Prompt: yellow (from @purple-dahlias’ July challenge)
CW: none
On days Robin wasn’t feeling her best, she turned to her secret weapon that was built on colour theory. Yellow was a colour associated with happiness and warmth, enough to turn around the emotions of a bad day and set the tone for the upcoming hours. It was something Connor bothered her about, since he didn’t quite believe that the colour of her outfit mattered, but Robin stood by her theory.
Her lucky yellow converse were rarely replaced by another pair of shoes, instead she pulled the beat up canvas on every day and it had become her signature; everyone could spot Robin from metres away with her brightly coloured shoes.
On a particular day that started off rough, Robin’s hair was pulled up into two buns secured with yellow scrunchies, which naturally matched her plaid skirt, a bold statement that was of course accompanied by her favourite shoes. Ava grinned at her as she approached and Robin rolled her eyes, awaiting the smart remark from her annoyance of a stagehand.
“Hey there, Sunshine,” Ava greeted her, only laughing when Robin gently shoved her shoulder.
Ava’s tears are soaking through the knit of Robin’s sweater. She’s a sobbing, snotty mess, but all Robin can think about it how much she wishes she could take this pain away. If she could undo it- if she could stop what Connor did- she would have in a heart beat. But there was nothing to be done. Besides that, she didn’t get close with Ava and find out until well after it already happened.
“He touched me today,” Ava cries, digging her fingers into Robin’s shoulders. “He put his hand on my back, like we’re friends, like he didn’t- like he didn’t-”
She dissolves into hysterical sobs once more as Robin tries to comfort her by stroking her hair and rocking her in her arms. “I know, baby. You’re safe here. He can’t get you here.”
It isn’t much of a reassurance. Connor has been in Ava’s apartment, and knowing him, could pay someone to pick the lock if he wanted to. They both know this doesn’t feel so safe as Robin must claim it to be. Maybe they could move in together somewhere safe, but that’s a question for when Ava isn’t so deep in her terror that she can’t think straight.
When your two "crazy" ex girlfriends meet and fall in love and realize you were the problem so now you have to watch them get along and then everyone is invited to their wedding but you
Theatre!AU; a look into a normal night in the drama club
Prompt: Night
Word count: 1668
***
“Robin!” her name echoed across the auditorium as a familiar blonde bounced over, damp hair escaping from its haphazardly tied scrunchy. She was still in her swim suit too, the spandex peeking out from her open sweater and tucked into her school sweats. She had obviously been in a hurry to leave, which made sense when Robin looked behind her.
“Hey, Sam,” she nodded at the boy who was trailing after her, looking amusing, “Connor, you’re late.”
“So is Sam,” he furrowed his eyebrows at the teasing remark, “It's not my fault I had to drive down to the pool to pick someone up because she missed the bus.”
“I had practice!” Sam argued as she dropped her gym bag on the stage, it's familiar cross-stitch motifs making Robin smile. She had gotten her best friend a new duffel bag for Christmas that year, since her old one was falling apart from years of damp swimsuits and piles of theatre costumes. She had taken the time to stitch little things into the black fabric, including little bees and flowers that she thought would make Sam smile. It had and it never ceased to make Robin happy too when she saw how practical yet meaningful her gift had turned out to be.
“Still,” Robin nudged Connor’s shoulder, “Now we know why I’m the president of the club and you two aren’t.”
“We are literally co-presidents, Ro,” Connor’s reminder made her laugh; as if he would ever let her forget that. They had helped rebuild the dying drama club in their first year of high school, bringing in more students and assisting their teacher with planning and fundraisers. Sam joined along the way, quickly becoming their friend with her headstrong disposition and bold ideas. It had always been the three of them, for years, and now that they were in senior year everything had started to feel a bit bittersweet.
Robin tried to not let it get to her, though, because graduation wouldn’t tear them apart. Her and Connor had the same dream, Broadway, and they had made a pact years ago to hold each other to it. Every audition, every show, and even every mess up and meltdown was done with the other there to support and help. Even when things got hard they were in it together, no way would one bad audition or anything ruin their chances at the best schools or roles.
Sam was there for fun, mostly. She was a good actress, easily immersed into any role she was given and ready to take the lead in activities. She was an athlete first and foremost, though, and that hadn’t changed much. She had her dreams set on olympic coaching since the beginning, yet joined the drama club because their counselor thought it would help her with team building. It did, for sure, and while Sam never changed her mind on her dream profession, she had made a lot of friends and found a certain love for musicals along the way.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” Sam asked once they all settled down a little, taking a seat beside her on the stage. Robin glanced at the clock across the room, noting that it was almost half-past six. She had stayed after school to run lines by herself and get a head start on some set design. The second semester had just begun and that meant the spring arts showcase was fast approaching, which meant the drama club was scrambling to start preparations for a show. Auditions had taken place only the week prior, which had Robin practicing painstakingly so she could secure the main role. It was, after all, her last year in the club; she ought to make a lasting impact.
“Rehearsal, on book still,” she replied, fidgeting with the worn corner of her script book. She had a lot of nervous energy fizzling beneath her confident exterior and unfortunately she wasn’t all too good at hiding it. Not from her friends, anyway, because Connor’s hand reached out to cease her worrying of the book’s fragile pages almost as quickly as they started.
“It’s only the second week,” he reminded her, “Of course we’re still on book. We’ll have it memorized soon enough, Robin, be patient.”
“I know.”
“We’re already ahead of schedule with costuming and props,” the blonde across from them added cheerfully, “Plus we can come in during lunch hour and get things done if we really wanted. I’m sure I could rope some of the freshman into helping paint and stuff.”
