldn't. That seems so cruel, so unfair. I d-don't know what's going on with me, and I don't want to…" Taylor frowned and slumped back into her, staring abjectly at her cup for a few moments before continuing softly.

"I like how I feel when I'm around her, but I don't know if that's because I like her or if I just like that she likes me. No one's ever like me before, Blake. And I hate that that might be why I won't admit the mistake that got us to this point. What if I am attracted to her, and I only find out later after I've already broken her heart? What if I tell her and she doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if-" Taylor was in the midst of a mini-rant when Blake gently cut her off once more.

"I get it, Taylor. This is all very scary. But all you can do is be honest with Lily. Eventually, you're going to have to come clean. And you're right, it might not go well, sometimes it doesn't, but that's life. At this point, you've got two options. You can come clean right now, lay your cards on the table, and hope for the best." Blake paused, and Taylor frowned, and Blake chuckled, "Which is clearly not something you're interested in. Your other option is to see where it goes. Put all the bullshit what if's to the side, go on the date, and hold Lily's hand. See if it makes your heart race as it does hers. Let her smile at you and see if it causes your blood to sing. Give it a chance. You might not be into her, but at least then you'd know."

In the wake of those words, Taylor sat there in silence, tiredly tracing the handle of her cup for a few moments before slowly letting out a resigned sigh.

"It's stupid anyway. Even if I wanted to, I've got literally no idea how to plan something like this. I asked Lily out, and now I have to figure out something that isn't stupid, like taking her to a movie and ignoring her for an hour and a half as I barely pay attention to the screen panicking over everything." Taylor puffed out her cheeks as she trailed off, glancing up when Blake finally cut in.

"Actually, Taylor." The words. offered in that mischievous tone drew Taylor up and out of her slump to stare curiously at the other girl. "This does present us with an opportunity. You want a low-pressure but fun date, and well, there's a certain someone present at this table that's still not quite managed to work up the nerve to ask me on a date. Double dating is a bit quaint, but it is a good way to feel out your partner with some backup." Taylor perked up at that, glancing over and blinking at seeing hers and Charlie's seats suddenly swapped. The redhead started to squirm and stammer as Blake stared playfully at her.

"I think," The words drifted out of Taylor's lips before she even realized that she was speaking, and she smiled nervously when the other two turned toward her expectantly. "I think that I'd like that… having someone else to help me plan this out would be helpful, and… and I think it'd be good to have someone there to uh… save me if I suddenly melt into a puddle of awkward terror when Lily shows up." The words were hesitant, and she watched as Blake's face curled into a broad, friendly smile.

"Excellent, Excellent. That just leaves one small matter to deal with." Blake grinned at her, and Taylor frowned as she scrabbled with her memory trying to figure out what she could have possibly missed at this point. What small detail-

"Charlie." The words startled Taylor, and she glanced up, watching as Blake turned in her seat to fully face a very nervous-looking redhead who shrank back into the corner of the booth. When Charlie nodded, Blake shifted closer, a coy smile on her lips as she gently grasped the other girl's arm. "I was wondering if you'd do me the delight and honor of joining me for a date on…" Blake paused here to glance at Taylor expectantly.

"Friday." The words were hastily spoken, and Taylor watched as Blake turned back to Charlie with that grin still in place.

"Right. On Friday. It'd be a double date with my good friend Taylor and her friend Lily. Sound like fun?" The request was left hanging for several moments until Charlie finally managed to respond as she shrank back further into her seat, cheeks still a fiery red.

"Y-yeah. Sounds great."

▂ ▃ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ █ ▇ ▆ ▅ ▄ ▃ ▂

Despite her distaste with the idea of being typecast by Charlie as a Hipster, embarrassingly enough, Taylor had returned home with a small haul that she'd purchased with part of the allowance she'd been accumulating over the last three weeks. A few more modern graphic t-shirts that'd caught her eye, a couple of sweaters to cover the gaps in her wardrobe between her jacket and her turtleneck. It wasn't a lot of stuff.

Also, she'd bought two dozen records, and they sat tauntingly at the end of her bed in the milk crate that the store clerk had helpfully offered up when she'd made her purchases. Even now, Taylor was tempted to pull the poor things out. To test them out one by one to see what she'd managed to find. She'd only recognized a couple of names; some were older and matched artists already in her collection, some were newer, and she vaguely recalled seeing them in the playlists on Lily's phone.

Currently, one of the latter was sitting on the record player, its sleeve resting on the bed as Taylor bobbed her head in time with the folksy tune while perched on her desk working on a particularly dry section of a history report on the American Revolution that was due in a couple of days. Idly setting her feet against the wall behind the desk, Taylor pushed her chair back nearly a foot and then leaned back as far as the chair would go, tapping her pencil on her cheek in time with the music.

"Mn. Stupid hat, with its stupid randomly assigned subjects. Can't even get anything cool like a dissection of mob justice and its role as one of the roots of the Civil War. Nope, gotta figure out how the ripples of American Colonialism impacted the rest of the world." Rubbing tiredly at her nose, Taylor slapped her cheeks several times before shuffling back to the desk to press on. Though the sound of something heavy thumping down, accompanied by the very faintest of tremors moving through the floor and her chair, pulled Taylor away from her desk.

