Chapter Text
Hanging out with Nicole and Jecka was… pretty much exactly how Kelly thought it would be. Not that it meant it was a bad thing! Any time spent with Nicole, in her eyes, was a good thing. But Jecka and Nicole were a lot closer than Kelly and Nicole were. So, spending time with them was basically summarized by saying she was third-wheeling her girlfriend and her girlfriend’s best friend. Especially when they were sitting in Nicole's room, Jecka and Nicole sitting on the bed smoking while Kelly sat with her back against the wall opposite of them, notebook in her lap and textbook at her side. She was lazily taking notes for her upcoming civics test, more listening to Nicole and Jecka gossip than actually studying.
“I can’t believe you’re paying Emily that much money for a bean of Adderall. There’s gotta be someone you can get it from cheaper than twelve bucks for a single fucking pill?”
“Not unless I either want to risk getting caught by someone who’s either just started selling and has no idea what they’re doing, or talk to someone who may potentially try to drug me instead of selling me something that makes getting through the day a lot easier, Nicole.” Jecka sighed as she tapped her fingers against the keyboard of her phone. “Seriously, who sells Adderall for that much a pill when it’s not even that high of a prescription?”
“Emily does. Because she knows no one else is going to bother selling something as simple as Adderall. Plus she’d never actually take it for ADHD or ADD or whatever the fuck she has that she needs it for.” Nicole responded as she reached out, grabbing one of the nearly empty pill bottles from the space between her and Jecka. “At least if it was percs or something, it would actually be worth spending that much money on a single pill.”
“Pretty sure if she took it, it wouldn’t do anything anyway.” Jecka tossed her phone down into her lap in frustration. “Seriously, when the hell have you ever heard of Emily doing anything she’s supposed to do at all? She thrives on like… pure chaos or something.” She looked at Nicole, then glanced over at Kelly, now remembering the other blonde was very much actually sitting on the other side of Nicole’s room. “Kelly, you don’t know anyone who sells cheaper than Emily does, do you?”
Kelly felt both of the girl’s gazes looking at her, looking up to see both Nicole and Jecka staring at her. She shook her head slightly. “Not really, no. I don’t really do pills… I just drink during parties. That’s it.”
“Seriously… You’ve never taken pills, like… Ever?” Nicole asked, staring into Kelly now. “No Percs or Xanax, not even Adderall? That’s like… the staple for rich kids, isn’t it?”
“I mean, probably but we’ve already established that I don’t really try to follow and fit in with that stereotype before, remember?” Kelly reminded Nicole of the conversation they had back on their first date. “It wasn’t something that I was really interested in doing, so I never bothered buying any or finding someone who could sell me some. And even if I did, I would have just gone to Emily anyway.”
At that, Jecka flopped onto her back. “Dammit. Really thought there was a chance there…” She huffed slightly. “Kelly, what was with Ari today? You guys are best friends, right? Why was she like… all weirder than normal?”
“Weirder how?” Nicole butted in, glancing over at Jecka. “She already is so painfully awkward trying not to make everything weird with her being gay. Did she do that thing again where she apologized profusely because you thought you caught her staring at you in the locker room?”
“God, yeah. Like, I don’t care you’re staring but at least don’t make it all weird and awkward by apologizing right after and act like you’re a teenage guy seeing boobs for the first time or something.” The blonde reached out, swiping the pill bottle from Nicole’s hands. “So why is she acting weirder than normal, Kelly? Is Ari like… scared someone’s going to try burning her house down again? Did she stop taking whatever meds she started taking now that she’s in therapy? Or is there some other third thing that doesn’t even make sense?”
Kelly hesitated and bit down slightly on the inside of her lip. She had the chance to help her best friend, maybe make it slightly easier on Ari to finally ask a girl out. And she knew the redhead was already crushing on Jecka hard. And Ari had been so supportive of her trying to find Nicole and had been supportive of Kelly’s infatuation with the brunette, even if she was slightly worried Kelly might get her heart broken. So… Kelly wanted to desperately return the favor to her best friend however she could! But she also didn’t want to say something if it was going to hurt the redhead's chances… Ari already had a hard enough time as it was trying to find any girl who was even willing to be more than just a potential sneaky hookup that no one would know about.
