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AlteredTundra
Festive
LovelyComplex
Damycles
Mictlan93
Alby47
Master EffeXTIMESTAMP: A little before & during Homeroom/Morning Show
A huge sigh left Indy Adams’ lips as the trudge through the parking lot concluded. The small skirt was riding up a little higher than she was used to, and the wind off the Pacific was coming in just enough to make her worried about flashing the degens in the skate park. It was a small price to pay for her blushes being spared. The shorts that offended the sensibilities of the Queen Bee now rested in her backpack, only for a moment before they would be quickly dispatched to her locker for the crime of not matching the theme of the day.
After a briefing in Naomi’s sedan, the Hive eventually spread out to take care of their various dealings. Naomi and Lottie were in one homeroom, while the other three members shared the pleasure of having Miss Belmonte start their day with attendance. Levi had his own priorities and had left to take care of them. This left the two newest members of the Hive, and arguably the two with the least say on the proceedings of the clique, to walk towards Room 105 together.
It was a long trek for Indy. She was still thinking about what actually happened in the backseat of that Benz. She saw more of Evangely Vazquez’s leg than she ever dared to think she would today. Even the times when the Hive hit the pool, Angel was sporting a far more modest swimsuit that didn’t offer that much of a view. Indy’s coverup showed more skin, at least in her thoughts. That image was going to sustain the blonde for a while. The incident was far less explicit than the tales told by rappers of their various conquests in assorted Mercedes’ backseats, but it was still something that weighed on her mind.
“Thank you, again,” she finally offered to Angel as the two inched closer toward homeroom. “I should have just grabbed one of the skirts I had instead of trying to make the denim work. I’ll get this back to you at the end of the day.”
Evangely bit the inside of her cheek as they walked together, side by side. Their differences were laughable really. Indy could touch the top of a doorway frame and Angel could hide in a locker. Indy was fair and kind, Angel was dark and broody. Indy was approachable and optimistic, Angel was neither. Nothing about them was similar and yet out of the group, Indy was the one Angel felt the most herself around (well, if we’re not including her discord friends she games with). Indy was authentic, natural, and completely herself. Sure, Naomi, Levi and Lottie did their best to dress them but that never changed how Indy thought or behaved. That never changed who Nicola Adams was as a person, and that to Angel was admirable. The school hadn’t consumed her yet. She wasn’t an actor. She was simply a girl trying to survive her last year of high school.
Looking around them, Angel observed their surroundings, with no emotion written on her face. She locked eyes with a freshman girl, a brunette, whose hair was in a French braid. She watched them in awe. When she went to wave at them, her outfit screaming pink and Sanrio, her shy, mousey friend grabbed her hand and brought it down, avoiding eye contact with the two popular girls. She whispered something in her friend’s ear and the girls scurried off. Out of sight, out of mind. Being part of the Hive wasn’t a good thing. Those that admire you just did and said what they thought you wanted. In this incident, one freshman didn’t want to be in the Hive’s orbit and the other freshman didn’t know better. The reality of the situation was all the bees under Naomi Davis were feared because she was feared.
No one really knew any of them and prior to Angel joining the circle, people just thought she was a walking crucifix. People never wanted to know her. The only friends she had were those she met online. Then the day came when she caught Levi in a sweet, wholesome scenario. He got embarrassed when he got caught working at the local children’s home. He didn’t like that someone from his class was now working side-by-side with him as a youth mentor. It was weird that he didn’t want people to know he did charitable work and that he cared about children but she wasn’t going to make a fuss out of it. He wasn’t the only one with secrets. And she wasn’t going to lie and say she didn’t hate the fact that her club had more than just her and a couple of quiet kids.
With Levi, Indy, and Tate in Faith Forward, maybe she would gain enough traction to shift its purpose to something more meaningful to her. She didn’t give up on it because there were students that actually looked up to her and ate up every word she said. If she wanted to, she could have her own little cult of lonely, desperate and lost students who just wanted to sit in a circle and talk about their struggles, hoping Jesus could absolve their sins or at least make life easier. She didn’t hate the empowering part of religion but whether her club was aware of it or not Angel was providing them resources and tools of the secular and the sacred, giving them philosophy and food for thought, so they could come to their own decision of what they wanted to believe or not. She didn’t hate religion, it gave most people a reason to live. She hated how people used it as a weapon. Originally, creating Faith Forward was for her parents’ sake, to show she is actively making an impression on her school and spreading the word to her peers, but it's turned into a fellowship that meets weekly to provide comfort and guidance to those that need it. In a way, Angel designed the club to feel like an AA meeting but for teenage struggles and family trauma. No one would know that though unless they attended a meeting. Whatever is said in Faith Forward, stays in Faith Forward.
“No need to thank me, I was an asshole,” Angel brusquely spoke, turning her head to look up at the girl beside her, fixing her gaze with the blonde’s serene stare. Something about the way Indy looked at her, the soul and color residing in her eyes, reminded Angel of the radiating brown sun, circled by rings of gold, in a clear autumn sky. “I liked what you were wearing,” She admitted. “It looked good.” That same dark, mysterious gaze that pierced the veil with a simple look trailed down Indy’s lithe form and stopped at her skirt. “But yeah, my skirt does look good on you,” she complimented, her usual sarcastic, cold and monotone voice now had a hint of playfulness, even if it was not easy to discern. “You’re welcome.” A tiny smile appeared on her face before she turned her attention to their walk, covered her mouth and yawned.