Moving toward her door, Taylor pulled it open and paused at the entrance to her room, straining her ears to see if she could hear the falling sound again, but the hallway was silent beyond the faint strings of her music following her out of the room. Taylor lingered in the doorway for a few moments, her mind drifting to the vague fluttery sensations that should be rising up to wreath her if she was in any danger. But the sensations remained largely silent beyond the faintest of flutters caused by her nervousness.

With a sigh, Taylor stepped out of the room and closed the door in her wake, nervously descending the stairs. She passed her grandmother's room and the bathroom, which were also silent, then it was down and into the living room, also empty and quiet, though voices had begun to faintly drift up from below. As had a chill breeze.

Shrinking into her pajamas, Taylor moved down through the empty kitchen and onto the stairwell leading out to the front door. Pausing halfway down the stairs when she found the door wide open, Taylor discovered her grandmother standing and chatting with someone near the door as two burly men in PRT jackets wrestled a large box through the door and headed toward the basement with it.

Gram noticed her first, and when she turned, the woman with her followed her lead, and Taylor caught sight of a familiar dark-skinned face turning to stare at her. Nyambura waved casually, and the two women moved toward her as the sound of a box torn open downstairs drifted up from the basement."

"Taylor, I had wondered if you'd fallen asleep. I was surprised this racket hadn't drawn you down before now." Taylor flushed a bit as Nyambura stared at her curiously as Gram spoke, but she somehow managed her chiding response.

"I was listening to one of my new records and working on that essay; I guess I didn't hear anything until someone dropped something." Taylor moved to peer down into the basement, curious to see what was happening.

"An Essay?" The words came from Nyambura, and Taylor flushed a bit as she pulled back from the door. "Yeah. American History assignment, though I was randomly assigned an essay subject that leans a fair bit more into what would be 'World History.'" Taylor paused, chuckling to herself, though the bald curiosity in the older girl's eyes prompted her to carry on. "Oh, it's uhm. International ripples that were caused by, or I guess, influenced by the American Revolutionary War." Taylor huffed a bit as Nyambura merely smirked at her.

"I assume that you've looked into France?" The words were soft, and Taylor nodded at the obvious suggestion pausing as Nyambura pressed on smoothly. "Other angles to consider beyond the War of 1778 would be countries, or well, empires, like Spain or Portugal, or even the Nordic countries. All of them were colonial empires, and their efforts overseas were colored in one way or another by what happened here. Also, one might consider African countries, though again, that would be a fairly obvious starting point." The words finished simply enough, and Taylor paused, casually considering the comments.

"Oh. Um. Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She was briefly tempted to run upstairs and write them down, but then her curiosity spiked once more, and she moved to try and peek around the corner into the basement again, speaking up when she couldn't see much beyond men working. "What's uh… What's going on here?" She glanced at her Gram, blinking at the faint, appreciative look in her eye before peering at Nyambura curiously.

"We're setting up a small home gym for you. Nothing too wild. A Stationary bike, some mats, and a speed bag. Since you've opted to attempt to join up with the Chirurgeons when you hit sixteen, you'll need to start working on your physical fitness soon." Taylor blinked at that and tilted her head quietly, frowning as she contemplated the amount of time that might swallow up on top of her coursework. Evidently, her concerns must have been plain to see because the older girl spoke up before Taylor could work up the nerve to do so,

"Before you panic, Taylor, this shouldn't take up more than forty minutes a day during the week, with maybe an hour and a half per day on the weekend. It's less about attempting to rapidly bulk you up and more about getting you into shape to deal with the physically demanding work we tend to be called upon to deal with in the field." The words were soft and supportive Taylor let out a sigh before nodding, earning herself an infectious grin from Nyambura that it was impossible not to return. "And don't worry, we'll whip up a schedule for you that'll be easy enough to follow."

Nyambura paused as the men came up the stairs, tipping their hats before turning and heading toward the door. One man remained to speak briefly with Nyambura before they all disappeared out into the ongoing snowstorm. When the older girl tilted her head toward the stairs, Gram playfully excused herself before heading upstairs, and Taylor followed her soon to be team-leader down the concrete steps into the dimly lit basement.

Taylor had only been in the space a handful of times since she moved in, and it wasn't overtly changed from what she'd seen. The handmade wooden shelves remained along the rear wall, and the laundry equipment was still tucked into the corner. But the equipment Nyambura had indicated was set up to one side of the room to prevent its use from detracting from the flow of traffic through the basement.

"What time do you get up in the morning, and when is your first class?" The words startled Taylor out of her examination of the space, and she blinked, turning to peer over at the taller girl in confusion for a moment or two before responding.

"I wake up at seven-thirty, usually, and classes start at 8:30. Why?" The girl seemed to pause in thought for a few moments before shaking her head. "Part of your exercise regiment involves a fair bit of cardio. We could just put you on the bike for 30 minutes daily, but that's not as engaging as I'd prefer, and it'd make it harder to gauge how you're doing if you're doing it all alone." The question was curious, and Taylor blinked nervously when Nyambura cracked her neck and offered a feral smile as she responded.

"Because I think the best way for us to start is if I were to meet you here around 7:30, and I'll run you back through some quick stretches, and then we can run to your school. You'd probably need to bring a change of clothes, but from what I recall, your school definitely has enough athletics teams that your showering before classes shouldn't raise any eyebrows. The other option would be after school, but that'd cut into a lot of your study time..." The older girl paused, grinning wickedly as she pressed on. "Or your fascinating social life with Flechette." Taylor groaned faintly at the teasing before hesitantly stepping closer.

