[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180313/6e3d103d0b88c166e06895ee53700c39.png[/img] [img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180313/86cee71669769feb2d89e3689ecee54e.png[/img][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/180313/2f42ba39ac07985a0ca5c03bd5a80c2b.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/eKRLILs.png?1[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/ig3IUzn.gif[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/iiDCV5o.png?1[/img]
[color=gray][sub]During PE
Collab with [@smarty0114] & [@Universorum]
[color=6174ff][b]Joy[/b][/color], [color=ba314c][b]Katie[/b][/color], [color=309b75][b]Damian[/b][/color], & [color=f6c142][b]Connor[/b][/color][/sub][/color][/center]
[indent]Something dawned in Joy Darling’s mind as she put on her gym shirt in the girls’ locker room. She hadn’t brought her best friend, Katie Callaghan, up to speed with… everything. Popping her head out of the hole of her shirt, her cheeks shifted to a light pink as she looked at her friend standing in front of her, at the locker beside her. How should she go about this? What should she say? Katie probably already heard the rumors about her being on Damian’s hip the entirety of the New Year’s party. Scanning the room to make sure they were the last two left, Joy cleared her throat, before blurting, [color=6174ff][b]“I don’t think I’m a virgin anymore!”[/b][/color] Was she completely sure? No. She blacked out. Her hands immediately went to cover her lips. She didn’t mean to be that loud.

Katie froze, mid way into changing into her PE shirt. She stood there, still for a moment, before finally pulling the shirt the rest of the way over her torso, and turning around to face Joy. One eyebrow cocked in an expression of intrigue, Katie gave her friend a long look before opening her mouth. [color=ba314c][b]”I’m sorry, you don’t [i]think[/i]? As in, you might be wrong?”[/b][/color] Katie asked, the disbelief in her voice obvious. First off, if anyone would have placed a bet on who would lose their virginity first, Man Hating Katie Callaghan and Lil Miss Computer Nerd Joy Darling, they would have picked Katie. Joy hadn’t even had her first kiss last time Katie had checked. Second, how could Joy not know if she lost her virginity? Joy was not [i]that[/i] reckless that she wouldn’t remember her first time, right? 

[color=6174ff][b]“Okay here me out for a second.”[/b][/color] Joy absentmindedly started braiding her hair that was lying on her left shoulder,  [color=6174ff][b]“At the New Year’s Eve Party I was in this weird strong, empowered woman mood because my Mitty and Daddums really lifted my spirits. You already know I want to make small steps in my looks, hence the hair. Not for anyone but me. I kind of want to be classy, like my parents. Well the effect this change had on someone — Damian — was really… fast?”[/b][/color] Man, how does she even go about telling her friend she was a fucking slut at the party.  [color=6174ff][b]“Uhhhh…. well. I might’ve blacked out at some point? I’ve been asking around how I was. One person said during beer pong I got so in the moment for being on a total winning streak that I jumped on him and licked his face. Um, another person said that I was being super [i]assertive[/i] on the dance floor and they couldn’t believe their eyes. Iunno, Katie. What I do remember is I woke up on his bed, with his shirt on, and I was hurting all over. But that might’ve been just the hangover….”[/b][/color] The hopeless place that was the party brought out a side Joy didn’t even know she had in her. 

Katie was shocked. Her best friend, her [i]never been kissed[/i] best friend, had maybe, possibly, probably, lost her virginity to Damian O’Connor. As in, the hottest boy in school. [color=ba314c][b]”I’m sorry, back up. Damian? The Damian? The one with the abs and the face and the jawline that looks like Michelangelo himself chiseled it? That Damian?”[/b][/color] Katie asked, still in awe of her friend’s delve into adventure. 

 [color=6174ff][b]“Yeah… one and the same.”[/b][/color] After Joy finished braiding half of her hair, she went to do the other side,  [color=6174ff][b]“We have this very… intimate relationship now. We haven’t had sex since then! If we even had sex, but I guess I might be into kissing him and stuff. We’re not a thing though! At least I don’t know if we are. I feel like we have this friends with benefits thing going since we haven’t even gone on a date yet. It’s different for me. I don’t mind. What I do know is I don’t know what I’m doing half the time.”[/b][/color] Joy bit the bottom of her lip, as she wondered if this was the type of relationship she wanted her first relationship to be. Her mother didn’t even know about her adventures yet and Joy didn’t know if she would ever tell her. Her mom wasn’t mad about the hair change, only upset because she didn’t tell her that she wanted to dye her hair. But sex? That’s a whole different ball park. 