Was that… was that joy? Happiness? Something indicating a positive emotion present on the face of her friend? It appeared for only a second but it could have lived in Indy’s head for 1,000 years. Those rare moments when a pleasant visage was allowed to emerge, something that no one really got to see. For some reason, Indy was able to.
Maybe that was what attracted Indy to Angel in the first place? It didn’t make a lot of sense. For someone who had just been tuned into this burgeoning side of her sexuality a couple of months earlier in Sydney, identifying the head of the religious group inside the school as her potential target of affection seemed like a surefire way to not only undo the work that Kai had done on Bondi Beach, but also quash any chance she had of exploring those feelings any further.
That glimpse into those eyes though, dark brown windows into a soul that was set on one solemn path but dared to toe the line towards the woods. A face that glowed with the warmth of the sand on a picture-perfect summer day. And that smile, that perfect little smile, caught only for that brief second. Managing to burn through whatever walls were put in front of it for a cameo appearance. It had to be swiftly contained, its power was too great. When it escaped though, it was amazing.
It’s why Indy put herself in such positions to try and coax that smile out as much as possible. She was never a religious person. Her travels around the world left her convinced that no one religion had all the answers to the mysteries of the universe, and those that claimed they did were lying to make a quick buck for some corrupt asshole at the front of it. She had some ideas, but no pure belief. Joining Angel’s Faith Forward group was a massive leap of faith in that regard, putting herself at the mercy of Catholic dogma just for a shot at potential mental debauchery. She joined shortly after she arrived at BHHS, but when she attended, it didn’t have the feel of one of those sidewalk sermons where some wannabe preacher tries to convince you his path was the way of righteousness. It was more like a chance to vent, to discuss problems other people were having. In a way, it did make Indy feel blessed that her major problem was that she didn’t really know anybody. Well, aside from the other problem of not knowing if she was going to explore her other dating options or not. Angel answered a lot of the questions regarding that without even saying a word.
Apparently, her performance in Faith Forward along with her status as a varsity athlete was enough to put her on the radar of Naomi Davis. She didn’t know if it was Levi or Angel herself that fed the word to the Queen Bee, but to be a part of Angel’s circle outside of school in addition to inside? It was an offer that the surfer girl couldn’t refuse. Even if it meant enduring the verbal lashings like the one she took in the car today. Even if it meant she was, dare she say, a feared presence in the student body. While she could see the stares gaze downward and hear the hushed whispers on the side, it didn’t matter to Indy. It was worth it to have Angel stand by her, much like she did today. A true moment of practicing what you preach, sharing your possessions for the betterment of your fellow humans.
Plus for all the warning signs that told her there was no way a pious child like Angel Vazquez could ever be convinced to give in to the temptation of the fairer sex, stripping down in the back seat the way she did told Indy that there were always openings into that reality.
The fact that Angel called herself an asshole was another. That was not the language you heard in the mosques of Istanbul, the shrines of Kobe, or the chapels of Clearwater. Certainly outside the chapels of Clearwater.
The blush on Indy’s face was starting to spread a little bit as Angel spoke. She had a blunt way of talking that led to a little bit of difficulty telling when she was being sarcastic or not. That admission had no scent of sarcasm in it though. It was truth. Angel felt bad, and she actually liked the outfit. Indy demurred a little bit and brushed the side of her bangs behind her ear, showing off the faux-ruby stud that sat in the lobe. “Thank you,” she finally answered. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I moved here, it’s that I need to work with what I got, and my legs are my best feature. At least, according to Levi and Naomi. And your skirt is definitely helping with that.”
She paused for a second before sighing. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do for Homecoming though. I know it’s a big deal, but… I’ve never been big on the whole… dressing up kind of thing. I’m not a gown girl. Shoot, I’d rather just show up like this. I know Naomi would crucify me if I did that though.” She thought for a second about that imagery. “I mean, not literally, of course! But… still. A new dress is definitely going to eat into that car fund.” What little free time Indy had she did make available as a tutor, for a price of course, and she was hoping to get a car at some point before the “winter” came, but she didn’t feel like she was getting any closer to her own set of capable wheels and the ability to sit in the front seat on the ride to school for a change. Passing the license test already ate into those funds. The university money was coming into the family now, and her parents were coy on the subject of giving her some money for a car, but Indy wanted to earn her ride on her own terms. It was a joke that her nickname was short for Independent, or that she could send volleyballs flying at you that looked as imposing as the boulder that chased down Dr. Jones, rather than the South African slant on her initials. She never really felt it though until Bondi Beach. She wanted to spread her wings and figure things out in California. Who better to help with that than an Angel?
“I just want to be able to go to the beach again under my own power, and a fancy dress does not survive contact with the sands and the surf very often.”
“Who said it has to be a dress?” Angel countered, already pulling out her phone from the front pouch of her backpack and entering The Mermaid’s Closet in her search engine. Strolling onward, she explained, “Tomorrow they want us to dress like we’re invited to the red carpet but there isn’t anywhere that says it has to be a dress, nor will these drunk, rich kids know if it is out of season unless you’re the Triple Crown girls and who cares what they think.” The pretentious, privileged and pompous princesses that thought they were better than everyone else because their parents’ had a black card might have the looks and the name brands on the outside but they were completely shallow and empty on the inside. “One thing I’ve learned quickly with the crew is you wear the outfit, not the other way around.”