"What about, uh, secret identities and stuff?" Her voice was low and curious, and Nyambura casually waved her off. "We don't hang out in public as a group out of our masks, but part of building a cohesive team culture is interacting with each other. I need to get a feel for your personality, and we can easily just explain that I'm a friend you made at the local gym that took you under her wing. People aren't really that adept and poking holes in secret identities unless you're being exceptionally blatant." Shrugging, the taller girl pushed her dreads out of her face before handing Taylor a small booklet.

"Now then, this is the instruction manual for the bike. Flip it open to the third page, and you'll see how we adjust the resistance. The troopers left it on the default setting, which shouldn't be too tough on your poor legs, but it might be wise for you to hop up and test it out." Taylor sighed and moved to tuck the bottoms of her pants into her socks before she clambered up on the bike, listening carefully as Nyambura showed her what to do.

Chapter Text

March 4th , 2011

Queens, New York

‘It’s been an entire fucking week of this shit, and still, it feels like this.’ Even Taylor’s internal voice was out of breath, somehow, as she ran along in Nyambura’s wake, staring at the other girl’s braids as they bounced in the dim clouded morning light. As she had this entire week, the older girl looked utterly unaffected by the brisk jog, despite having already jogged from the school to Taylor’s house before carrying Taylor’s book bag for her from the house back to the school.

Taylor, on the other hand, was a mess. She didn’t have a mirror on hand, but something about the way her lungs burned and the sweat she could feel collecting down the middle of her back left her absolutely certain that her face was a brilliant red, her hair a mess, and her glasses slightly fogged up from the exertion. On a more positive note, though, she somehow managed to keep her breathing largely under control despite the exertion. More impressively, this was the first time in a week that she’d managed to push through without a break, and fifteen minutes after they’d left Taylor’s (grandmother’s) house, the third floor of the school was coming into view over the horizon at the end of the road.

One hand pulled down the zipper of her too-heavy jacket, letting a wash of cold air brush over her sweat-doused skin. However, the accompanying relief was brief before Taylor merely ended up feeling extra cold as she continued to clomp heavily toward the school. Internally, Taylor was reasonably sure that barely half of her success was due to grit, the other half probably having something to do with the specific exercise regimen Nyambura – or more likely the PRT – had assigned to her and that she’d been following over the last week.

When she’d first gotten her superpowers, Taylor hadn’t really expected it to involve quite this much rigorous cardio. That fact was especially galling if you considered that her powers were designed to move her from place to place. Taylor had actually brought this up to the older girl jogging ahead of her, and Nyambura had merely pointed out that they couldn’t know if her powers were tied to her physical stamina. And then she’d also added that even if there weren’t a looming aptitude test that required it of her, the ability to run for twenty minutes straight and carry a two-hundred-pound person’s dead weight would be valuable skills to have as a superhero, mover powers not-withstanding.

All of those were salient points, all very practical reasons for her to continue the tiresome exercises. However, in the back of her mind, Taylor also remembered how it felt watching herself do arm curls in the basement, seeing her arms flexing and privately imagining how L- how certain people might react. How certain people had already been seen to react to the other physically impressive members of Taylor’s potential team. And perhaps the redness of her cheeks wasn’t wholly to do with the burn of cold wind on her face or the strain of the workout.

Those thoughts, combined with the surprisingly trying task of keeping her burning lungs evenly breathing, carried Taylor the rest of the way to the school. However, she was surprised to see a familiar face on the sparsely populated grounds of the school. Nyambura, obviously also having noticed the person waiting for them, headed over to where Lily stood, bundled up against the chill. Though the over-achiever didn’t have the decency to stop, merely jogging in place next to Lily, accepting and emptying a bottle of water that the other girl gave her.

Taylor restrained the urge to collapse back into the snow on the side of the path, and she settled for staggering to a halt next to Lily, panting as she bent over and gripped her knees. She took a few minutes to catch her breath as she stared at her feet, only straightening back up when the amused older girl spoke to her.

“Not bad, newbie. You’re getting better. Hopefully, you’ll catch up to where you need to be for next week.” The older girl winked before tossing the bag toward Taylor and offering her a bright smile as she turned and jogged off toward the student parking lot.

“She’s a demon, I swear it,” Taylor muttered, gripping her bag with both of her arms and swaying in place before turning over to Lily, smiling back at the older girl when she handed her a tall mug of what she assumed was hot chocolate. “Oh. Uh. Hey Lily. You’re here surprisingly early.” Taylor frowned, a thought occurring to her, and she quickly pulled her phone out to double-check that she had not somehow ended up being super late without noticing it.

“Nah. You’re good.” Taylor glanced up from her phone to Lily, blinking as the other girl vaguely gestured with her mug toward the school. “I have a thing I have to discuss with Barrs and… I guess that I missed hanging out with you in the mornings. Figured that if I got here early, I could have a cup of hot chocolate with you.” Taylor chuckled faintly, sipping at the warm beverage, and gestured toward the school.

“So. Uh. What’s next week? Something… uh.” Lily made a vague gesture with her drink and her head that baffled Taylor, though, after a moment, Taylor assumed that Lily was most likely trying to refer to something cape related subtly and shook her head. “No… Well, actually, I’m not sure. Gram’s handling scheduling… stuff. But no. Nyambura was talking 'bout this.” Taylor held up her backpack. “I get one more week of her carrying it for me, and then I have to deal with it myself.” Lily let out a faint snort, and Taylor rolled her eyes as they came to a halt in the middle of a three-way intersection.