Taking a slight breath to hide the worry in her voice, Kelly spoke up. “Well, Ari has been under a lot of stress lately... She is in two AP classes, plus is still dealing with all the fallout and residual consequences of her house being burnt down.” Kelly glanced over, seeing Nicole watching Kelly speak intently while Jecka was still lying on her back. “She also doesn’t talk to a lot of people because she is so buddy, so outside of me, she doesn’t get the chance to spend much time with others in meaningful ways.” Kelly sighed slightly. “Ari is a good person, she’s just… shy. She doesn’t really know a lot about what she’s doing in life right now and she’s just trying to do her best, in her own way… Plus, she’s dealing with being the only open gay girl at our school, since no one really knows about Nicole and me yet.”
“I’m not gay, either, so…” Nicole added in, but didn’t push the subject after both Jecka and Kelly shot her a look.
“So… Ari isn’t trying to be weird or anything. She just is looking for someone she can be comfortable being around and wants to actually have a chance to date someone. The difference between her having a crush on you and the guys that all wanna fuck you is that she’s at least trying to be respectful and show you she sees you as more than just an option.”
Whoops… Wrong choice of words… Sorry, Ari!
Jecka propped herself up on her elbows as Kelly’s words somewhat started to sink in. “Wait… Ari has a crush on me? ”
“Bitch, why do you sound surprised? Are you trying to fish for compliments here or what?” Nicole asked as she looked back at her best friend once more. “Do you want us to be like ‘Oh my god, yeah, you’re so pretty Jecka, of course Ari has a crush on you!’”
“Oh my god, that’s not what I meant, Nicole.” Jecka rolled her eyes and then returned her attention to Kelly. “I mean, Ari does genuinely have a crush on me? That’s what you’re saying? You know that, for sure?”
Kelly hesitated before nodding slightly. “Yeah… But please don’t be weird or say anything about it! I shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. It wasn’t something I should have told you, it was something Ari should have said instead…” She mentioned as she stared at Jecka. “Seriously, promise me or something, Jecka. Ari is my best friend and I don’t want her to be devastated because of something that shouldn't have been said in the first place.”
“Yes, whatever, fine, I won’t say shit.” Jecka groaned out and then sat herself up fully, propping herself against the wall on the bed. “So… What is she that she said about me that led you to know this? Did she just say it outright or like…?” Jecka trailed off, expecting Kelly to somewhat fill her in on what was said.
“Nicole, do you have cheese puffs?” Kelly asked, her eyes switching from staring at the blonde on the bed to the brunette. “I really want cheese puffs…”
“Why the hell do you want cheese puffs? Who even eats cheese puffs? I thought that was like… A little kids snack?” Nicole raised an eyebrow as she stared back at Kelly in return. “You’re talking about those like… cheesy puffy snacks that you can get at like… Middle school, right?”
“Yeah! Do you have any?” Kelly asked as she started to finally stand up from the floor, setting her notebook off to the side and then stretching her arms above her head. “They’re my favorite. Do you have any downstairs?”
“Probably not. My brother eats family meals as snacks so I doubt there’s any actual snacks in any of the cabinets.” Nicole sighed at the mere mention of her brother and watched as Kelly stretched out. “You’d have better luck wanting alcohol or pills. Those, my mom always has in bulk…”
“Hello? Can we get back to the conversation we were just having about Ari having a crush on me, please?” Jecka raised her voice, glancing back and forth between Nicole and Kelly. “Did you two just completely forget I was here or what?”
“Pretty much impossible to do that when you smoke non-stop and never stop talking,” Nicole mentioned and threw a slight smirk in Jecka’s direction, receiving only a glare in return.
“No secret-spilling till I have cheese puffs in hand.” Kelly smiled. “So, someone is taking me to the store so I can get cheese puffs. Then, I’ll share all the juicy details you want to know so badly.”
“Oh my god… Seriously? Nicole, can’t you like… Get her to tell me?” Jecka complained, looking at her best friend in hopes of some kind of assistance. But Nicole was just grinning slightly, staring back at Jecka.