Katie shook her head, and crossed her arms. [color=ba314c][b]”Joy, this is going to go poorly,”[/b][/color] Katie warned, looking over at her friend. [color=ba314c][b]”It’s all fun and games until you catch feelings, and Damian dumps you for the next hot girl,”[/b][/color] Katie said. [color=ba314c][b]”You and I both know enough about Damian, do you [i]really[/i] see this going somewhere you’d like?”[/b][/color] Katie asked. She didn’t much see the point in relationships, but if Joy wanted one she wasn’t going to object. She would heavily object to trying to get into a relationship with a boy who was well known for the rounds he’d make around the girls of BHHS. Joy deserved better than that.

 [color=6174ff][b]“That’s the thing, Katie.”[/b][/color] Joy sat on the bench, looking up at her friend, who didn’t think relationships would benefit her. Not even worth a learning experience.  [color=6174ff][b]“I can solve quadratic equations in a matter of seconds. I can talk about the history of general relativity like it was a memory from my childhood. I can tell someone every single book I’ve read in order within the past year. I honestly remember further but who would care about that. What I don’t understand is relationships. The concept of how ‘love’ and ‘sex’ works is beyond me. Why people do what they do because they care. Why did Owen and Trixie react the way they did? Why did love do that?”[/b][/color] Joy sighed and replayed the shitshow that was her brother’s break up, before adding, [color=6174ff][b]“I won’t ever know until I take a chance and learn for myself. Do I see something beyond high school with him? Truthfully? No. I don’t even know if I love him like that, but I do know I enjoy his company. That’s a start and who knows!”[/b][/color] Joy hopped up with a resolved mind and heart.  [color=6174ff][b]“Maybe we can be more than just friends. Or maybe we are simply here to make the other person feel a little less lonely while high school sucks our souls away. Am I wrong for thinking that?”[/b][/color] 

Katie sighed and shrugged. [color=ba314c][b]”Hey, it’s your funeral,”[/b][/color] Katie said. Joy was clearly set on this path, and Katie was smart enough to realize that nothing she said would change that. [color=ba314c][b]”But! Let the record show that I was against this from the beginning,”[/b][/color] Katie exclaimed as the pair made their way to the locker room’s exit, grinning. This was definitely going to crash and burn, but at least Katie had tried. Now all there was to do was grab her popcorn and hope Joy didn’t come out the other end too fucked up.

Once they arrived in the gym it was lap time. Joy hated laps, but it had to be done. So, as she ran beside Katie, she breathed out a question,  [color=6174ff][b]“So, are you going to bail on the sadie dance or go solo? We haven’t gone to a dance together since… ever.”[/b][/color] It was odd for Joy to even care about a school function like a dance. But she did and this was also her way of prying to see if her ‘hate men’ girlfriend had someone of interest. There were times Joy wondered if Katie was putting on a front. Even she, who only cared about succeeding in her own pursuits, like building a prototype for the science fair, thought about kisses and hugs and cuddles. It’s probably why she acted the way she did at the party, honestly.  

Speak of the devil. Damian was in the same gym class, which Katie and Joy may have forgotten — since before this, they’d never had any reason to think about him! Damian was standing on the home side of the gymnasium, shooting a basketball into the hoop on his lonesome. Damian usually did whatever he wanted during gym class — what was the teacher gonna do? Tell him he didn’t do enough physical activity? Please, Damian was shredded and could do any PFT that was laid out before him.

So if he wanted to shoot hoops with his shirt off, then he was going to shoot hoops with his shirt off. Of course, he hadn’t [i]yet[/i] taken his shirt off; sorry ladies. Damian’s gym shirt was still on for now, covering up the best part of being in gym class, but that wouldn’t last long. [color=309b75][b]“Hey, does anyone wanna do a pick up game?”[/b][/color] He asked to no one in particular, leaving the floor open to his classmates.

Connor Prince was lounging on the wooden bleachers, disinterested as ever with the goings on in the class. He was here because he didn’t want to get fined, that was all. When Damian offered up a pick up game, he decided that he may as well make his time here interesting. [color=f6c142][b]”I’m in,”[/b][/color] Connor said, standing up from his throne of wood and hopping down onto the linoleum floor, the smack of his shoes echoing throughout the gym, blending in with the sound of the underclassmen running laps. 

Damian stopped dribbling the basketball and held it under his arm instead, before he looked up at the new guy and grinned widely. [color=309b75][b]“Dope. You new? I’m Damian O’Connor — former captain of the football team, now I’m a drama kid. Life is weird. What’s your story?”[/b][/color] He asked, holding his hand out for Connor to shake with a smile that was as bright and as winning as always.