“Okay. Right. Well, you stink, and I gotta bug Barrs before she gets caught up chatting with people in the Teacher’s Lounge. How about we split up, and whoever finds Charlie first drags her back to the cafeteria until first period starts?” Taylor resisted the urge to sniff at herself to test the veracity of Lily’s assertion, merely nodding jerkily before padding forward toward the gyms.

“Taylor! Wait.” Taylor staggered to a halt, turning when Lily called her name a moment later, and flushed when the other girl was suddenly in her personal space. “I was just teasing; you don’t smell that bad.” The words were offered with an oddly earnest smirk, and Lily gently squeezed her hand before turning and padding off. “See you soon!” Taylor flushed where she stood; some tiny part of her brain reminded her that she had somehow managed to ask that girl out on a date.

Shaking herself out of the trance, Taylor quickly stalked down the hall, passing the two Gym teachers outside the Phys Ed office as she headed toward the locker rooms. After a week of this, Taylor had developed a system of sorts, and she quickly ducked through the room, checking to make sure there wasn’t a team practice that had left half the cheer squad randomly changing in the space. Thankfully it seemed that she had the space to herself, and she quickly headed to one of the more isolated shower stalls, stripping out of the comfortable exercise clothing she’d worn on her jog, and stepped under the spray.

Unfortunately, the public space and limited privacy meant that Taylor couldn’t languish under the moderately warm stream of water, and it was a quick, hasty effort to scrub herself clean and quickly wash her hair before toweling off and getting dressed again. Dirty towels went into the rolling hamper at the rear of the locker room. Taylor stuffed her other outfit into her bag before quickly heading out of the locker room, staggering to a halt when the tall blonde gym teacher that she’d passed earlier caught her exiting, offering her a curious smile.

“Fifth time this week that I’ve caught you hustling out of her before first period, Miss Hebert. I wasn’t aware that any of the teams were practicing that many times this time of year.” Taylor blinked and chuckled quickly, shaking her head as she hooked her bag over her back, sliding her thumbs into the straps across her shoulders.

“Oh. Uh. Nothing team-related, Miss… Cartwright, right?” Taylor waited for the woman who Taylor had had twice so far for Phys Ed to nod before continuing quickly. “One of my friends cajoled me into taking up running in the mornings. They even started coming by my place early to make me run here with them, so I couldn’t even get out of it. It certainly wakes me up, though the need for an extra shower every day is kind of trying.” Taylor snorted softly. Pausing when the older woman gave her a curious, appraising look that caused the constant faint flutter under her skin to grow subtly more noticeable. “Uh. Is that okay? I did ask my grandmother, but she’s been retired for...”

“Oh. It’s fine. That’s what the locker rooms are there for, Taylor. No, I was just wondering if you’d considered any extra-curricular activities. The cross-country team is always looking for new blood, and the hardest part of it is getting the new members to commit to their cardio. You’ve already started, so…” Taylor blinked, having momentary flashbacks to sitting in Barrs' class the first week she’d arrived as the tall woman passionately pitched her class. It was odd being almost headhunted by the various teachers around her, especially when she contrasted it to her experiences at Winslow, where Gladly’s almost pathological need to ingratiate himself with her peers was the closest thing she'd ever seen to professional ambition.

“-make it sound like so much work, but it’s actually a lot less grueling than other athletic teams in the school. And the meets are a lot more pretty in general. We do most of our competitions out in local, national parks or down on the beach. Better view, better way to spend a day when you can get away from classes.” Taylor tuned back into Cartwright’s surprisingly emphatic soft sell and blinked, flushing a touch as she stepped back. Thankfully for her frayed social skills, her phone let out a sharp ding, and she flashed the woman an apologetic look as she fished it out, seeing several messages from Charlie.

[TAYLOR. EMERGENCY. MY LOCKER. NOW.]

[I said now, young lady.]

[Chop Chop.]

“Emergency, hrm?” Muttering under her breath and rolling her eyes at the older girl’s tone, Taylor peered back at the teacher, flashing her a quick grin before speaking. “Apparently, there’s an emergency that requires my immediate input, but I’ll talk this over with my Gram. I’ve got a bunch of extra testing and stuff going on this semester, but if I do commit to something after school, you’ll be my first choice.” Taylor’s throat had started to close up near the end there. Still, she managed to get the words out past her anxiety, and when the teacher merely looked excited and not at all offended, the relief buoyed Taylor along as she ducked back, turning and jogging down the hall she’d come up earlier.

She puttered to a halt when she found Charlie standing at her locker, rhythmically banging her forehead against the front of it and whining under her breath. Sidling up beside her, Taylor dropped back to rest against Lily’s locker, crossing her arms and peering over at Charlie as the other girl continued to bang her head quietly on the door.

“Something on your mind, Middleton?” The words came out coy, teasing as Taylor crossed her arms over her chest, peering over her shoulder at where the other girl continued to stand, forehead to her locker, eyes closed, taking several slow, patient breaths before turning and grabbing her.

