Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
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@lore-lyons
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
johnniebgood:
—
“With how loud we were bein’, I’m sure they’ve got a clue. Unless they really think that was a cat,” Johnnie retorted, though he really had no idea when most of the world was a Gaussian blur for the whole summer.
“Secret monogamy,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. It was the dumbest thing he’d ever heard. He didn’t know why he’d ever keep his love on lock down. Especially not something as groundbreaking as monogamy. He couldn’t even spell it, much less entertain the thought of having only one choice of dessert for the rest of his life but… right then, he couldn’t think of wanting to do much else. Maybe old age was making him soft. He’d be 25 eventually and his life would be over before he knew it.
“Darlin’, I ain’t afraid of nothin’. What are they gonna say? ‘Ward’s fucking again, what a cad’. It ain’t news to me. I’d send them invitations to watch and seethe in live colour.”
Johnnie pinched her chin between his fingers and held her steady, gazing into her eyes with an undeniable tenderness before pecking her on the mouth. “But if that’s what you want, then who am I to say no?”
He eased up and inhaled as he smoothed down the front of his shirt like he was brushing all the soft sentiment from his being. Conceding to a girl was one thing but conceding to a girl who wanted to keep him a dirty little secret was another thing but he didn’t like questioning things too much. The whole ruse would only last a good week or two, he was sure of it.
“I’m just gonna tell you now that it ain’t gonna work the way you think it’s gonna,” he pointed out casually, fishing his cigarette from behind his ear again to stick between his lips. “There’s no way you’re gonna be able to resist.”
***
“I hope they did think it was a cat. Two cats. However many cats necessary to make the noise, because I’d rather my baby brother’s mind not have to absorb that,” Lore insisted. Baby was clearly a loose term but Finn was always going to be her younger brother, and her protectiveness over him extended to shielding him from any explicit details about her personal life. It was like having a friend who still believed in Santa by fifth grade - you wanted to cover their ears for all of December to protect them for just a little bit longer. Finn was by no means stupid and definitely knew certain things about her that she’d tried to keep secret, but the more he assumed alternative explanations the better.
The secret monogamy bomb had been a big one to drop, and while Lore had been hoping to be okay no matter which way the dust settled, she found herself frozen in place as she waited for the male to work things out.
The phrase itself clearly wasn’t a hit, and he could say he wasn’t afraid of what other people thought all he wanted, but neither of those things were actual answers to the question that had more or less been posed. Was he specifically also down for secret monogamy?
“Fascinating hypothetical, but maybe we don’t expand on the invite thing,” she tossed out, a slight frown appearing on her face as she worked through a short explanation of where she was coming from with things. “I just don’t trust people not to try and tear this apart. Because people are horrible and they don’t just let people have things. And having lived in Lima since I was seventeen years old I can absolutely confirm to you that people in this town are somehow even worse. And I’ve lived in both LA and New York, which are essentially both Judgement Town USA.”
Taking cues from what Johnnie was doing more than what he was saying, hope had definitely settled into her heart as she stared into his eyes. Tender prolonged eye contact would be such a weird way to break things off with someone or to turn them down.... But then he was speaking and a wave of emotions was flowing through her - not just relief, but an incredible amount of fondness.
God, she really, really liked this boy. What was she getting herself into?
“Thank you,” she murmured as he moved just a tiny bit away. What she actually wanted was to live in a world where she could do whatever she wanted and not be judged for it, but Lima, Ohio was like East High circa whenever the hell High School Musical was set. You stuck to the status quo, lest you wanted to cause a huge choreographed number (probably by Glee Club so you know it’d be bad) in the dining hall. Therefore, a secret relationship was the next best thing.
Shuffling so that she’d reversed positions and made sure that Johnnie was the one trapped (in a nice way!) against the desk, Lore shifted gears. She was on a big actions-speak-louder-than-words kick but there was no reason why both couldn’t be effective.