Deciding homeroom wasn’t worth rushing to, Angel gestured for Indy to follow her to the side, so that she didn’t have to walk and look at her phone, risking crashing into someone. Once she led them to a wall, she leaned up against it, and followed the pathway to the ‘sales’ section. She filtered colors and articles of clothing until she found something she thought would look phenomenal on her friend. Blue was definitely her color. “The Mermaid’s Closet closes at nine so we have time, sorta.” She paused, grumbling at her curfew which her friends knew was 8PM. “If I’m totally honest with you I could care less about the game so let’s skip it and go shopping.” She paused again and looked around, making sure no one was in ear shot, “I know Naomi said we SHOULD attend the pep rally and game but let’s be real, if you show up in a Macy’s dress she might disown you. What you wear is far more important than us watching boys in their peak, thinking a game will define who they are.”
Was she wrong?
“As Nomes said in the car, this place has a homecoming sale. All we’ll need is our school ID. Now if we focus on what is already on sale, prior to the extra 20 percent discount we get for being students, you can get this,” Angel suggested, handing her phone over to her friend and showing her what she discovered, before continuing her pitch, “It’s off the rack. It has been sitting there for over a year and is definitely not in season, but.” She dragged the screen down to show the price, “It’s dirt cheap and you’ll spend 30 bucks on a suit top and matching bottom. The only risk we have is it might not be your size but we will never know until we check it out. Now if you have a bustier or a lace bra, rock some heels, and add some silver jewelry, you’ll blow everyone away.”
Angel eased her hand over Indy’s, to grab her phone, her thumb brushing her palm. Her big, brown eyes glanced up as she did so, making sure they found Indy’s pretty blues. She pulled away. “I have a better suggestion though, if you want to hear it.” Once again Indy got a side of Angel that not many people did. There were three instances where Angel felt safe enough to talk freely and that was with her, in her Faith Forward meetings, and when she gamed. Indy didn’t know the last one but maybe in time she would. She was Angel’s best friend, after all.
There were so many thoughts running through Indy’s mind at the moment, and none of them were the ones that she thought were going to be in there not minutes ago.
First, there was the sale. Angel was right that she didn’t exactly have to wear a dress if she didn’t want to. Indy could never be accused of being the girliest girl in the world, but not wearing a dress to a big school event didn’t feel like an option. It clearly was though if Angel was giving it to her. And it looked sharp. While it didn’t show off her legs, it definitely emphasized other parts of her body that didn’t get enough attention when she was picking her wardrobe out. It was a bold statement of intent, that she not only wasn’t going to conform to the ideals of the old Homecoming, she was going to flaunt her choices. Her friend already knew how to accentuate it with just a glance as well. Indy shouldn’t have been surprised given how quickly Angel was able to make the skirt swap this morning, but it was still impressive.
This led to the second thought, Angel was clearly not as invested in anything she said she was before they became friends. Indy knew this. She made a big show in front of Mrs. Vazquez while praying that she didn’t watch The Handmaid’s Tale, but the more that she got to know Angel, the more she felt like there was something there that she actually had a chance at finding. Everyone knew the studious Christian girl who helmed the faith group, went home by 8 pm, and was in league with the Hive. No one knew about this sudden rebel who was suggesting ditching school events and the game to go shopping for high fashion at low prices, who dismissed the privileged of Beverly Hills both on and off the field, and who spoke with such a passion for the plan she was formulating in her head.
Except Indy. Somehow Indy knew. She was trusted enough in the eyes of this vision from Heaven to see inside, past that mask. It wasn’t quite an open book, but the vagabond was a few chapters into this page-turner, and she wanted to keep pressing on. The two were able to smile and laugh in close quarters. Not in front of Naomi or Levi or Lottie, who would tell everyone. It was their own little pact. Indy got the insight that Angel didn’t give others, the joy that she couldn’t give others.
…And the touch. Thought number three.
Indy had not been physical with anyone since arriving back in California. It was hard after Kai had opened up that world to her, but she persevered because she didn’t want to put her position with Angel, Naomi and the others in jeopardy. But the touch of that thumb on her palm gave her the same euphoria as hitting the Daily Double. As it brushed along her skin, she thought for a second this was the clasp of the hands that signified something more, but as Angel’s phone returned to its owner, Indy did her best to hide what that thought did to her. She was already blushing a little, and hopefully, Angel would think it was merely a reaction to the pretty outfit. But their eyes met again, and Indy wasn’t so sure she could hide it.
“Oh yeah?” she finally eked out. “I mean, you have been pretty much en fuego with your suggestions today, Angel. What do you have for me?”
“You’re in the Hive now,” Angel asserted, returning her phone to its designated place within her backpack. The smaller of the two zipped up the front pocket of her bag, always one to be careful and protective over her belongings, and adjusted the strap on her right shoulder. Shifting to face her friend, full body turn, she fixedly looked up at the girl with sunlit waves for hair. “I think it’s time for you to do a power move and wow our friends. Don’t you think?”
That was rhetorical.
The Latina took a step closer, to get a better look at her friend and size her up, just how she did in the car. The smell of Angel — sandalwood shampoo, perfume that was like an evergreen walk in the woods, and cocoa butter — breached Indy’s bubble, ever-present in the air. It mixed with the ocean fragrance of wood sage and sea salt that belonged to the easy on the eye, tall and lean beauty. Earth and water. That’s what described these two girls in a nutshell.
