The One Where an Earthbender and a Lovestruck Mermaid Do Gay Things
Tuesday, audition day.
There was very little room for things to go wrong during Leah’s audition. Frankly, she didn’t give a shit how the Harry Potter looking motherfucker or the alcoholic cat felt about what she chose to do anymore. That was because now that it was behind her, her mind was focusing on unfinished business. April never messaged her back. It wasn’t like her to read a message and not send one back, and that worried Leah. Badly.
After leaving the gym, she walked all over the place from here, there and everywhere else to find April. Something inside her was telling her she was a massive fucking idiot for confessing something like that over text. What was she thinking? If she said that out loud, maybe she wouldn't have fumbled so much over her words- And why did she even fumble in the first place? They were words on a screen, not spoken in real time!
Fuck!
Oh dear, she thought, There she is.
"...April?"
April was in the courtyard, sitting underneath the supposedly haunted tree. She had a planner in front of her, and a pile of notebooks and textbooks next to her. She was trying not to run her mind over and over again through everything that had happened this year, instead attempting to calm her nerves and anxiety by rigorously writing out information from syllabi and staring at the textbooks for her courses. She wasn't making much progress though. She had already put all the numbers she remembered into the shitty Nokia phone that Ser Nemo had given her - she was so mortified that apparently someone had told a teacher about the incident. She didn't think it had been Danni or Dori, which meant that SOMEONE ELSE SAW HER. They probably had photos of her lying in toilet water.
Her head shot up though, hearing Leah call out her name. And within seconds, April felt like crying all over again. "H-hey, fam! How'd the audition go? Did you rock the hell out of it? I bet you did! Mine was okay, bit of a wardrobe malfunction at one point, but that happens to the best of us and all. I'm s-so excited for you and- and Sabine! That's s-so great that you're, well, you're thing a now right? T-th-that's awesome!!"
Leah simply gave her a blank stare. She looked stoic and unhindered as she always did, but it was practically written on April's face that she was hurt. If a word hadn't been said, it wouldn't have changed the conclusion Leah came to. Eventually, a twinge of guilt crept up that façade of hers, and she closed the distance, dropped to her knees and wrapped April in a hug.
"April- I- Fucking- Fuck. I didn't want to hurt you. You're terrible at hiding how you feel, and I'm terrible at explaining how I feel. I should've just told both of you in person, instead of leaving you behind and telling you while I wasn't actually around. I'm sorry. I don't- I don't know if we're a thing, but I don't want it to be a thing with just her."
She looked up at April, and the faint expression of guilt was fully written on her face now.
April would've protested that she was actually great at hiding her feelings, but Leah's news came over her like a tsunami. She couldn't remember anymore the exact phrasing of the text, thanks to the water destroying her poor phone and the head injury that had quickly followed. But Leah's revelation still shook her to her core. Leah... hadn't been telling April she had missed on her chance? Leah was feeling just as confused as April was in this situation? April had figured out her feelings for Sabine that summer, pining away after her bestie's bestie on social media. But right now, with Leah holding her in an embrace, confessing her feelings for April... April's heart was beating faster and faster, as her body felt so intensely alive.
She hadn't realized it before, but she wasn't just into Sabine - she was into Leah too.
April returned Leah's embrace, careful not to scratch herself on Leah's hair. Leah had warned her about that before. April had always been a hugger. "I'm sorry I didn't reply - my phone drowned in toilet water," April apologized, before realizing how profusely unattractive a statement that probably was, her face turning bright red. "I-I wanted to tell you that Sabine had held my hand yesterday, that's what I was gonna share... Because I have a crush on her. And I-I-I think I have a crush on you too. Is that okay?" April stammered out.
”That- That’s what I’ve-“
Great, now she’s stammering.
”…April- That’s what I was trying to say yesterday. I didn’t just choose her and give up on you. God, I’m not very good at this stuff.” Her arms dropped away from April’s sides, and fell down to one of April’s hands. ”I guess I just, I don’t know. I got around to expressing that to Sabine before I did for you. Hope you’re not mad at me for it.”