“Oh, but you see, I only have to resist in public. And locked rooms in parts of school where almost no one goes during Orientation are not technically public.”
annabellexfoster:
Bee recognized the voice immediately, tilting their head gently to look back at where Lorelei Lyons was. You had to be an idiot to not recognize her right away. It was a surprise more than anything for Bee to not see the lanky twin brother tagging along. For a long time, they had aspired to be like her, always so confident, on top of the social pyramid and the cheer one. But thanks to their current situation being a Cheerio just wasn’t in the cards. It was hard to dedicate their life to full time work and school while throwing themself into a sport.
“Hey yourself. What brings you to the edge of your kingdom?” they teased, taking another long drag before stomping the cigarette bud out on the ground.
They didn’t want to be rude to Lore. It wasn’t her fault that the Foster home had crumbled on a single dramatic night. No one else should have to deal with the concussive fallout.
“When’s the first meeting of the Muckracker? I’ve got a few ideas to pitch. PRIDE is doing our homecoming dance.”
It was hard for things not to be awkward when just the year before they’d been sitting on the bleachers cheering for sports and giggling about boys together. My how the times had changed. Summer really did destroy you.
***
“Martha Rae went to Jesus Cheer Camp and wants us all to repent for our sins,” Lore didn’t hesitate to reveal. Just because Bee wasn’t a Cheerio anymore, that didn’t mean that Martha Rae just dropped out of memory. No, surely Bee would remember how just months ago the girl had almost run away to France with the one kid who had elected to do his study abroad in Lima, Ohio. Martha had been trying to convince the squad to learn French for weeks to make him feel welcome in Cheerio social circles. And then Martha was told the boy was from Spain. That relationship was over before Duolingo could even be deleted from her phone.
“Apparently we’re all still young and there’s still time for us to switch it up to make it into the Kingdom of Heaven but I think she’s going to drop this when the pastor she met at camp stops liking her pictures on Insta. Since that day is not today, I figured I’d take my lunch break in peace,” she further explained, pulling her apple slices out of her bag before popping one into her mouth.
While she was prepared to eat in awkward silence, she appreciated that Bee didn’t let that occur for long.
“Next week, probably. I think we need to make it through the Org Fair, get the new recruits processed and work from there. When is Homecoming? And also is there a theme?” she questioned, internally debating whether or not to ask the other question that was on her mind. She popped another apple slice into her mouth to procrastinate the impulse, but found that crunching away at it did little to quell that specific desire. Thus, she continued.
“Also, forgive me if I’m overstepping, but... you’re not on Cheerios this year. Am I allowed to ask why? Or is that to remain a mystery?”
littlerugby:
“ phew! my broke ass wouldn’t have been able to replace a uniform. ”
laughing, rugby pulled the sleeve of her flannel over her hand and used the ratty fabric to push the liquid as far away from lore’s things as she could. she could always just wash the flannel later - or throw it away. perhaps it was time to retire the ten-year old rags.
to say she was excited to run into a familiar face was an understatement, rugby didn’t realize how lost she’d feel in wandering campus alone without a group she could just latch herself onto. just another thing high school neglected to teach you about college; not everyone was going to the same place. half of her team mates had gone off to universities outside of ohio, one of her own brothers was studying at an ivy-league college, but she was left in lima.
“ if i’m being honest, i hate it. i feel like i’ve written my own name more times this week than i have in my entire life - reagan doesn’t even look like a fucking word to me anymore. just a mess of letters. i’m happy to see you though, it’s nice seeing a familiar face for once this week. ”
***
“Luckily no worries there, since I could, but I doubt she’d approve of me showing up to practice covered in...” she drifted off, looking at the can in front of her. “Monster. God, you’re really going for it, aren’t you?”
It was said with love, but also concern. Really. Was she okay? Personally the only time Lore resorted to energy drinks was the occasional 5-Hour Energy during finals... but then again maybe Orientation was a lot. Desperate to impress and feeling alone without her brother or anyone else from her support system at school, Lore’s Orientation Week had been a blur. She couldn’t recall a single thing that happened minus signing up for some clubs, so maybe it was warranted.