“Don’t wear anything under the blazer,” Evangely stated with complete certainty. “I’m just saying,” she insisted. “You’ll look hot as fuck with a gender-fluid aesthetic and if you really want to earn Naomi and Levi’s respect, I think that’s what you should do.” Lottie didn’t count. Indy knew, she knew. There wasn’t a lot going on in her head and Angel meant that with the utmost kindness. Their friend, as sweet as dulce de leche as she was, was a girl who thinks her nipples getting hard means it’s going to rain. She was a hype girl but her opinions were that of the Hive.
Naomi and Levi were so far away from Indy’s mind at the moment. With that idea espoused by Angel, the chances of hiding the blush on the blonde’s cheeks went from 10% to 0.10%. Just like that.
That was the lingering thought with the suit idea that crossed the blonde’s mind. Was it too much of a statement of intent? The outfit on its own certainly would put the queer thoughts that were occupied within her mind firmly into everyone else’s brains. Indy already had her come to Jesus moment when it came to being, if not a lesbian, definitely bisexual. It felt like the arrow was firmly on lesbian. She had hidden so much of it for fear of losing her chances of keeping Angel in her life.
Now her crush was boldface telling her to go bra and blazer to Homecoming.
Was this really happening? Were her dreams more of a reality than she thought? The comment from earlier came back to Indy. Angel had no interest in staring at a bunch of sweaty boys running around a field hugging each other if the other option was getting her friend a proper outfit. Was there more to that, or was it just an indictment of the possible entertainment? Indy understood the lack of passion. From what she saw, Aussie Rules was a much more exciting game than American football. Maybe it was just another thing her and Angel had in common. More than she thought.
Everything about the moment was telling her this was right. The smells coming from their combined presence were hammering in the sight before her. This dynamo in front of her, looking up to her and telling Indy to be… maybe what she couldn’t? To live the life, strut the stuff that her home life wouldn’t allow her to? Was Indy still at her parents’ place, dreaming this was really happening? She almost wanted Angel to step on her foot to confirm it was real.
“You know… I have this really nice silver bikini that I got in Sydney. If I wear the top to that, you think that would work with the blazer? Keep the teachers off my back and still be fire? The middle string will disappear in the right light.” She was not hiding anything at the moment. The filter was down. If she had her way, she wouldn’t even wear the blazer for Angel, but decorum demanded some level of modesty. Even if she thought she was reading into everything those YA novels told her this could be, there was still something in her mind telling her not to fall fully into this daydream.
“You girls know homeroom is almost over, yeah?” Their intimate moment was interrupted by a sultry, stripper-like, British voice. Mrs. Sydney Royce, cheer captain and health education teacher, nearly as tiny as Angel, appeared between the girls. Not too close to make them uncomfortable, but close enough so they knew they weren’t alone in the hallway. Her blonde curls were vibrant and untamed, her petite body was adorned with a cute, red bow dress, and even when she tried to hold herself with some kind of authority, she was easy going, harmonious, and playfully upbeat; a bright smile beaming from her face. It was hard to see this woman as a leading figure at this school. If anything, most students saw her as one of them (to her frustration). “I’m not gonna’ write you a slip but you should definitely get goin’ before one of the big dogs comes and sees you. Oh and maybe, I overheard a little, Nicola, you should do that. It would be like really amazeballs and I bet that look would make it to the yearbook.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Royce, I agree. She’d look great and, yeah, sorry, we lost track of time.” Angel admitted and apologized, not really thinking it was worth lying to their health teacher who usually let most of her students get away with murder. “We were just leaving actually.”
“Oh sure, sure.” Sydney chuckled, already having her own ideas of their interaction. “Before you skedaddle, Evangely, dear, you should try a black dress. I don’t know why but when I look at you I see you really workin’ in black. Absolute killer vibes. But oopsie! I’m getting distracted, you two better head on off before I’ll have no choice but to give you a ticket to detention.” She paused and grimaced when she said those last words. “Ew, I hate saying that,” the youthful teacher admitted, before shooing them away, “Now get goin’ please.”
“No worries, Mrs. Royce. We’ll check in with Belmonte immediately,” Indy confirmed. She very nearly called her Sydney, given how much she looks like one of Lottie’s co-captains instead of her coach. She held off though. “And thank you. If you’re chaperoning, I’ll try and make sure I strike the right pose for the Pirates’ Log.” She winked and started hustling herself and Angel towards Room 105.
As they departed, she kept her voice down while whispering. “Sydney’s right, you know.” That time she couldn’t help it. “You absolutely rock black like nobody’s business. If you see something at the Closet that you want to get and you know your mom won’t approve of it, I can hold onto your outfit for you and bring it so you can change into it at the dance. It’s the least I can do for all your help.”
“Okay,” Angel agreed while walking beside her friend, finally reaching their homeroom. She wasn’t afraid of trying a new outfit. If she could, she would have a whole new wardrobe that suited her and wasn’t what her mom wanted her to wear. It was just more effort than not to hide what she likes from her parents, especially right from under their nose. “You should pick my outfit out. I’d like to see what you think looks good on me.”
If she was dressing Indy, might as well let Indy dress her. It was only fair. Plus she trusted Indy, more than she’d ever know, and earning Angel’s trust wasn’t an easy feat. For the most part, Angel hated people. Indy wasn’t one of them.