“Why? She’s doing pretty much exactly what I told her to do. Honestly? I’m kind of proud of her.”
— — — —
There were very few pleasures in life better than the explosion of cheesy flavor in a satisfying crunch than that of a cheese puff. Kelly made a noise of delight, cheesy dust all over her fingers as she sat on the park bench next to Nicole, legs propped up on the brunette as she munched away happily at the most amazing snack in the world. The only thing that could maybe make this moment better than it already was was maybe a Pepsi… But it was already hard to beat spending time with the most amazing girlfriend Kelly could want eating the world's greatest snack.
“Ok, you have your cheese puffs. Can you like… tell us now, Kelly?” Jecka asked, the sound of mild annoyance in her voice that she had to go through so much trouble just to find out all of this from the blonde. “Because, I swear, if you made me drive you all the way there to get a single bag of cheese puffs, then made us come here before telling me instead of inside the store, or back at Nicole’s house, I will absolutely lose my mind.”
Kelly glanced over at Jecka, smiling slightly as she paused from eating her cheese puffs. “If you really are gonna lose your mind over something as simple as this, I’m a little shocked you’ve been able to stay sane for this long being as close to Nicole as you are,” she teased, feeling Nicole rolling her eyes at her. “I would have assumed by now you would have the patience of a saint or something.”
“It’s one thing when it comes from Nicole. I’m at least used to that.” But coming from literally anyone else, let alone you of all people, will set me off in the worst way possible.” Jecka grumbled as she crossed her arms along her chest, glaring at Kelly. “Seriously. Tell me.”
Kelly glanced at Nicole, who was watching her and Jecka having their exchange. “What? I’m not a part of this. You’re the one who promised that you’d spill after you got cheese puffs. I’m just here to go along with it.” Nicole retorted as she stared at Kelly, though the hint of smugness hid well within Nicole’s tone and slight smile. Kelly could stare at her for days and enjoy hearing Nicole speak, but… If she did that, Jecka would not stop pestering her for that entire time. And it was hard admiring your beautiful girlfriend when her best friend was constantly trying to get your attention!
Kelly turned her head back towards Jecka and shrugged slightly. “Wouldn’t it be easier to ask Ari all of this stuff yourself, instead of trying to go through me for it? I mean, I could easily say something wrong not realizing and ruin what could have been instead of what could actually happen.” Kelly smiled slightly, trying to prolong slightly longer. Plus, she had her own very valid point… The last thing she’d want to do is potentially ruin chances for her best friend by telling Jecka the wrong thing. Kelly was very aware her own memory was not the greatest. She tried! But, having a mix of ADHD along with never not being busy meant some things simply never stayed in her brain for long.
Jecka continued to glare at Kelly. She was pretty sure she could see one of the amber eyes twitching in annoyance at this rate. If she kept up stalling for much longer, Kelly was going to have to lean on Nicole for support, which she admittedly was unlikely to get. Or, she was going to be murdered by Jecka. It was more likely than Nicole bailing her out of the situation, but still not extremely likely to happen either… she hoped! As Jecka went to say something that Kelly was sure was going to be a threat of some kind, her saving grace made her appearance.
“What are Jecka and Nicole doing here, Kelly?”
All three girls turn their heads to see Ari approaching them in her oversized hoodie and shorts, hands shoved inside the pockets of the sweatshirt as she approached. “I thought you said you were here by yourself and you wanted to talk about you and Nicole?”
Nicole glanced back at Kelly, grinning. “Oh, I can’t wait to see how this is going to go. This is some me level of messing around.”
Kelly leaned over, pecking Nicole’s cheek softly. “No, this is different.” She said softly and stood up. She walked over towards Ari, wrapping an arm around her best friend and turning towards Jecka and Nicole. “We’re doing a double date! My treat!”