Not picking up what was happening in time to protest, Lore simply acknowledged Rugby’s cleaning tactic with an easy ‘thanks’ before gesturing for the girl to sit.
“I think the signing goes down significantly after week one, but now you’ll never forget your student ID number. It’s been permanently branded into your brain,” she offered, able to give that observation at least. “Happy to be a friendly face, though. It’s actually great that we ran into each other because we haven’t caught up in a hot minute. How was your summer? What’ve you been up to?”
finn-lyons:
“You’re right you also ogled the pool boy. I can’t blame you, I did too a few times, but I’ve only got eyes for one. Not that she’ll ever notice me in return. Her true love is the environment,” Finn sighed, pulling out their practice bags from the car so that they could head inside. He’d brought hers too as a sign of good will for his exhausted sister.
Finn liked cheerleading. It was a way of doing what he’d loved before, gymnastics with a twist. Sometimes he wanted things to go back to before when he was throwing himself off of bars and making grand gestures on the mat.
But Lima was…fine, even if it wasn’t Princeton. Dream school Princeton. Everything he wanted and more Princeton. But he was here before everyone needed him here. To protect them and take care of them.
“Are you going to choreo one of the routines again this year? Yours was a favorite.”
***
“There’s nothing wrong with just looking,” Lore shrugged, brushing off her brother’s comment as fast as she possibly could. Exactly how much she’d ogled the pool boy was something strictly between her and said pool boy and the less she let that topic remain on the table, the better. Luckily Finn had presented an easy out, and Lorelei didn’t hesitate to take it.
“Yeah, your taste is... questionable. No offense. But maybe I’m biased because I get plenty of attention from her in Glee Club. Negative attention. But hey, don’t count yourself out. This could be your year. You two could be super mutually in love by like... Earth Day,” the girl offered, unlocking the front door and instantly sending a wave of frigid air their way. Shoutout to ridiculous electricity bills due to their mother’s need to keep the house feeling like winter in the summer and summer in the winter. The Lyons family didn’t need to take a vacation to the southern hemisphere - they were living there every day. And on this particular day, Lore was thankful.
She hadn’t thought about the last routine she’d prepped for the Cheerios in quite some time, her brain having seemingly taken a hiatus from the squad over the past three months, but luckily she had Finn around to remind her of all of her duties. There was no use in procrastinating her full devotion to the squad any longer. It was time to leave lazy summer days behind and go all-in.
“I hope to. Obviously it’s up to Coach, but... since she loves me I really don’t see it being a problem. Do you think it’d be too cliche if I added in a little callback to my Olympic routine? Oh, and what about you? Are you thinking of giving it a shot?”
johnniebgood:
—
“You just?” He stared at her blankly until she brought up the fact that they were at school again as if somehow that factored into anything if she wasn’t lying when she said it wasn’t about him.
Johnnie scoffed and shook his head in disbelief, barking aloud. It was his turn to make a wide circle backwards, spinning on his his heel while his fingers habitually went to his ear to fiddle with a cigarette tucked behind it as he made another round.
The longer the pauses extended between her arguments, the higher Johnnie’s eyebrows rose. He wasn’t entirely blind to what was happening there. With a past of bouncing through lovers like he did, he could smell denial like a dog could smell a sausage from the BBQ three doors down. Like, on one hand he understood it but on the other, bigger, fatter and more dominant hand, he’d already gotten his grubby paws all on her. And in her. And all around her. He had evidence of it in fun, homemade videos if he had to make the argument in court that she was, in fact, really really into it.
Johnnie wasn’t a scholar but he knew a thing about girls like Lorelei and they didn’t just agree to hand over incriminating evidence with uncertainty. His certainty of that was all the confidence he needed to corner her against a desk, palm stamped firmly on the surface behind her as he sunk onto his palm and closed the distance between their faces, his head cocked and his smile wry.
“What do you think we are, princess? I don’t suppose you go around makin’ home vids with just about any ol’ boy,” he told her baldly. “I just don’t get why you’re tryna hide it now. You know, I ain’t gonna show nobody.”