Indy still thought she was dreaming, but if she was, she didn’t care to wake up. This was a world she could live in until zombie Jesus came back to Earth. Nothing else mattered. “Bet.”
After a briefing in Naomi’s sedan, the Hive eventually spread out to take care of their various dealings. Naomi and Lottie were in one homeroom, while the other three members shared the pleasure of having Miss Belmonte start their day with attendance. Levi had his own priorities and had left to take care of them. This left the two newest members of the Hive, and arguably the two with the least say on the proceedings of the clique, to walk towards Room 105 together.
It was a long trek for Indy. She was still thinking about what actually happened in the backseat of that Benz. She saw more of Evangely Vazquez’s leg than she ever dared to think she would today. Even the times when the Hive hit the pool, Angel was sporting a far more modest swimsuit that didn’t offer that much of a view. Indy’s coverup showed more skin, at least in her thoughts. That image was going to sustain the blonde for a while. The incident was far less explicit than the tales told by rappers of their various conquests in assorted Mercedes’ backseats, but it was still something that weighed on her mind.
“Thank you, again,” she finally offered to Angel as the two inched closer toward homeroom. “I should have just grabbed one of the skirts I had instead of trying to make the denim work. I’ll get this back to you at the end of the day.”
Evangely bit the inside of her cheek as they walked together, side by side. Their differences were laughable really. Indy could touch the top of a doorway frame and Angel could hide in a locker. Indy was fair and kind, Angel was dark and broody. Indy was approachable and optimistic, Angel was neither. Nothing about them was similar and yet out of the group, Indy was the one Angel felt the most herself around (well, if we’re not including her discord friends she games with). Indy was authentic, natural, and completely herself. Sure, Naomi, Levi and Lottie did their best to dress them but that never changed how Indy thought or behaved. That never changed who Nicola Adams was as a person, and that to Angel was admirable. The school hadn’t consumed her yet. She wasn’t an actor. She was simply a girl trying to survive her last year of high school.
Looking around them, Angel observed their surroundings, with no emotion written on her face. She locked eyes with a freshman girl, a brunette, whose hair was in a French braid. She watched them in awe. When she went to wave at them, her outfit screaming pink and Sanrio, her shy, mousey friend grabbed her hand and brought it down, avoiding eye contact with the two popular girls. She whispered something in her friend’s ear and the girls scurried off. Out of sight, out of mind. Being part of the Hive wasn’t a good thing. Those that admire you just did and said what they thought you wanted. In this incident, one freshman didn’t want to be in the Hive’s orbit and the other freshman didn’t know better. The reality of the situation was all the bees under Naomi Davis were feared because she was feared.
No one really knew any of them and prior to Angel joining the circle, people just thought she was a walking crucifix. People never wanted to know her. The only friends she had were those she met online. Then the day came when she caught Levi in a sweet, wholesome scenario. He got embarrassed when he got caught working at the local children’s home. He didn’t like that someone from his class was now working side-by-side with him as a youth mentor. It was weird that he didn’t want people to know he did charitable work and that he cared about children but she wasn’t going to make a fuss out of it. He wasn’t the only one with secrets. And she wasn’t going to lie and say she didn’t hate the fact that her club had more than just her and a couple of quiet kids.
With Levi, Indy, and Tate in Faith Forward, maybe she would gain enough traction to shift its purpose to something more meaningful to her. She didn’t give up on it because there were students that actually looked up to her and ate up every word she said. If she wanted to, she could have her own little cult of lonely, desperate and lost students who just wanted to sit in a circle and talk about their struggles, hoping Jesus could absolve their sins or at least make life easier. She didn’t hate the empowering part of religion but whether her club was aware of it or not Angel was providing them resources and tools of the secular and the sacred, giving them philosophy and food for thought, so they could come to their own decision of what they wanted to believe or not. She didn’t hate religion, it gave most people a reason to live. She hated how people used it as a weapon. Originally, creating Faith Forward was for her parents’ sake, to show she is actively making an impression on her school and spreading the word to her peers, but it's turned into a fellowship that meets weekly to provide comfort and guidance to those that need it. In a way, Angel designed the club to feel like an AA meeting but for teenage struggles and family trauma. No one would know that though unless they attended a meeting. Whatever is said in Faith Forward, stays in Faith Forward.
“No need to thank me, I was an asshole,” Angel brusquely spoke, turning her head to look up at the girl beside her, fixing her gaze with the blonde’s serene stare. Something about the way Indy looked at her, the soul and color residing in her eyes, reminded Angel of the radiating brown sun, circled by rings of gold, in a clear autumn sky. “I liked what you were wearing,” She admitted. “It looked good.” That same dark, mysterious gaze that pierced the veil with a simple look trailed down Indy’s lithe form and stopped at her skirt. “But yeah, my skirt does look good on you,” she complimented, her usual sarcastic, cold and monotone voice now had a hint of playfulness, even if it was not easy to discern. “You’re welcome.” A tiny smile appeared on her face before she turned her attention to their walk, covered her mouth and yawned.
Was that… was that joy? Happiness? Something indicating a positive emotion present on the face of her friend? It appeared for only a second but it could have lived in Indy’s head for 1,000 years. Those rare moments when a pleasant visage was allowed to emerge, something that no one really got to see. For some reason, Indy was able to.