— — — —
Kelly couldn’t have picked a more “gay” date than the aquarium. It screamed ‘I’m a lesbian!’ in every way. But, at the same time, it seemed perfect in concept! Anywhere too loud and she wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation between Ari and Jecka and to help her redheaded girlfailure of a best friend try to finally get herself a girlfriend. Somewhere too quiet and it’d make things even more awkward than what it already was. She had already pulled a Nicole-level master manipulation technique. So, it seems perfectly reasonable. It wasn’t somewhere that had too many distractions and too many people while still having just enough that they weren't going to sit at a table staring at each other the entire time. She could stand with Nicole who was… probably not going to pay attention to Jecka and Ari’c conversation in the slightest while Kelly could listen in and help where needed.
That was the plan, at least!
She hadn’t expected Nicole to pull her away from Ari and Jecka once they were fully inside the aquarium and beginning to walk around. It had taken Kelly entirely by surprise when Nicole was the one to reach out, grabbing Kelly’s hand, and slowly dragging her away. “Wait, Nicole, where are we going? Ari and Jecka are going that way?” Kelly tried to slow the brunette in her tracks, but she also didn’t want Nicole to stop holding her hand either… So she followed along with minimal resistance.
“Kelly, your plan isn’t really bad but it’s not good. Just trust me. This will work better.” Nicole mentioned as she pulled Kelly along until they were out of sight and a ways away from the other duo. Once they were, she finally let up, though her fingers didn’t unlace themselves from Kelly’s. Nicole leaned back again, just to make sure, before looking at Kelly, the corners of her lips curling into the slightest of smiles. “What? I can’t want to spend time alone with my girlfriend instead of having her best friend and Jecka be coupled with us?”
Kelly knew this was Nicole trying to change the subject so that she wouldn’t have to explain why she dragged them away. But… still. She called her her girlfriend! The blonde could feel her face heating and she couldn’t hide the smile that took over as she giggled lightly. Nicole was never this affectionate and it was so cute the way the brunette cared for Kelly in her own little ways and… FOCUS!
“Nicole, what did you actually drag us away for? Because as much as I really, really wanna buy the idea that you want to spend time with just me, I know you’re not that invested in this relationship yet. So, why?” She asked, refocusing her attention back to the task at hand rather than getting lost in Nicole’s pretty eyes.
Nicole sighed, using her free hand to reach up and readjust the hair tie holding her ponytail in place. “Because. I think you have the right idea with this, but you also don’t know Jecka like I do. You know Ari better than anyone, so you’re doing what you think is most beneficial to Ari. I’m intervening with what I know about Jecka so that, instead of it only benefiting one of them, it’s going to benefit both of them.” She explained, then looked at Kelly more directly. “Jecka isn’t the type of person who wants to be a part of a massive group. Believe it or not, she’s too much of a follower. So, when there are too many people, she gives in to peer pressure and doesn’t do what she actually wants to do. If it’s just Ari and her, it gives Ari the best chance. Not that I give a fuck about Ari, but.” Nicole shrugged. “You do. And, I hate you slightly less than I do other people.”
Kelly stared back at Nicole for several seconds, letting her brain process everything, then smiled. “That’s the closest to an ‘I love you’ you’ve given me so far.” Kelly teased and then started pulling Nicole along. “Ok, well, if we’re going off to do our own thing, then let’s at least go look at some of the pretty fish that’s in the saltwater area. The clownfish are always really pretty and I think there’s some fish you’d like to see, even if you would never admit it.”
Walking through the aquarium with Nicole was quite honestly a chance Kelly never thought she’d get. Kelly was a nerd in her own right, but she balanced it with the other things she did. She always had a slight fascination with marine life, but knew that occupation wouldn’t suit her. She was too much of a people person, so customer service would always be her home. However, Nicole, on the other hand, was the type to be caught dead before they were seen in public doing anything that was redeemable as nerdy. Yet, here she was, with Kelly, holding Kelly’s hand , walking around inside an aquarium, looking at fish with Kelly. She was pretty sure she had died and went to heaven at this rate! The look on her face must have said that too, because, at some point, Nicole had glanced over at Kelly.
“If you keep smiling like an idiot, your face is going to be stuck like that and then you’re never going to be in anyone's top five pretty girls list.”