“This is all your fault, Hebert.” There’s a brief moment when she’s grabbed and pushed into the metal that Taylor has to apply a mental vice-grip to the violent swirling fluttering of wings beneath her skin. Still, the tone of the words and the faint panic in Charlie’s voice told her that the other girl wasn’t actually upset. She merely raised an eyebrow, smirking curiously as the other girl pressed on, holding her shoulders tightly. “The date is tonight, and I have no idea what to do. Do I buy her flowers, or is that trite? Blake is a poet. Do you think she expects me to arrive at her place with a sonnet in hand? I suck at writing. Taylor, do I pick her up? Or should I tell her to come to my place?”

Charlie’s fingers tightened as she whined, slumping against Taylor’s shoulders; the other girl continued muttering against the fabric of Taylor's shirt. “She asked me out, but I don’t want to be all heteronormative or whatever. And for that record, she’d been dropping all those hints for me to ask her out, and then suddenly she asks me herself.” Charlie pulled back, staring at her plaintively, and Taylor had to fight back the tiny amused smile on her lips as Charlie plaintively continued. “Did I fuck up, dude? How do I tell if I’ve already messed up my chance? Maybe this is just-”

“Charlie,” Taylor spoke, reaching out to grab Charlie’s shoulders in response, when the other girl’s attention snapped to her, unable to swallow her smile as she cocked her head to the side. “I’m uh. Sorry to say that this is, in fact, also my first date. So I literally do not know how to answer those questions.” Snorting when Charlie released her and flopped back into her locker, slowly sliding down the front with her arms crossed and a pout on her face, only stopping once she was sat on the floor, staring petulantly at the tiles of the hallway. Reaching out a hand, Taylor patted the top of Charlie’s head as she spoke a bit more seriously, leaning back into Lily’s locker.

“Blake did point out that this was supposed to be a ‘fun and non-serious date, dude. So, maybe showing up in a tuxedo with poetry, roses, or a limo might be a bit over the top?” Taylor grinned as Charlie shot a half-serious scowl back in her direction. “I’m planning on something nice, but Blake did say that we’d need to be able to move around, so just. Try to be cute within those confines?” Taylor hummed, reaching into her pocket as she pressed on. “Actually, though. I do have an idea.” Charlie’s attention snapped to her as Taylor pulled out her phone.

“Taylor. Wai-” Taylor ignored the other girl's comments, quickly dragging her fingers over the face of her phone, calling up the group chat that Blake had started earlier in the week to discuss the double date, though oddly, instead of discussing the date, the chat had devolved into Lily and Blake teasing her and Charlie about all the surprises that they were working on, without giving much in the way of actual details beyond ‘It’ll be fun'. Taylor stepped away as Charlie reached for her, deftly using both thumbs to swipe out a message into the group chat.

[Hey. So. While you two are being so mysterious and clever, we have neglected a few matters of logistics. Me and Charlie know what we need to be wearing, but, uh, who’s picking up who in this situation? Or are we just… meeting wherever this thing is supposed to be happening?] Charlie lunged at her from the floor, and Taylor cackled, holding her phone at arm's length and using her free hand to keep Charlie at a distance. Her powers swirled up around the back of her mind, making it clear that people were staring, but Taylor brushed them off, continuing to laugh as she tried to see her phone screen from an arm’s distance.

“Oh, look! Blake’s typing, dude! I-” Taylor’s mocking stilled when Lily’s name popped up, and a simple comment appeared a moment later.

[Oh! I figured we’d just meet at my place. It’s closer to where we’re going, and you said that you didn’t mind saying hi to Gertie, and she’s kind of got this rule about dates.] Swallowing, Taylor flushed as she reread the message, not even noticing when Charlie’s playful attempts to snag her phone dimmed, the older girl pulling her phone out to peer at the messages coming in from Blake, messages that Taylor wouldn’t even recall seeing despite reading them all as they came in.

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For the second time in less than twelve hours, Taylor felt the sensation of beads of sweat trailing down the line of her spine, curling along the curve of one of her shoulder blades. She let her mind focus on the wandering, almost itchy sensation, ignoring the burning feeling currently spreading along her side as she lowered her hips nearly to touching the floor, holding it for a second before forcing her body to straighten out fully once more and holding that position for a full three seconds. Then she went back down almost until her hips touched the mat beneath her, that burn continuing causing her to curl her hand into a fist where it rested along the ground with her forearm.

‘It has to have been a gods-damned min-’ Her phone stopped playing music and started to ding, indicating that Taylor had been doing the exercise for the full 90 seconds. She lowered herself to rest on her side before rolling onto her back and lying there as the music continued faintly in the background. She savored the respite, closing her eyes and resting for a few moments until the vague discomfort in her side mostly faded. Rolling up and out of her reclined position, Taylor grabbed her phone and padded over to the whiteboard on the wall, reaching up proudly to add the checkmark next to; ‘Side Bridge: 35 seconds, rest 15. x2 per side.’

A check that matched the checks above it next to ‘Standing Press, Bent-over Row,’ and ‘Seated Dumbell Press.’ Though the momentary burst of accomplishment, she felt dimmed when she considered the final entry on the docket for Today. ‘Ten minutes, Variable Resistance Bike at 80%, 5-minute break between.’

Turning, Taylor padded over to what she initially assumed was a simple stationary bike and carefully adjusted its resistance, as Nyambura had shown her, before slotting her phone into the holder on the ‘bike's’ handlebars. Sliding up onto the seat, Taylor fiddled with her phone, adjusting the playlist and loading up one of the songs from her mother’s collection before quickly setting the ten-minute timer, setting both to start in 30 seconds.