Connor shook Damian’s hand, his face still a mask of nonchalance. [color=f6c142][b]”Connor Prince. I’m from New York, but my dad’s trying to keep me from embarrassing him too much, so, here I am,”[/b][/color] Connor explained, as if it wasn’t abnormal for parents to ship their kids across the country. 

[color=309b75][b]“Hey, right on. My grandparents did that to my dad, too. He doesn’t talk to ‘em no more. Maybe you should take that option. From what I understand, they suck. Never met ‘em. They’re alive, though. I think? I don’t think we’d go to their funeral if they were dead… Dad might want to desecrate their grave, but I don’t think I’d be along for that.”[/b][/color] Damian explained, before dropping the basketball, [color=309b75][b]“I’ll be skins. You be shirts.”[/b][/color]

Connor cocked his head at the boy, slightly confused. [color=f6c142][b]”Y’know, we don’t need shirts or skins in a one on one, right?”[/b][/color] Connor said, already getting ready for what he hoped would be a good game. He hadn’t had a decent game of basketball since New York. The poor kid needed a challenge.

[color=309b75][b]“Yeah, but…”[/b][/color] Damian looked around the gym, then leaned in and whispered, [color=309b75][b]“[sub]I hate shirts, man.[/sub]”[/b][/color] With that, Damian grinned and leaned back.

Meanwhile, Katie and Joy had merged into the school of underclassmen, jogging around the court, everyone enveloped in their own conversation. Katie glanced over at Damian and Connor and smirked. [color=ba314c][b]”Hey look, it’s your new fave,”[/b][/color] Katie teased, nudging Joy. 

For an instant, Joy had forgotten about the question she asked moments ago, even if Katie might’ve dodged it too. Glancing over to her… partner? Sex mate? Boy that took her v-card away? What even were they. Joy jogged in frustration. Shaking her head from watching such a distraction, she pouted at Katie, [color=6174ff][b]“You didn’t answer my question, Katie!”[/b][/color] There was an obvious expression of confliction on Joy’s face. Katie knew Joy well enough to know that her friend hated not knowing things. Especially things that involved herself. Joy was all about facts and solutions. The fact that she blacked out and probably did something that isn’t a ‘Joy thing’ to do was most definitely eating her up alive, even if she was acting like she was handling this well. At the end of the day, Joy was a teen girl who didn’t know if she was a virgin anymore. 

As Joy looked away from the center of the room, Damian’s hand went to the hem of his shirt, and pulled it off, throwing it to the side before he stretched his arms high above his head, leaning to either side. [color=309b75][b]“[i]Much[/i] better!”[/b][/color] Damian expressed happily, and it seemed like the very air around the boy had become a better mood after discarding his shirt. Fuck. Shirts. Man.

[color=ba314c][b]”Oh, Sadies! Eh, I mean, do you want to go? I just think it’s stupid and sexist, like, oh thanks for the scrap, patriarchy,”[/b][/color] Katie ranted, shaking her head. She was about to continue when she looked over and saw a very ripped torso. Damian. Oh boy. Even Katie, man hater of the century, had to admit that Damian’s body was a gift from God. [color=ba314c][b]”Y’know Joy, I see the appeal,”[/b][/color] Katie noted, still watching the upperclassman.

The appeal? Joy turned her head to look back at her childhood friend playing basketball. Oh. He was shirtless. Trying to focus, but unable to look away, Joy slowly muttered, [color=6174ff][b]“Is it really sex —”[/b][/color] Having not watched where she was going, Joy totally didn’t realize she needed to make a left turn like a nascar. Instead, she slammed into the wall and went down to the floor, right on her bottom. Owwwwwwwwww. [color=6174ff][b][i]My face...my ass…. my life…[/i][/b][/color] Girl down. [color=6174ff][b]“—ist…”[/b][/color]

Katie jumped out from the pack and knelt down by her friend, smirking. [color=ba314c][b]”You good Casanova?”[/b][/color] Katie asked, doing her best to suppress the full on laughter that was struggling to make it’s way out into the world.