Johnnie’s grin spread like an oil slick across his face as he glanced at her lips. “Or is this really about me and your pretty, perfect package?”
***
The farther away Johnnie moved from her, the more Lorelei began to regret even having broached the topic in the first place. She very well could have let the chips fall where they may, letting the summer fling potential fade to be a nice memory to look back on fondly. She could watch the first five minutes of Grease and smile fondly.
But she was greedy. And the first 5 minutes of Grease was not the best part of that movie.
While her anxiety grew with every passing moment as Johnnie clearly worked his way through her suggestion, by the time he was verbally responding he’d luckily already said plenty.
It was very, very difficult to not give in and just take a win where she could get it. She’d mentioned a ‘what are we’ talk and he hadn’t dashed off immediately. He’d acknowledged that he clearly wasn’t any regular boy and that he wasn’t going to spill... but he hadn’t answered the questions she’d asked. Not really. Proximity wasn’t an answer. Maybe she should have just left it at that, but they really hadn’t addressed the one question that was the most pressing for her, the one that she knew she’d be asking herself in the back of her mind constantly if they were to simply keep things going, business as usual.
Since they first began sneaking around at the beginning of the summer Lorelei hadn’t been seeing anyone else. For her, things with Johnnie were only with Johnnie. For him...? You would have had to be living in an entirely different universe to not know of Johnnie Ward’s reputation on campus and Lorelei wasn’t one to delude herself into thinking that she would be the one that changed anything. But if he could assume that he was clearly special to her...
“You’re right, that is something specifically reserved for you. Pretty sure that hiding thing is nothing new, though, considering how my family definitely has no knowledge of this.”
She could feel herself chickening out, backing down from what she’d wanted to make explicitly clear. However, she wasn’t going to let herself off the hook that easy. Only letting her eyes fall to the male’s lips for a second, Lore was shaking her head to get herself back on track before she took a deep breath and dived right in.
“This is about you and me. And the both of us navigating this school year without prying eyes judging our every moves. Cards on the table, here’s where I’m at - secret monogamy is just... the sexiest thing you could possibly imagine, isn’t it? Rhetorical question. I just want to be explicitly clear that for me... this has been secret monogamy. And I figured... you should at least know that.”
annabellexfoster:
Bee sat at one of the tables close to the edge of campus, hiding their cigarette pursed between their lips. There was technically a no smoking rule on campus (probably directed at the weed more than anything) but right now all they needed was a long drag of a cigarette and a quick reminder that everyone in this fucking town didn’t suck ass before starting their shift.
There were a few things that weren’t so bad about this place. The sky was pretty to look at, not overcrowded with smog like when they had visited New York with their parents.
Back before that shit went south fast.
There was the subtle sound of footsteps approach and without looking back they motioned to wave whoever was there off. “This spot is taken. Find your fucking own.”
***
If Lorelei Lyons had to trudge to the other side of campus to get even ten minutes of alone time that afternoon, she was going to do it.
They were on lunch break from Cheerios practice, and Lore needed a full break from Martha Rae and her endless stories about how she’d been Saved over the summer at Christian Cheer Camp. God knows if you’re only doing it to impress a hot pastor, Martha, and your Finsta stories made it clear that was the case, Lore was barely able to keep herself from saying. Being around the squad again was... an adjustment.
So Lore had grabbed her pre-packed lunch, mouthed her apologies to her brother, and made sure to be almost to the tables at the edge of campus before half of the squad had made it out of the locker room. Some alone time would be good. Preferable, even, considering how much she had to mentally sort through. If only the whole alone thing had actually worked out.
“Last I checked you couldn’t reserve the great outdoors,” the blonde pointed out, sliding into the table nearest the smoker just to be petty.
She hadn’t really been focused on who exactly had been speaking as much as the words that had come her way, but looking over, recognition of the face (and also voice) of former Cheerio Bee had her speaking up again.