Pushing up and onto the pedals, Taylor gripped the handlebars, braced herself, and waited for the first strains of music to wash over her.

“Well you're the real tough cookie with a long history

Of breaking little hearts like the one in me

That's okay, let's see how you do it

Put up you dukes, let's get down to it”

Grinning as the drums and guitar picked up, Taylor pushed her foot down, forcing the wheels to spin against the bike's resistance. It took a bit of effort to get up to speed, but as the song dropped, Taylor had managed to work her way up to full speed, her eyes staring forward as she focused on keeping her pace consistent and even idly bobbing her head along with the song. Taylor’s attention shifted from the music itself, losing herself in the repetitive movements and the focus on her breathing; the buzzer from her phone indicating that she was finished with her first rep startled her back into alertness, and she slowed her movements before dropping back to rest on the bike’s seat with a grin.

As she focused on bringing her breathing back under control and skimming through her Spotify playlist, Taylor’s phone let out a familiar chime, and she picked it up from the docking station, navigating over to the group chat to see that Blake had tossed out a message.

[*ominous voice* T-Minus 2 hours. Hope you’re ready!]

Rolling her eyes, Taylor quickly swiped out a reply.

[I’m quite literally shaking in my ‘Vintage, Hipster boots'.]

Grinning, Taylor swiped back over to the app, queuing up another song, sliding the device back into the holder on the bike, and setting her second timer. It was even easier this time for Taylor to slip into that focused mental space as her feet slid up and onto the pedals. Her attention drifted off toward her closet upstairs. She’d settled on the idea of a cute blouse, nice pants, and suspenders. The style of outfit that Barrs had once complimented her on, and privately Taylor also noted that it was the style of outfit that she’d worn on her and Lily’s first ‘coffee date’ and, for some reason, that seemed important. But she had a couple of different items that’d fit into the same style, and the options left her entirely at a loss until her phone buzzed again, indicating that she was finally free from the rigors of cardio, for today at least.

Freedom, it seemed, agreed with Taylor, and she hopped off the bike and snagged her phone and the towel she’d been using before heading for the stairs. She left the signboard she’d been diligently annotating in her wake and quickly climbed the steps two at a time while toweling sweat off her face and neck. She hit the second floor, grinning when she caught sight of her grandmother standing at the counter and slicing up meat to put a sandwich together for herself and she moved over, snagging a bit of sliced cheese off the cutting board and earning a slap to her hand for the thievery.

“Hey!” Taylor called out, laughing around the morsel of food, stepping out of slapping range and making her way to the fridge, grabbing a glass from the cupboard on the way. Snagging a bottle of juice from the fridge, she uncapped it and filled the glass as her grandmother playfully chided her from behind.

“Hey, yourself! Not only do you abandon your cool, awesome grandmother on a Friday night, forcing me to spend it idling around the house, watching the Wheel of Fortune and eating a cold-cut sandwich, but you also don’t even let me eat the whole sandwich!” Taylor offered a shrug to her grandmother before drinking half the glass in one sitting and hastily shoving the bottle back in the fridge.

“So! Have they told you where the date will be yet?” Gram peered curiously over at Taylor across the upper frame of her glasses, and Taylor flushed, nervously rubbing at the back of her neck as she responded.

“Nope! Lily and Blake just keep chortling amongst themselves whenever me or Charlie bring it up, so we’ve sort of decided to stop asking. Well, we decided on, like, Wednesday.” Taylor hums as she takes another sip of the juice before humming while playing with the rim of the glass with her thumb. “All they’ll say is, ‘We’ll be running around and using our arms a fair bit, so dress with that in mind'.”

When her grandmother cocked an eyebrow at that, Taylor shrugged and glanced toward the stairs.

“I’ve got a blouse or two that look cute and some nicer jeans that we picked up a few weeks back. I figure those with some of Mom’s suspenders might look good. I wore a similar outfit a few weeks ago, and Lily called it ‘Dapper’, sooooo-” Taylor finished off her juice, quickly rinsing out the glass and settling it aside as she felt her gram’s eyes burning into the side of her face.

“Taylor, dear…” The words drew Taylor up, and she flushed at the knowing grin currently pasted on her grandmother’s face, and she started to step toward the stairs that’d take her up to her bedroom and the safety of the shower. “I’m sure that Lily will be delighted with whatever you pick. You’re a cute girl.” Taylor’s cheek burned faintly, and she nodded. “Also. She did try to kiss you in your pajamas, so I mean-” Taylor huffed at her grandmother, turning and quickly stalking off, ignoring how her cheeks continued to burn as her grandmother laughed playfully in her wake.

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Now, admittedly, if Taylor had wanted to avoid the playful teasing of her grandmother quite that badly, she could have just stayed in her room. There was no reason that she had to skip out nearly forty-five minutes before she’d initially planned to leave for this little shindig. So it was really her own fault that she’d instead opted to leave the house early, take the buses here, and that she was now standing on the sidewalk maybe thirty feet from the address that Lily had texted her this afternoon while her phone quite fervently assured her that she definitely didn’t need to be here for another… thirty-seven minutes.