“Huh?” Kelly glanced back at Nicole from the tank of brightly colored fish, then realized she was still smiling. “What, are you saying my smile isn’t pretty?” She huffed.
“If I say anyone, I mean anyone,” Nicole mentioned in return, smirking slightly. “What are you smiling so much for, though? You’re always a bubbly person but you’re even more smiley now than you already are. So, what gives?”
“Well…” Kelly paused, biting the inside of her lip slightly as she processed her thoughts and her words carefully. Too much and Nicole would potentially pull away. Too little and Nicole would either think Kelly didn’t care as much as she truly did, or that she wouldn't feel satisfied with herself for telling Nicole how she felt. “I mean, I know you probably don’t care a lot to be here. I don’t think this is something you really enjoy and you’re doing it just because it keeps you from having to be home dealing with your mom.” Kelly watched as Nicole tensed at the brief mention of her parent. “But… you’re here anyways! You’re not getting anything out of this. But you’re still here, spending time with me. Even if you’re still somewhat rolling on the Xanax Jecka gave you earlier and that’s probably why you’re so calm and don’t mind being here.” Kelly smiled slightly. “It’s still relatively nice. Before this, it was just Ari and I doing things together. And while I do enjoy spending time with Ari, this is different. It’s new, it’s unique, it’s… actually amazing.”
She watched Nicole’s cheeks turn slightly pink, the brunette at a slight loss of words yet again due to Kelly’s sincerity. She turned her head, looking back at the tank. “What do you think of that fish?” Nicole asked, pointing towards the slowly swimming creature of bright red bands and white, large fins out on display.
“What, a Lionfish?” Kelly asked, raising an eyebrow. “I think they’re relatively pretty. They’re venomous and they display they’re dangerous by the bright red coloration... But they’re also beautiful in their own ways when they’re admired carefully.” Kelly responded, then glanced back at Nicole. “What, is it your favorite or something?” Kelly asked. her face a canvas of confusion.
“Nope. Just wanted to know what you thought. Let’s go look at the sharks and then we can go find Jecka and Ari.” Nicole once again pulled Kelly along, though Kelly was smiling more to herself this time. She made a mental note for later…
Kelly and Nicole easily spent an hour giving Ari and Jecka all the time they’d need to talk things out. Kelly even managed to find the time she needed to sneak off to the gift shop and buy Nicole a gift while the brunette had already slipped outside, away from the crowds so she could go smoke. She was making her way towards the exit but stopped as the sight of red hair caught her eye. She glanced over and saw Ari approaching her with Jecka in tow. Ari was smiling, her face a bright shade of pink that could rival her hair, and… were those… pink marks on her neck?
“Hey, Kelly!” Ari was even smiling slightly as she closed the distance. “Is Nicole outside?”
“Yeah! She wanted to go smoke since we were done and I was just grabbing her something. How did everything go?” She asked, eyes glancing back up from her best friend to Jecka.
“It went really well.” Ari let go of Jecka’s hand, quickly leaning in and giving Kelly a massive, tight hug. “We’re gonna go back to my house, so you and Nicole will have the rest of the night together if that’s ok,” Ari mentioned while still grinning, giving Kelly a slight wink.
Kelly giggled and nodded. “Of course! Have fun, be careful.” Kelly mentioned and pulled away, then looked over at Jecka. “Was it worth me acting like Nicole long enough for this to happen?” She asked, grinning.
The other girl rolled her eyes and waited as Ari pulled away fully, then took the redhead's hand in hers. “Maybe. We’ll just have to see.” Jecka responded, but then her face softened slightly, mouthing out ‘Thank you’ to Kelly before the duo made their way out the door. Kelly watched them disappear while smiling slightly to herself. She wasn’t the type to actively try to play cupid, but… This was Ari. Ari was worth every bit of effort. She was a sweet girl who deserved nothing but the best, and if her version of the best was Jecka, then she’d at least try to help where she could. She looked down at the stuffed Lionfish plushie in her hands, feeling her heart swelling in happiness. Ari had Jecka, and Kelly had Nicole.
And that’s all Kelly could ask for. Her best friend is happy. And herself.