April shook her head. She was feeling so so incredibly nervous now. She didn't know what was supposed to happen next in this situation. Every movie or book she'd seen like this ended up where one couple in the love triangle got together, and someone was left out. But usually that triangle didn't have everyone be into everyone and... She found herself wishing she'd get up the courage to just kiss Leah right now. Or that Leah would get up the courage to kiss her. Or that she could read minds so she could know exactly what to do and what to say, that she'd know how to hold her hands and what angle to tilt her head at, that Sabine would magically appear and sort everything out, that someone would just tell her how things were going to work. Another part of her wished that none of this had ever happened - the part of her that was terribly afraid, afraid of what this change would mean for her and for others. Would Danni and Dori be mad at her? Would it change their relationship?
April bit her lip. "I-I'm not mad at you," she said. "I... I don't know what comes next here. Like... What are we supposed to do now? Did... did you tell Sabine how you feel about... about this too? Do you... do you want to date both of us... or... or is that all too soon and we're supposed to go out for ice cream or something first or the movies or the library after hours or.... What do we do now?"
”Well- Probably not what me and Sabine were up to yesterday. That was kind of spur-of-the-moment.” Her hands heated up at the mention of that. ”Maybe we should talk to Sabine about this. I mean- I’m in love with both of you. I don’t know how she feels about you, but knowing her she might like the idea. If you want- Both of you- We could go out for a movie. Maybe see how we all feel about it. Or we could all date. Is- Would that be too soon for you?”
She was, somehow, completely oblivious to what Leah had implied about what she had been up to with Sabine the previous day. April's face turned red though at the idea of talking to Sabine about this. If Sabine didn't like April - or even if Sabine liked April but didn't want to be with two people - or even if Sabine liked April and was fine with a throuple but didn't want to date April - it would all be ruined. And April would step aside and let Sabine and Leah be a power couple. They were even roommates. Oh my god, they were roommates!
"I-I-I yes! I mean no. I mean yes. But no. Like, that all sounds fine and isn't too soon, I don't think. I don't know. My brain feels kinda broken right now. Like we're breathing and functioning but are we? I-I-I've never even been on a date before or kissed a girl or anything but... I'd love to go on one with you! Or her. Or both of you. Or neither. I mean, whatever you two want or do not want. That works for me. That's perfect. I don't know how she feels about me either. I don't think she really knew anything about me, which is like totally weird right? Like Danni is my brother basically. But I know Dori doesn't vibe with her, so maybe Danni just lumped us both together and just never said anything? Or does she think that there's another April in our year? There's a February the year below, those months often get confused. Also, side note, I love my name but sometimes I wonder if it's cringe since I was BORN in April... My middle name is Cassandra. What's your middle name?" April spat out nervously.
”I don’t have one,” She said, watching April struggle. ”Me and Danni don’t really get along. I don’t have anything against him. He’s just way too much for me to handle. Dorian’s okay, but we don’t get around to talking much. But- Anyway- How about… We talk to Sabine and see what she thinks? And if she’s okay with it, we could all go on a date somewhere. Not sure where but I could fly us there on a rock faster than a car, and we could get across the country in hours. We could go just about anywhere.” Leah didn’t seem to realize she was still holding April’s hand.
April had to resist the urge to suggest that Leah talked to Sabine, while April hid inside a bush and watched with a pair of binoculars. The idea that she could get not just one, but maybe TWO girlfriends.... It was a lot for her to take in. And when April was flustered, she talked. She talked and she talked and she talked. "Yeah, sure, that sounds good to me! My parents will be pissed if I leave the city without telling them, so I'd probably need to let them know where we're going before my dad calls in like a nuclear strike and my mom shows up with Medusa's head or some crazy shit like that. They're both kinda intense. Protective y'know? But intense. It... it kinda runs in my family I guess. Even my mom's parents are like that and they're otherwise just normal people. I mean my granddad's French-Canadian, but other than that, he's just some guy. He's not... well, y'know... Y'know what my other grandfather's like.... But yeah, let's talk to Sabine! Or um maybe you talk and I can nod in agreement, because if you can't tell, I tend to talk waaaay too much when I'm nervous. Kinda like what I'm doing right now. Yay?"
"You're supposed to talk a lot in a relationship, April. That's what we're talking about, so you should be there. Otherwise it's one-sided. Or I guess two-sided, but you know what I mean. I got nervous trying to tell you how I felt. With Sabine... She made the first move and I just went with it. It matters how you feel too, okay? You can talk like crazy all you want as long as you're being honest with yourself and us." Her fingers brushes across the back of April's hand softly.
"I'm sure your parents will live. If they got a problem with it, they can fight me."