Right. Right. So. Plan. Don’t want to look like a sociopath, standing on the girl you li- the girl you’re taking on a date’s street way too early. She cooooould… get back on the bus. Though this bus wouldn’t loop back around for nearly an hour, and then she’d be twenty minutes late, and, as she consulted her very sparsely detailed mental map of the New York City transit system, she didn’t think she could find a transfer from this stop that’d get her back to this stop in less than half an hour.

She could just walk around the block a few times, though part of her wondered if that might be worse than being found standing silently in the cold and snow on Lily’s street, staring blankly up at her house as her phone counted down the minutes. Taylor glanced around for the third time and sighed. This was definitely a suburb, not a single coffee shop, convenience store, or bodega, as far as the eye could see. Frowning, Taylor turned and sighed as she crunched her way back up toward the bus stop, trying to decide whether hiding behind the pillar and hoping not to be seen, or just coming back an hour late was a better idea when the decision was taken entirely out of her hands.

“Taylor?” The voice carried across the cold air, and Taylor froze in place, wincing while mentally wrestling with the panicked fluttering under her skin as her powers tried to desperately assure her that they could totally make this entire mess go away if she’d just let them off the leash. Taylor, very briefly, entertained the idea. ‘What, Lily? Someone was standing creepily on your street and dissolved into a cloud of moths and ran away like fifteen minutes before I got here. That’s wild; I had no idea that there was someone else with this power in New York; we should totally tell the PRT about it.’

Yeah. That wouldn’t work. Forcing her shoulders to relax, Taylor finally looked over, only to find Lily standing on her porch, wearing an oversized jacket and staring at her. Not good. Damage control, damage control.

“Hey there, Lily.” Taylor awkwardly waved before she could stop herself, forcing her hand down after a second as her cheeks burned. “I was… uh…The buses were a bit ahead of schedul-” ‘Right, definitely a good plan, lie to Lily more; that’s totally going to ingratiate you to her more when she finds out about all the other stuff that you’ve either not mentioned or mistaken lied about.’ Wincing, Taylor shook her head and moved closer to the house, biting her lip.

“My grandmother was teasing me, and I got kind of nervous and left super early without, uh, realizing. Didn’t want to disturb you if you were up to anything, so I was just gonna… hang around like a creep.” Taylor nervously chuckled as Lily stared at her strangely for a few moments before letting a subtle giggle.

“It’s not a disturbance. C’mon. You said you wanted to meet Gertie, and she’s actually pretty up and active today.” Lily waved her in, and Taylor fought back the roiling wave of fluttering that curled up around the curve of the spine and rattled against the inside of her rib cage at the idea of meeting someone that important to Lily, trying to impress them. But still, she fought the urge to flee and forced herself to put one heavily booted foot in front of the other.

Up the driveway, past the battered old auburn car that sat in it, and then down the little footpath that started near the garage and led up to the porch proper, Taylor’s feet reluctantly carried her up to the door that Lily stood near, and she stepped in in the older girl’s wake, nervously returning the smile that Lily offered her once they entered.

“Boots here,” Taylor kicked off her boots at the rack that Lily indicated and allowed the other girl to take her jacket from her. “C’mon, they’re through here, watching Wheel of Fortune, I think.” Taylor barked out a laugh before she could stop herself, flushing at the odd look that Lily shot her and quickly muttered to the other girl as she trailed her toward the living room.

“My Gram made a joke about me abandoning her on a Friday night, forcing her to eat cold cuts and watch Wheel of Fortune.” Lily blinked and smiled, but then they were suddenly in a room with eyes on them, and the momentary peace from Taylor’s powers ended with another roiling wave of fluttering. It took her so long to fight off her power's attempts to run that she missed half of Lily’s introduction.

“-aylor, Gertie.” Lily stepped to the side, and Taylor stepped forward, raising her hand again without thinking and awkwardly waving again. There were two women in the room, both staring at her, but Taylor was pretty sure that Gertie was the older one sitting in the wheelchair and not the slightly less ‘older’ one sitting on the couch in nurses’ scrubs with knitting needles in her hand and some form of yarn project on her lap.

As she lowered her hand, Taylor was kind of struck by the differences between Gertie and Taylor’s grandmother. They didn’t look that far apart in age, but Gertie was smaller, her limbs visibly thinner, frailer. Thin clear tubing hung delicately around the woman’s neck, and an oxygen tank was visibly attached to the back of the wheelchair. Lily had said that her mother was sick, but seeing it before her in such a stark way startled Taylor enough that the fluttering under her skin entirely faded, and Taylor was forced to speak.

“Hi-” Taylor’s voice immediately halted as Lily stepped up close to her side, one of the older girl’s arms curling around hers, fingers finding hers and lacing together. Taylor tried to force herself to continue while privately freaking out at the sudden grab, but her panic waned when she noticed Gertie’s eyes softening as she glanced between them. “Erm, Hi. I’m, uh, Taylor. As Lily said, it’s super nice to meet you.” Taylor stepped forward, blinking when she had to actually pull Lily with her, reaching out her free hand to shake Gertie’s offered hand.

“It’s lovely to make your acquaintance, Taylor. I’m glad you managed to make it over here earlier than Lily said that she was expecting you. You’ve managed to save us from having to listen to Lily pace in the front hallway,” The older woman turned to peer at Lily, and Taylor flushed when she felt Lily stepping closer to her side and tugging on her arm as Gertie continued with a coy smile on her lips. “Why, she was so worried that you’d show up late that she assured me not once or twice, but three times that she might just have to whisk you out the door the minute you arrived before we could be more than properly introduced.” Off to the side, the nurse started to chuckle as her needles started to click and clack, indicating that she’d resumed her knitting.

