Chapter Text
Leaning back in the passenger seat, Chloe sighed. It had been quite a pleasant morning. She had been woken up by her dog, ate her toast on the porch and even had time to stop at Dunkin' Donuts with Aubrey on her way to school. The only damper on her mood was the big banner hanging over Barden High School's entrance door reading: "Welcome back to school classes of '03-'06".
"We should really head in," Aubrey frowned from the driver's seat.
Chloe took another melodramatic sigh.
"Don't rush me, we still have 180 days of this before graduation."
"Don't ruin this perfectly nice morning by making us late," Aubrey retorted.
Grumbling to herself, Chloe unlocked the door to Aubrey's Mercedes and stepped out onto the parking lot. Together, the two of them walked to the entrance, tousled on their way by bodies, backpacks, and flying footballs.
Chloe received a record low of one butt slap by the time she sat down in homeroom. Aubrey had shot the basketball player a dirty look and pushed her friend into the next hallway. Nothing had changed since last year, it seemed.
Gianna Washington, an easy-going eclectic woman in her fifties, briefly greeted her homeroom of twenty something seniors. Chloe sat by the window and let her mind wander. It had been an exceptionally relaxing summer. She had been a lifeguard at the community pool and gotten a healthy tan. Aubrey had been to Hawai'i, Los Angeles, and at least two more chic places Chloe had never stepped foot in.
Two weeks before school started the two of them had been named cheer captains in front of all the new and returning athletes. Chloe had caught her best friend screaming into her pillow that night. She knew how big a deal this was for Aubrey, having lined up cheer scholarships and promises to her dad. Chloe was equally as ecstatic. She may have played it cool at tryouts, but she secretly drank up the attention and had not let her parents or her dog hear the end of it.
The shrill sound of the bell and the immediate ruckus that followed snapped Chloe out of her daydream. She waved goodbye to Aubrey and set off down the corridor to get to her AP. Literature class.
The first day of school flew by, and before she knew it, Chloe was sprawled out on a floatie in the Posen's pool. Aubrey sat on the steps sipping her latest obsession, a mango smoothie.
"You're not already thinking about homework and classes, are you?" Chloe lifted her sunglasses up off her nose.
"I'm thinking about my terrible schedule and the fact that I sit next to Bumper fucking Allen in two of my classes," Aubrey groaned.
"Bree, come on relax for once. It's the first day of school. If you don't stop frowning, that crease on your forehead is gonna become permanent."
Aubrey just flipped her off.
"I'm serious! No one will have the hots for you this year if all you do is worry and frown."
Aubrey scoffed. "No one has the hots for me as it is, Chlo."
"Hey, I'd still hook up with you," she offered.
Aubrey just shook her head. "Chlo, we need to get ourselves together. Even talking about this, I- I can't. It's just not right." She looked down.
Chloe turned away. Aubrey talked a lot about what was right and what wasn't. Especially after what happened after junior formal last year. She had gone with some faceless football player and Aubrey with a perfectly nice guy from the soccer team, Jesse or so. They were both having a lousy evening, when Chloe went to fill up her water, and found Aubrey broken down crying in the back of a classroom. She stayed with her, rubbed her back, and coaxed her into talking. Finally, Aubrey looked up and sniffled, "What's wrong with me? Why don't I like him?" That was the first time she really poured out her heart to Chloe. And that was the first time Chloe did not say anything and just listened. Aubrey went on about how no one ever caught her eye, how the two boys she had kissed were mediocre at best, and finally, how jealous she was of the attention Chloe garnered.
"Wait, what do you mean?" Chloe interrupted.
"Don't you realize it?" Aubrey groaned. "After every game, some guy offers you a ride home. At every party, you're swarmed with dudes wanting to have sex with you, and in the hallways all the guys slap your butt all the time."
"You think I care about any of that? You know I've never had sex before and you know I don't like going out with them," she exclaimed.
Aubrey put her head in her hands. "I just don't know what I'm doing wrong."
"Listen to me," Chloe slowly lifted Aubrey's hands off her face. "Anyone would be so lucky to get to have you." She delicately framed Aubrey's face with her hands.
"You really think so?"
"I know I would." Aubrey sweetly smiled at her and Chloe could not resist the urge to glance down at her lips. A sudden wave of desire overcame her. Aubrey was already slightly leaning in. All Chloe had to do was close the gap. She hesitated for a split second before breathing in the older girl's breath.
Chloe sighed when her lips met Aubrey's, soft, shy, and warm. She tasted grapefruit, her own lip gloss she had loaned the other girl at the beginning of the night. Aubrey's tongue timidly found its way into Chloe's mouth, and the ladder reveled in the sweetness of her best friend's taste. She ran her hand down Aubrey's neck making the blonde shiver and fist the sheer material of Chloe's sky blue dress. Slowly, Aubrey's hand pushed against Chloe's chest and they separated. Chloe was still breathing heavily when she looked up and saw a look of distress in Aubrey's eyes.
"I'm so sorry Bree," she panicked. The other girl was unable to answer. She stared blankly ahead and absentmindedly traced her lips with her forefinger. Chloe waited.
Finally, Aubrey turned to meet Chloe's expectant eyes. There was no trace of affection, no tenderness Chloe had just tasted. Instead, Aubrey looked as if she was discussing pyramid organizations with Alice.
"This-," she motioned at the space between them. It was quite limited since Chloe's knees were still touching Aubrey's thighs and the blonde girl sat flush against a set of cabinets. "This never happened. I mean, it's nothing, someone spiked the punch and we just y'know... That's what friends do. You just comforted me, ok?"
Chloe was taken aback, but seeing the positively terrified look in Aubrey's eyes, she nodded. "Of course, nothing happened," Chloe reassured her best friend, even though her heart just dropped and she felt an unpleasant stab in her stomach.
Chloe got up, and dusted off her dress. Before she left the room, she remembered to fix her lipgloss in the mirror. As soon as she was out of Aubrey's sight, Chloe made a beeline to the front door, punched in her home number and didn't think to take a breath until she was safely in the passenger seat of her dad's pickup truck.
"No Jamie?" Her father turned to her after Chloe did not start talking. Jamie, that was the football player she had gone with. She shook her head. "You know I am pleased that you're taking your time with the whole boyfriend thing," her dad started. "Because I know there'll come a time when those boys will be at my house. I'm just glad you're letting yourself mature before you get there." He smiled at her. Chloe nodded and was grateful for the sporadically placed streetlights, so her dad couldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes.
She was honest enough to confess to herself that she was heartbroken. By no means had she been in love with Aubrey, but she was now at risk of losing her best friend. That night, Chloe would confess to her journal that it was the best kiss she'd ever had.