Maybe that was what attracted Indy to Angel in the first place? It didn’t make a lot of sense. For someone who had just been tuned into this burgeoning side of her sexuality a couple of months earlier in Sydney, identifying the head of the religious group inside the school as her potential target of affection seemed like a surefire way to not only undo the work that Kai had done on Bondi Beach, but also quash any chance she had of exploring those feelings any further.
That glimpse into those eyes though, dark brown windows into a soul that was set on one solemn path but dared to toe the line towards the woods. A face that glowed with the warmth of the sand on a picture-perfect summer day. And that smile, that perfect little smile, caught only for that brief second. Managing to burn through whatever walls were put in front of it for a cameo appearance. It had to be swiftly contained, its power was too great. When it escaped though, it was amazing.
It’s why Indy put herself in such positions to try and coax that smile out as much as possible. She was never a religious person. Her travels around the world left her convinced that no one religion had all the answers to the mysteries of the universe, and those that claimed they did were lying to make a quick buck for some corrupt asshole at the front of it. She had some ideas, but no pure belief. Joining Angel’s Faith Forward group was a massive leap of faith in that regard, putting herself at the mercy of Catholic dogma just for a shot at potential mental debauchery. She joined shortly after she arrived at BHHS, but when she attended, it didn’t have the feel of one of those sidewalk sermons where some wannabe preacher tries to convince you his path was the way of righteousness. It was more like a chance to vent, to discuss problems other people were having. In a way, it did make Indy feel blessed that her major problem was that she didn’t really know anybody. Well, aside from the other problem of not knowing if she was going to explore her other dating options or not. Angel answered a lot of the questions regarding that without even saying a word.
Apparently, her performance in Faith Forward along with her status as a varsity athlete was enough to put her on the radar of Naomi Davis. She didn’t know if it was Levi or Angel herself that fed the word to the Queen Bee, but to be a part of Angel’s circle outside of school in addition to inside? It was an offer that the surfer girl couldn’t refuse. Even if it meant enduring the verbal lashings like the one she took in the car today. Even if it meant she was, dare she say, a feared presence in the student body. While she could see the stares gaze downward and hear the hushed whispers on the side, it didn’t matter to Indy. It was worth it to have Angel stand by her, much like she did today. A true moment of practicing what you preach, sharing your possessions for the betterment of your fellow humans.
Plus for all the warning signs that told her there was no way a pious child like Angel Vazquez could ever be convinced to give in to the temptation of the fairer sex, stripping down in the back seat the way she did told Indy that there were always openings into that reality.
The fact that Angel called herself an asshole was another. That was not the language you heard in the mosques of Istanbul, the shrines of Kobe, or the chapels of Clearwater. Certainly outside the chapels of Clearwater.
The blush on Indy’s face was starting to spread a little bit as Angel spoke. She had a blunt way of talking that led to a little bit of difficulty telling when she was being sarcastic or not. That admission had no scent of sarcasm in it though. It was truth. Angel felt bad, and she actually liked the outfit. Indy demurred a little bit and brushed the side of her bangs behind her ear, showing off the faux-ruby stud that sat in the lobe. “Thank you,” she finally answered. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned since I moved here, it’s that I need to work with what I got, and my legs are my best feature. At least, according to Levi and Naomi. And your skirt is definitely helping with that.”
She paused for a second before sighing. “I still don’t know what I’m going to do for Homecoming though. I know it’s a big deal, but… I’ve never been big on the whole… dressing up kind of thing. I’m not a gown girl. Shoot, I’d rather just show up like this. I know Naomi would crucify me if I did that though.” She thought for a second about that imagery. “I mean, not literally, of course! But… still. A new dress is definitely going to eat into that car fund.” What little free time Indy had she did make available as a tutor, for a price of course, and she was hoping to get a car at some point before the “winter” came, but she didn’t feel like she was getting any closer to her own set of capable wheels and the ability to sit in the front seat on the ride to school for a change. Passing the license test already ate into those funds. The university money was coming into the family now, and her parents were coy on the subject of giving her some money for a car, but Indy wanted to earn her ride on her own terms. It was a joke that her nickname was short for Independent, or that she could send volleyballs flying at you that looked as imposing as the boulder that chased down Dr. Jones, rather than the South African slant on her initials. She never really felt it though until Bondi Beach. She wanted to spread her wings and figure things out in California. Who better to help with that than an Angel?
“I just want to be able to go to the beach again under my own power, and a fancy dress does not survive contact with the sands and the surf very often.”
“Who said it has to be a dress?” Angel countered, already pulling out her phone from the front pouch of her backpack and entering The Mermaid’s Closet in her search engine. Strolling onward, she explained, “Tomorrow they want us to dress like we’re invited to the red carpet but there isn’t anywhere that says it has to be a dress, nor will these drunk, rich kids know if it is out of season unless you’re the Triple Crown girls and who cares what they think.” The pretentious, privileged and pompous princesses that thought they were better than everyone else because their parents’ had a black card might have the looks and the name brands on the outside but they were completely shallow and empty on the inside. “One thing I’ve learned quickly with the crew is you wear the outfit, not the other way around.”