“I, uh.” Taylor glanced briefly at Lily’s blushing features before turning back toward Gertie and doing her best to offer up a convincing smile. “I guess I couldn’t quite resist the urge to swing past earlier to get a bit more time with Lily.” The words spilled out before Taylor could catch them, and she blushed as Gertie clapped, and the nurse off to the side let out a muttered, ‘Oh, that was good.’

“That was good, Taylor. And don’t be so bashful, why you should have heard the way that Lily’s been talking about you these last few weeks. It was always Taylor did this, or Charlie did that, and Taylor-” Gertie’s lips curled into a playful grin, and Taylor let out a faint gasp as she was tugged back suddenly by her arm.

“Right! You’ve met her; the contractually obligated pre-date meet and greet has been honored. We’ve got to get going.” Gertie trailed off with a grin as Lily physically dragged Taylor back toward the door, though the older woman did manage to toss off a parting comment as they rounded the corner back into the hallway.

“It was quite lovely meeting you, Taylor! I hope to see you around more in the future. You’ll have to arrange a time sometime soon, me, you, and Lily, to have dinner together and to get to know each other.” Taylor laughed as Lily gave another tug before pushing her playfully towards the door, but she did pause long enough to call back up the hall.

“We’ll have to do that; I know my Gram wants the same, maybe we can make an occasion out of it.” Turning, Taylor grinned at the mildly betrayed look that Lily shot her before turning and paying attention to getting her boots and jacket on as the other two women chuckled down the hall. Lily turned and ducked over to a table by the door, rifling through a bowl filled with keys before calling out a ‘Love you mum, see you later.’ and then heading out the door. Taylor followed her out after uttering her own ‘Nice to meet you both', hopping down the steps and heading down the driveway, though she paused when Lily called her name.

“Taylor, c’mon.” The older girl was standing next to the car parked in the driveway, and she gestured vaguely at it, and Taylor paused, blushing. To be honest, up till precisely this moment, the idea that the other girl could drive hadn’t occurred to Taylor, and something about that kept her cheeks stained a faint crimson as she padded around the car and over to the passenger door. When Taylor clambered into the car, Lily was already settling into the driver’s seat, adjusting the seat, the steering wheel, and the mirrors.

Taylor slipped her seat belt and then glanced up when Lily tugged out an aux cable from the center console and offered it to Taylor with a playful grin.

“Navigator controls the tunes.” The simple comment was all that Lily offered in response to her confused look, and Taylor chuckled softly, taking the aux cable and then plugging it into her phone. She hummed as she skimmed through the various tracks on it, focusing on the music that Lily had shared with her. When Lily turned the key, and the car grumbled slowly to life, Taylor, flush with indecision, quickly tapped the first song that looked vaguely familiar and blushed at the music suddenly rumbling out of the speakers.

Do I tell you I love you or not?

'Cause I can't really guess what you want

If you let me down, let me down slow

If you let me down, let me down slow

If you got feelings for me

You just gotta speak honestly

Taylor glanced nervously at Lily, blushing at the amused expression on the other girl's face, though, thankfully, Lily didn’t comment, merely muttering the words of the song as she leaned back, placing one of her arms across the back of Taylor’s seat and peering over her shoulder as she backed the car out of the driveway.

Taylor, for her part, froze immediately, fighting off the sudden burst of panicked fluttering that seemed intent on carrying her out of the car and to the curb outside instead of dealing with the sudden proximity of Lily as she continued to sing along with the music, while seemingly distracted with getting them out onto the road.

Taylor felt the car bounce slightly as they hit the road, and then it creaked ever so gently as it turned and backed out into the street, and then… nothing. The music continued to play, and as the car sat silent, Taylor chanced a glance up, her cheeks darkening when she saw that Lily must have noticed their positioning, the older girl staring at her from the driver’s seat, her arm still curled around Taylor’s seat.

Taylor’s mind told her that they were too close together, though another part pointed out that they were both definitely in their own seats, wearing their own seatbelts, so that was a ridiculous sentiment. There was an entire middle console between them, in fact, so how could they be too close together? And yet that thought wouldn’t leave Taylor’s mind as she stared at Lily’s face, watching as the girl’s cheeks darkened. Lily’s dark eyes flicked briefly between her eyes and something lower on her face that set Taylor’s heart to thundering in a way that didn’t at all help with her trying to wrangle her powers.

Taylor bit her lip as she watched Lily’s gaze dip for the… ‘fifth, sixth?’ time, and then the other girl was leaning toward her across that island. Taylor’s mind was momentarily disconnected, noting how Lily’s hand slid down to rest on the fabric-covered console as the other girl leaned closer, straining against her seatbelt. Lily’s hand was halfway to the latch on the belt, her eyes still wholly focused on the lower half of Taylor’s, when a loud, sharp honk behind them snapped them out of the spell, and they were quite suddenly both in their own seats, very much far apart once more.

Taylor blushed a brilliant crimson as Lily’s attention snapped back to the road, her hands coming up to grip the wheel, putting the car back into drive. Then they were on the way to their date, as Taylor’s entire mind whirled with a fervency that put the muted fluttering under her skin to shame.