“Oh. Hey. Long time no see.”
littlerugby:
double-fisting a bang in one hand and a monster in the other, a sleep-deprived adrenaline junkie wandered aimlessly around campus. she had met almost all the new students by now - aside from those she graduated with back in may - and felt socially exhausted, hence the two dangerous energy drinks.
a lot of things had changed since graduation; rugby actually got herself a job and was now paying her own student loans, which in reality meant that she was broke, but she luckily had a pretty financially-gifted father who helped her when need be. besides, who expects a girl who just graduated to have her shit together? er, don’t answer that.
in her aimless wandering, rugby accidentally tripped over the back of someone’s ankle, slamming one of the drinks into the nearest table to save herself from eating the concrete.
“ shit! my bad, did i get anything on ya? ”
***
Planner open, Lore was meticulously going over her schedule for the next month when the clattering of a can clashing against metal made someone’s presence very known. A dramatic entrance if she’d ever seen one, but at least she’d turned in time to see the girl stick the landing.
“Luckily no. Coach would kill me if you did,” the blonde didn’t hesitate to admit only after she’d looked over her uniform, candor only present because she’d immediately recognized Rugby’s voice. After having met in Lore’s senior year of high school, Lore had developed a certain fondness for the girl. Running in similar circles had also kept the two of them in each other’s lives since then, so she’d been expecting a campus run-in at some point. Just... one that was planned. And a little less messy.
One quick look immediately to her right at the table made it clear things had been a close call. And also made Lore question why she was double-fisting so early in her college career.
“Settling into college life well, I see. How are you enjoying the Orientation Week festivities?”
finn-lyons:
Lore and Finn were as thick as thieves, maybe more so. They weren’t twins in technicality, but they had the same birthday only one year apart, and were as tied together as a duo could be. They were even in the elite cheerios together, though he was usually the on tossing her into the air. The one time he’d begged the team to try throwing him he’d been dropped in surprise and almost ended up with a concussion. Not a highlight of his life.
He turned down the music as they pulled into the driveway of their gaudy home. Whatever the hell their mother was smoking that made her think that the lion decorations were a good idea needed to be thrown in the trash.
(Essential oils, probably.)
“She’s never going to move them. Mostly because who would she ask to do it? Dad? You? Me? Mom knows we’d probably drop them down the driveway on purpose.” Finn smiled and offered her his water. “You know if you had gone for runs with me this summer instead of just hanging out by the pool we could have avoided this.”
***
“Please. You know she could hire a team to move them and get some thrill showing them off that way,” Lore argued, accepting Finn’s water graciously before downing that too. Apparently her body had decided to just stop functioning in the way that it used to, and a single day of practice had her dehydrated, exhausted, and already sore. Maybe not the best combo to kick off the year... but now there was truly nowhere to go but up.
It was her Junior year, she was one of Coach’s favorites, and she had a new level of leadership being afforded to her on the squad. With a bright smile to all watching her sort-of-struggle and maybe 4 hours of extra practice a day she’d be back to her old self in no time and she’d be maintaining the status quo for the rest of the year. Routines were once again forming, and there was nothing to keep this year from being the best one thus far.
Nothing... that Finn knew of, at least. Keeping a secret from the person she was closest to was a difficult but necessary move. And it was one that could totally blow up in her face. But looking over at the male as they ditched the car and headed inside, Lore had to believe that she’d made the right decision.
“Excuse you. I didn’t just hang out by the pool, I was also inside it. And swimming is exercise. You’d think it’d count at least a little. You could have joined me too. I swear mom only added essential oils to the pool once.”
johnniebgood:
—
Johnnie didn’t take her refusal as a deterrent. If he had, they never would’ve gotten anywhere in the first place. At that point, her denial was more of a ritual that would end with her succumbing to her lusty desires with his help and a happy ending for everyone involved.
He grinned, running his hands up and down her sides fondly as if he were helping her coax the words out. Johnnie liked hearing a good review as much as anyone else and his pride was brimming with the anticipation of her deciding to make things a little more permanent. It wasn’t like him to be thinking about being a one woman kind of guy but college was about trying new things and…
“Wait– you want to keep this a secret?” he stammered when she slipped away from him, stopping him from taking the next step in their pre-coitus dance.