Damian looked stunned as Joy ran into the wall, and he gave Connor an apologetic look. [color=309b75][b]“One sec, man,”[/b][/color] Damian said, before jogging off to the fallen girl, and looking down at Joy, [color=309b75][b]“Joy! Are you okay? Why did you do that?! The gym has corners, babe…”[/b][/color]

Casanova? Babe? Joy was seeing multiple Katies and Damains. She squinted her eyes closed before opening them up again, regaining focus. [color=6174ff][b]“I’m fine…”[/b][/color] Damian never came this close to her in public during school hours. The only times they did was when he asked her questions in class or that one time in the library. That was all her, though. [color=6174ff][b]“I’ll be fine. Thank you, guys.”[/b][/color] Joy sluggishly brought herself up. 

It was only sluggishly for a brief second before Damian reached down and grabbed her hand, scooping her up to her feet — a little too hard; Damian let go of her, but almost immediately grabbed her again. Whoops, Damian pulled her into his arms a bit. Accident? Maybe. Maybe not. [color=309b75][b]“You sure? Alright.”[/b][/color] Damian smiled, and winked at her. [color=309b75][b]“Let me know if you need me then. I’ll be over there,”[/b][/color] Damian waved over his shoulder toward the court, then leaned down and stole a kiss from his Joy.

Errr… embarrassed. Completely and utterly embarrassed. Joy subconsciously pushed Damian away. Her face beaming red. [color=6174ff][b]“W-what are you doing?”[/b][/color] Everyone was watching! 

Well that was a development. Damian O’Connor had just kissed her best  friend. In front of everyone. What the hell kind of melatonin fueled dream was this? The shock was evident on Katie’s face, her wide eyes flicking from Joy to Damian and back again. [color=ba314c][i]What the fuck[/i][/color]

Meanwhile, Damian seemed genuinely confused by the things that were unfolding in front of him. Why was Joy being weird? She was all blushy, which he kind of liked, but… she seemed upset that he’d kissed her? Hey, maybe he didn’t do a good enough job. Damian looked to either side with his eyes, before he shrugged and leaned back down, kissing Joy again, this time with his mouth partially open and his hand on the back of her head. This time, it was more like a public retelling of their library based adventure.

That better, Joy?

Joy’s mind went hazy. Was this even real? Was Damian actually showcasing this kiss in front of their whole gym class? For a long moment, she couldn’t fight back. Instead, she carefully watched him; her face heated, her expression perplexed. When she finally registered where they were, by looking over to Katie’s wide eyes and open mouth, Joy once again tried to push away from Damian but not aggressively. Only enough to free her lips. [color=6174ff][b]“Damian… what are you doing? Everyone is watching.”[/b][/color] The small nerd whispered. Damian didn’t say anything, instead he just kind of… stared at her.

Katie, having regained control over herself picked this moment to speak. [color=ba314c][b]”So, uhm, this might be a bad time but, well I just need to clarify something. Did you take her v card?”[/b][/color] Katie asked in a stage whisper, using a hand to block her mouth from the prying eyes of the rest of their class.

Damian finally turned his attention away from Joy and onto Katie for the first time, listening to her question before he shook his head, [color=309b75][b]“Nah, almost. But not quite. At her house we got interrupted by the kid she was babysitting… then, at the party, we got [i]really[/i] close but she kind of puk—”[/b][/color]

Wait did she puke? Was he going to tell the whole class she puked on him at the party?! This would be the day Joy died. Her reputation would turn into: the girl that can’t hold down her alcohol or the girl that puked on the most popular boy at this school. Puke girl. She needed to change the subject quick. She’d have to admit, it was reassuring that she was still a virgin. [color=6174ff][b]“DAMIAN GO TO THE DANCE WITH ME.”[/b][/color] Fucking christ, Joy. Volume control.  [sub][color=6174ff][b]“Please?”[/b][/color][/sub]

Damian wasn’t used to being cut off by that, but her next words just made things… more awkward for him. Damian leaned down to be at eye level with Joy and spoke plainly and carefully, [color=309b75][b]“duh, Joy. Of [i]course[/i] I’m going to the dance with you. I’m your boyfriend… and you’re my… girlfriend. That’s also… why I kissed you. Did you not know that?”[/b][/color]

Oh. [color=6174ff][b]“No. No, I didn’t know that.”[/b][/color] Joy responded breathlessly. She and Damian were official. He was her… boyfriend. Her [i]first[/i] boyfriend. They were [i]dating[/i]. Gulping to herself, she came to terms with her new reality. She had a boyfriend. 

Katie, to her credit, had managed to keep her mouth shut during this exchange, despite the pure surprise that had her mind racing. Her best friend was now dating the most popular boy in school. And she was going to a dance with him!

[color=ba314c][i]Clearly, everyone has lost their minds.[/i][/color]
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