Leah's touch caused April to shiver involuntarily. Her eyes fell on Leah's hand, her face burning bright red, before she looked back up at Leah. "I'd love to see you fight my dad. No, like, really, I think it'd be a pretty cool fight! You're all earth and he's all fire. It'd be like that really old cartoon, Avatar, y'know?" April chattered. "But um, you do got me there. I guess you are supposed to talk a lot. I just know that sometimes I talk too much and I go off on tangents and I don't ever really know how to stop... But we can both talk to Sabine! And hopefully I don't start bringing up like how George Foreman named all of his sons George Jr like a weirdo. Hopefully. My brain kinda does that sometimes. It's like bounce bounce bounce! Or see, here I am, doing it again, when what I really should be saying is that... I don't think I'm the kind of person that makes the first move. Obviously. Which we can see playing out here. But um I will be honest. With you. And hopefully me. I think I'm honest with me. I guess I wouldn't really know if I wasn't? Sorry, sorry, more word vomit, ugh."
April hesitated for a moment, before brushing Leah's fingers with her own. The experimental touch sent another shiver down her spine. It felt good though. She wanted to do it again. She never wanted to stop doing it.
Leah couldn't stop herself from smiling. April's hands just felt so warm... "It's okay. I like listening to you talk."
If she wasn't sure about making the first move, then Leah was. Leah leaned in and put a kiss on April's forehead, with no regrets. Especially not after how far she went with Sabine yesterday.
April's body felt like it exploded at Leah's soft kiss. All of her senses screamed out at her just at once. She had always fantasized about her first romantic encounter with a girl - that she would be swept off her feet, that her partner would pull her into a deep and longing kiss. She could feel that potential hovering just out of reach. April tightened her grip on Leah's hand. She was trembling. But April wanted this oh so badly. She couldn't remember every wanting something else in her life even more. And so, she took the plunge. The returned Leah's kiss with one of her own - on Leah's lips.
Leah gently put an arm around April’s back, and leaned into the kiss. Sabine was a lot more forward, more eager and confident. April was more nervous, so Leah elected to be slower, and let April set the pace so they didn’t move too fast. She held April there, feeling more and more comfortable by the minute as they kissed. She has been wanting to do this for a very long time. Leah felt happy now.
When they finally broke the kiss, Leah was smiling. ”I was wondering when we’d do that.”
April's lips were tingling as the kiss was broken off. She couldn't believe it. It had finally happened - her first kiss. The first set of things on her bucket list for junior year could finally be crossed off. Maybe yesterday had just been a weird train wreck, and the rest of the year was going to be smooth sailing from here. "That was... wow. That was better than all the songs and stuff say. I'm guessing that wasn't your first kiss? You're, like, super good at it. Or at least I think you're good. I think I'd know if you were bad at it? But, um, if you want to do that again some time, I'm game. That was... wow."
”Hm, now you sound like Sabine. Don’t be scared, April. We can do that again. As long as you’re comfortable with it. As if to punctuate that statement, she kissed the back of April’s hand.
”If I wasn’t good at it, I think Sabine would’ve told me. She’s pretty good at it too. You might find out soon.”
April didn't know how to feel about Leah saying she sounded like Sabine, but she gasped dramatically nonetheless. If she hadn't felt so strongly about her calling to do something with the ocean and its protection, she thought she would've been pretty good in telenovelas or something along those lines. She was great at the big facial expressions. Her heart fluttered again though as Leah kissed her hand, and her body yearned for something more - something that April didn't feel ready yet for however. "That'd be nice - I bet her lips taste amazing," April said. She had thought about how Sabine's lips would taste a lot. Whereas Leah felt more rough and rugged, and, well rocky, Sabine was much more of a high femme. But all the same, April's mind went back to the Katy Perry lyric - maybe Sabine's lips tasted like cherry chapstick.
"Yours taste pretty amazing too, by the way - it's like making out on a sandy beach, in a good way. Like... Bath and Body Works, if they could bottle that sensation, they'd make a killing. Maybe enough to avoid going out of business."
"Guess it's a good thing they can't, since now you and 'Bine have it all to yourselves." Something felt different about the last two days. Leah felt this way about April for literal years and didn't consider it a possibility that April could feel anything for her, that anyone could. But yesterday moved so quick and this was the consequence of it all. Leah felt like she was okay with this. She wrapped an arm around April and brought her in for another kiss, falling flat on the ground in the process.
Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all...
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