It wouldn’t have been the first time someone wanted to keep their trysts a secret. Ever since he wandered out of the closet, secrecy had become ingrained into half the things he did but secrets usually came with angst and inner turmoil. Guilt and shame. Dissatisfaction. All the things that he wouldn’t have tacked onto the summer they had together.
Johnnie was cocky and a little full of it at times but he knew what he felt under the stars with her wrapped up in his arms.
“I thought you said it was good. Why would you want to keep somethin’ good a secret?”
***
Lore could tell that Johnnie was taken aback by her sudden broaching of the subject, but she was likewise taken aback by what he seemed to be focused in on - somewhat taking offense to the secret idea. But what did he think was going to happen? They were going to come back to school and announce to everyone that they had been hooking up all summer in some Summer Nights-style Glee Club number? And then they’d just move on with their lives? Or... they’d come back, let everyone know, and then continue doing what they’d been doing, just with the absence of a pool as part of the equation? Or they’d actually be dating?
Lorelei didn’t even know where they currently stood. There was a big mixing of past and present tense even as they were speaking now. Add in the fact that somehow she’d begun to develop actual feelings that she already knew would have some sort of long-term impact on her and things were getting messier by the day. So what was she supposed to say?
“It was. Is. Look, it’s nothing against you, I just-” she started, stopping herself almost immediately so she could choose her next words carefully.
They’d been sneaking around all summer and it was all well and good, but she didn’t have the Cheerios on her back then, wondering when she was going to achieve #powercouple status with any of the eligible bachelors on the Football team. She didn’t have the astounding amount of social pressure that followed her around like some nightmarish shadow the moment classes resumed. She’d been free to do whatever she wanted and she’d wanted to do Johnnie Ward, but was that still true now that reality had come crashing back in?
...yes. More or less. But was that mutual? And if so, could he agree to some new terms and conditions?
“What are we doing, Johnnie? I don’t love that I’m tossing a ‘what are we’ on you right now, but it feels like now’s as good a time as any. School is starting. What are we doing?”
johnniebgood:
—
Staying in Lima over the summer had proven itself to be the smartest decision he’d ever made and made him wonder why he hadn’t thought of doing it sooner. There was nothing waiting for him back home in West Virginia but Frank and his siblings and while he missed the perpetual madness of the trailer park, he didn’t miss Frank nearly as much. It would’ve been enough to have gotten away from his abusive uncle but summer had way more in store for him.
Nabbing a part-time gig at the Lyons residence as their pool boy (errand gopher) had turned into full-time access to Lorelei Lyons, good girl extraordinaire. It wasn’t like he’d never thought about it before but the reality of a guy like him cracking open her primly shell was stuff wrote into movies by some schmuck who thought rich people gave a crap about anything that stood under their noses. Johnnie was stupid, persistent and a little wishful, but he wasn’t naive.
So when Lorelei unfurled in his hands and dug her nails into his back, Johnnie was pretty certain he was dreaming. Naturally, he did it a few more times just to make sure he wasn’t. And a few times became all summer. It was thrilling. Dare he say, it was magical in its entirety but all good things had to come to an end. Whether he wanted it to was another thing.
Johnnie’s brows shot up when Lorelei grabbed him and continued to rise in delight as she pulled him into an empty classroom. Maybe summer wasn’t quite over yet.
“Here? I really did unleash somethin’ in ya, huh?” He smirked, drawing closer. The floral scent of her perfume was familiar and magnetic. Johnnie pulled her flush against him by the hips.
“‘Course we can talk, dollface. I uh, didn’t get a chance to pick up any rubbers though so we’re gonna have to get a little creative.”
***
If she’d thought things through before acting, maybe Lorelei would have realized where Johnnie’s mind would go as he got pulled into an empty classroom in what felt like a mostly deserted wing of the school. Especially after the months they’d just spent together sneaking around. But there hadn’t been time to mentally work through every possible interpretation of her actions, and Lore’s improvised game-plan was now crumpling at her feet.