Deciding homeroom wasn’t worth rushing to, Angel gestured for Indy to follow her to the side, so that she didn’t have to walk and look at her phone, risking crashing into someone. Once she led them to a wall, she leaned up against it, and followed the pathway to the ‘sales’ section. She filtered colors and articles of clothing until she found something she thought would look phenomenal on her friend. Blue was definitely her color. “The Mermaid’s Closet closes at nine so we have time, sorta.” She paused, grumbling at her curfew which her friends knew was 8PM. “If I’m totally honest with you I could care less about the game so let’s skip it and go shopping.” She paused again and looked around, making sure no one was in ear shot, “I know Naomi said we SHOULD attend the pep rally and game but let’s be real, if you show up in a Macy’s dress she might disown you. What you wear is far more important than us watching boys in their peak, thinking a game will define who they are.”
Was she wrong?
“As Nomes said in the car, this place has a homecoming sale. All we’ll need is our school ID. Now if we focus on what is already on sale, prior to the extra 20 percent discount we get for being students, you can get this,” Angel suggested, handing her phone over to her friend and showing her what she discovered, before continuing her pitch, “It’s off the rack. It has been sitting there for over a year and is definitely not in season, but.” She dragged the screen down to show the price, “It’s dirt cheap and you’ll spend 30 bucks on a suit top and matching bottom. The only risk we have is it might not be your size but we will never know until we check it out. Now if you have a bustier or a lace bra, rock some heels, and add some silver jewelry, you’ll blow everyone away.”
Angel eased her hand over Indy’s, to grab her phone, her thumb brushing her palm. Her big, brown eyes glanced up as she did so, making sure they found Indy’s pretty blues. She pulled away. “I have a better suggestion though, if you want to hear it.” Once again Indy got a side of Angel that not many people did. There were three instances where Angel felt safe enough to talk freely and that was with her, in her Faith Forward meetings, and when she gamed. Indy didn’t know the last one but maybe in time she would. She was Angel’s best friend, after all.
There were so many thoughts running through Indy’s mind at the moment, and none of them were the ones that she thought were going to be in there not minutes ago.
First, there was the sale. Angel was right that she didn’t exactly have to wear a dress if she didn’t want to. Indy could never be accused of being the girliest girl in the world, but not wearing a dress to a big school event didn’t feel like an option. It clearly was though if Angel was giving it to her. And it looked sharp. While it didn’t show off her legs, it definitely emphasized other parts of her body that didn’t get enough attention when she was picking her wardrobe out. It was a bold statement of intent, that she not only wasn’t going to conform to the ideals of the old Homecoming, she was going to flaunt her choices. Her friend already knew how to accentuate it with just a glance as well. Indy shouldn’t have been surprised given how quickly Angel was able to make the skirt swap this morning, but it was still impressive.
This led to the second thought, Angel was clearly not as invested in anything she said she was before they became friends. Indy knew this. She made a big show in front of Mrs. Vazquez while praying that she didn’t watch The Handmaid’s Tale, but the more that she got to know Angel, the more she felt like there was something there that she actually had a chance at finding. Everyone knew the studious Christian girl who helmed the faith group, went home by 8 pm, and was in league with the Hive. No one knew about this sudden rebel who was suggesting ditching school events and the game to go shopping for high fashion at low prices, who dismissed the privileged of Beverly Hills both on and off the field, and who spoke with such a passion for the plan she was formulating in her head.
Except Indy. Somehow Indy knew. She was trusted enough in the eyes of this vision from Heaven to see inside, past that mask. It wasn’t quite an open book, but the vagabond was a few chapters into this page-turner, and she wanted to keep pressing on. The two were able to smile and laugh in close quarters. Not in front of Naomi or Levi or Lottie, who would tell everyone. It was their own little pact. Indy got the insight that Angel didn’t give others, the joy that she couldn’t give others.
…And the touch. Thought number three.
Indy had not been physical with anyone since arriving back in California. It was hard after Kai had opened up that world to her, but she persevered because she didn’t want to put her position with Angel, Naomi and the others in jeopardy. But the touch of that thumb on her palm gave her the same euphoria as hitting the Daily Double. As it brushed along her skin, she thought for a second this was the clasp of the hands that signified something more, but as Angel’s phone returned to its owner, Indy did her best to hide what that thought did to her. She was already blushing a little, and hopefully, Angel would think it was merely a reaction to the pretty outfit. But their eyes met again, and Indy wasn’t so sure she could hide it.
“Oh yeah?” she finally eked out. “I mean, you have been pretty much en fuego with your suggestions today, Angel. What do you have for me?”
“You’re in the Hive now,” Angel asserted, returning her phone to its designated place within her backpack. The smaller of the two zipped up the front pocket of her bag, always one to be careful and protective over her belongings, and adjusted the strap on her right shoulder. Shifting to face her friend, full body turn, she fixedly looked up at the girl with sunlit waves for hair. “I think it’s time for you to do a power move and wow our friends. Don’t you think?”
That was rhetorical.
The Latina took a step closer, to get a better look at her friend and size her up, just how she did in the car. The smell of Angel — sandalwood shampoo, perfume that was like an evergreen walk in the woods, and cocoa butter — breached Indy’s bubble, ever-present in the air. It mixed with the ocean fragrance of wood sage and sea salt that belonged to the easy on the eye, tall and lean beauty. Earth and water. That’s what described these two girls in a nutshell.
“Don’t wear anything under the blazer,” Evangely stated with complete certainty. “I’m just saying,” she insisted. “You’ll look hot as fuck with a gender-fluid aesthetic and if you really want to earn Naomi and Levi’s respect, I think that’s what you should do.” Lottie didn’t count. Indy knew, she knew. There wasn’t a lot going on in her head and Angel meant that with the utmost kindness. Their friend, as sweet as dulce de leche as she was, was a girl who thinks her nipples getting hard means it’s going to rain. She was a hype girl but her opinions were that of the Hive.
Naomi and Levi were so far away from Indy’s mind at the moment. With that idea espoused by Angel, the chances of hiding the blush on the blonde’s cheeks went from 10% to 0.10%. Just like that.
That was the lingering thought with the suit idea that crossed the blonde’s mind. Was it too much of a statement of intent? The outfit on its own certainly would put the queer thoughts that were occupied within her mind firmly into everyone else’s brains. Indy already had her come to Jesus moment when it came to being, if not a lesbian, definitely bisexual. It felt like the arrow was firmly on lesbian. She had hidden so much of it for fear of losing her chances of keeping Angel in her life.
Now her crush was boldface telling her to go bra and blazer to Homecoming.
Was this really happening? Were her dreams more of a reality than she thought? The comment from earlier came back to Indy. Angel had no interest in staring at a bunch of sweaty boys running around a field hugging each other if the other option was getting her friend a proper outfit. Was there more to that, or was it just an indictment of the possible entertainment? Indy understood the lack of passion. From what she saw, Aussie Rules was a much more exciting game than American football. Maybe it was just another thing her and Angel had in common. More than she thought.
Everything about the moment was telling her this was right. The smells coming from their combined presence were hammering in the sight before her. This dynamo in front of her, looking up to her and telling Indy to be… maybe what she couldn’t? To live the life, strut the stuff that her home life wouldn’t allow her to? Was Indy still at her parents’ place, dreaming this was really happening? She almost wanted Angel to step on her foot to confirm it was real.
“You know… I have this really nice silver bikini that I got in Sydney. If I wear the top to that, you think that would work with the blazer? Keep the teachers off my back and still be fire? The middle string will disappear in the right light.” She was not hiding anything at the moment. The filter was down. If she had her way, she wouldn’t even wear the blazer for Angel, but decorum demanded some level of modesty. Even if she thought she was reading into everything those YA novels told her this could be, there was still something in her mind telling her not to fall fully into this daydream.
“You girls know homeroom is almost over, yeah?” Their intimate moment was interrupted by a sultry, stripper-like, British voice. Mrs. Sydney Royce, cheer captain and health education teacher, nearly as tiny as Angel, appeared between the girls. Not too close to make them uncomfortable, but close enough so they knew they weren’t alone in the hallway. Her blonde curls were vibrant and untamed, her petite body was adorned with a cute, red bow dress, and even when she tried to hold herself with some kind of authority, she was easy going, harmonious, and playfully upbeat; a bright smile beaming from her face. It was hard to see this woman as a leading figure at this school. If anything, most students saw her as one of them (to her frustration). “I’m not gonna’ write you a slip but you should definitely get goin’ before one of the big dogs comes and sees you. Oh and maybe, I overheard a little, Nicola, you should do that. It would be like really amazeballs and I bet that look would make it to the yearbook.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Royce, I agree. She’d look great and, yeah, sorry, we lost track of time.” Angel admitted and apologized, not really thinking it was worth lying to their health teacher who usually let most of her students get away with murder. “We were just leaving actually.”
“Oh sure, sure.” Sydney chuckled, already having her own ideas of their interaction. “Before you skedaddle, Evangely, dear, you should try a black dress. I don’t know why but when I look at you I see you really workin’ in black. Absolute killer vibes. But oopsie! I’m getting distracted, you two better head on off before I’ll have no choice but to give you a ticket to detention.” She paused and grimaced when she said those last words. “Ew, I hate saying that,” the youthful teacher admitted, before shooing them away, “Now get goin’ please.”
“No worries, Mrs. Royce. We’ll check in with Belmonte immediately,” Indy confirmed. She very nearly called her Sydney, given how much she looks like one of Lottie’s co-captains instead of her coach. She held off though. “And thank you. If you’re chaperoning, I’ll try and make sure I strike the right pose for the Pirates’ Log.” She winked and started hustling herself and Angel towards Room 105.
As they departed, she kept her voice down while whispering. “Sydney’s right, you know.” That time she couldn’t help it. “You absolutely rock black like nobody’s business. If you see something at the Closet that you want to get and you know your mom won’t approve of it, I can hold onto your outfit for you and bring it so you can change into it at the dance. It’s the least I can do for all your help.”
“Okay,” Angel agreed while walking beside her friend, finally reaching their homeroom. She wasn’t afraid of trying a new outfit. If she could, she would have a whole new wardrobe that suited her and wasn’t what her mom wanted her to wear. It was just more effort than not to hide what she likes from her parents, especially right from under their nose. “You should pick my outfit out. I’d like to see what you think looks good on me.”
If she was dressing Indy, might as well let Indy dress her. It was only fair. Plus she trusted Indy, more than she’d ever know, and earning Angel’s trust wasn’t an easy feat. For the most part, Angel hated people. Indy wasn’t one of them.
Indy still thought she was dreaming, but if she was, she didn’t care to wake up. This was a world she could live in until zombie Jesus came back to Earth. Nothing else mattered. “Bet.”