“No. No. We’re not-that’s not why I pulled you in here,” she protested after a moment, her words and actions not quite matching up as her mind fought to right itself and get back on track. Had the thought that he was clearly hinting at crossed her mind? Maybe. But it was never a thought she’d actually allow to see the light of day. Even if it would be so easy to let it...
“This summer was great,” she attempted to start, their mere proximity making it difficult for her to get out what she’d been meaning to. The solution to that problem was simple, though - put some space between them, take a deep breath, and attempt again.
With a few steps put in between them the blonde was breathing easier and keeping cool, calm, and collected as she tried once again to broach the topic they’d managed to avoid. Offering a small smile, she repeated her words from a moment ago. “This summer was great. And I do mean that. I don’t presume to know where your mind is at, but I had... fun. It was nice. Refreshing. And also unforgettable. But our light and breezy summer is clearly fast approaching its end and therefore we need to figure out how we proceed. I have a few ideas, but the one I keep coming back to is this: publicly, to avoid prying eyes and unnecessary questions, we run with the idea that nothing happened between the two of us. Privately we obviously know better but...” she drifted off.
Was she coming in too hot with the need to publicly deny anything had ever happened? Or was she good to proceed with caution thrown to the wind to reach a satisfactory conclusion?
thearojas-beau:
My name is Dorathée, but you can all call me Thea, and I’m a new freshman here! I’ve just moved into my dorm, and I’ve got a cheesecake that I definitely can’t finish on my own, if anyone wants to share some?
“I’m sure you’ll get some takers, but sadly I cannot be one of them. The strict diet I’m on for Cheerios only has a cheat day once every other week, and Coach has eyes and ears everywhere. But thank you. How are you settling in?”
Speaking with Johnnie Ward hadn’t been on Lore’s list of things to do while she visited campus that afternoon, but catching the male walking past the door of the Muckraker office had presented the blonde with the perfect in-the-moment opportunity to broach a topic she’d been avoiding.
She’d dragged him into the room without a second thought, thankful for the privacy that Orientation Week afforded them until she realized it was she that needed to speak up. But what to say?
In a stunning turn of events, Lore had allowed herself to have a lot of fun over the summer. Maybe... too much. But now the school year was beginning and she had a reputation to uphold, so a few things needed to be made explicitly clear. No matter how much joy the Grease-style summer fling had brought and regardless of the fact that feelings had somehow begun to develop on her end somewhere along the way, they could not know each other in public. They could not be in the same clubs or the same classes. They were fundamentally diametrically opposed and Johnnie’s very existence in her life threatened her Good Girl Image like no other McKinley student could. And for her, image was everything.
But how did one say that gently and lovingly?
“Hey. Can we... talk?” she started, double tucking her hair behind her ears as she leaned against her desk. Maybe a poor choice of words to get them going, but surely the red flags would be up with such a lead-in.
@johnniebgood
Cheerios practice had kicked Lore’s ass that afternoon. Who knew that a summer almost entirely avoiding conditioning could lead to so many regrets once you had to run several miles in the summer heat? (Hint: everyone.)
Luckily her dear brother had been by her side through the entirety of it, and had made the run almost bearable. The drive home, too. AC blasting, Lore had forced him to drive her car so that she could crumple into the passenger seat and chug water like she was an overeager frat pledge at his first rager. It wasn’t until they were pulling up to the McMansion that Lore spoke up, sliding her sunglasses down to eye the giant lion statues by the front path warily.
“What are we thinking the odds are that we can get Mother Dearest to relocate the lions directly in front of the house to be by the pool? Or... in the trash? 60-40 favoring no, or?”
@finn-lyons
MEET LORELEI —
LORELEI LYONS (Lili Reinhart) is a 20 year old JUNIOR majoring in JOURNALISM. SHE is a member of NEW DIRECTIONS, CHEERIOS, and THE MUCKRAKER and is UNEMPLOYED. She’s INDEPENDENT, BRIGHT, and CONFIDENT but can also be PERFECTIONISTIC, PETTY, and SELFISH. Some refer to her as THE GOLDEN GIRL.
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