“And by that you mean bribe the kids into doing the grunt work.”
Faking a gasp, Sam glared at Connor a little, “How dare you accuse me of such manipulation.”
“Dramatic,” he stage-whispered to Robin, who was shaking her head at the whole thing. The two never stopped bickering but it was how they showed affection, even if they did butt heads sometimes. Between the three of them there was a lot of attitude and maybe a little too much ego in the room, if Robin was to be honest, so this was commonplace. It was all in good fun, though, and they had never actually had a proper falling out despite the lighthearted arguing.
“That’s kind of the point, Rhodes.”
Before any more non-club related dramatics could be had, their teacher walked into the auditorium. Tanya Hanes was a rather eccentric woman, with a never ending supply of anecdotes and interesting fashion choices, though Robin assumed that kind of came with the job description. What was a little odd, though, was the girl trailing behind Ms. Hanes.
She was only vaguely familiar to Robin, probably from one of her AP classes if she had to guess. The girl had her dark blonde hair in a meticulous half ponytail, leaving her sharp features unshadowed. She didn’t make eye contact with anyone, instead looking around the auditorium as if she was searching for anything to keep her occupied. Her beat-up red converse squeaked against the ugly tile floor as she stumbled a little over an extension cord, muttering something as she regained her balance.
“Everyone,” Ms. Hanes’ voice echoed through the large room, bringing everyone’s attention to her down near the front of the stage. She waited a few moments for the younger students to calm down from whatever they were messing with in the props area, waving them over until she deemed it quiet enough to continue.
“We have a new student joining us for this semester,” Ms. Hanes explained as she gestured to the blonde behind her, “She will be here to assist with any technical or set related work, as well as line prompting and costuming.”
There was a chorus of welcomes and hellos, Robin noticing the way the girl relaxed a bit at that. She was glad the drama club were relatively friendly people, since the comforting atmosphere managed to make new kids feel at ease.
“Care to introduce yourself, dear?”
“Uh… yeah. Ava Bekker,” her voice was lower than expected, laced with a pretty accent that seemed to catch everyone’s interest, “Nice to meet you all, I guess.”
“Robin, Connor, since you two are our presidents would you mind helping Ava become acquainted and set up with some jobs?”
“Hey! Don’t forget me,” Sam put on a little pout, obviously in the mood to joke around. She never wanted a leadership position in the club, since she already had that in her sports and didn’t want to take away from her best friends’ thing. Still, she liked to be included, though it was just assumed she would do whatever Robin and Connor did anyway.
Scrunching her nose at the use of her full name, Sam just nodded, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
After letting people know they would start practice as soon as their presidents got things sorted, Ms. Hanes went off to talk to some students. Taking that as their cue to go properly greet the new girl, Sam was the first to hop off the stage to meet Ava near the stairs. The blonde looked a little startled at her energy but offered her a polite smile regardless, holding out her hand to shake.
“Call me Sam,” she said happily, “Welcome to Hell.”
“Sammy,” Robin sighed and lightly hit her shoulder as she came up behind her, “Don’t do that.”
“I’m only teasing, Ro,” Sam replied coolly, “Newbie, meet the Queen of Hell herself.”
“Please,” Robin’s incredulous look only made her laugh, which had her best friend sighing yet again. She turned her attention to Ava, relieved to see that the other girl only looked amused at the antics.
“I’m Robin,” she said with a smile she hoped was reassuring, “I promise Sam will calm down once she stops showing off.”
“I don’t mind, at least one of us has the energy,” Ava replied, though her tone was a little guarded. She was nervous, that was obvious, and the other girl just hoped she would become more comfortable once she got acquainted with everyone. She still offered Robin a handshake too, which was an amusingly formal gesture for students around there.
“Well, I can show you backstage and get you set up with a script and some jobs to do, if you’d like.”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” Ava nodded and the smile she gave Robin just about melted her heart. It was the first genuine look the blonde had had since coming into the auditorium and it was sweeter than that ridiculous starbucks drink Connor was always carrying around. She was just as pretty as her smile, that was glaringly obvious, and Robin would be a fool to say otherwise. Not one to be shy very often, she recovered quickly and had no qualms about offering her hand to Ava, a smile of her own settling on her face when the other girl took it cautiously.
“C’mon then, Ava,” Robin replied as she tried to ignore Sam’s pointed look she saw in her peripheral, “I’ll introduce you to some people first.”
The light grows slowly outside of her window. It’s early, but not so much so that she can’t drag herself out of bed and into the protection of her slippers and robe. This late in the year, there is not so much work to be done, but they still keep to the habit of rising with the lazy sun and checking on the crops and the animals. The old cow, Angie, is still going, but she has fallen into a bit of a wheezy breath lately, against Ava’s best efforts. They’ve patched the barn thrice and leave a blanket draped over her massive back now to keep her warm.
Robin is still asleep beside her, and Ava allows her to stay that way. She doesn’t doubt the woman will be up soon, but she deserves even the thinnest sliver of extra rest when she works so hard throughout the day. As she nudges past the cats to get to the stairs, intent on starting breakfast, she realizes that she never cared to do this for Connor. If she was up, so was he. The same was true of him. But she loves Robin enough to let her sleep in those precious extra minutes. This is also, she suddenly notes, the first time she’s thought of Connor in nearly two weeks. A new record! And this was no idolization either, but simply a recognition that what they had probably wasn’t the best.
No matter what, she feels the closest to content she’s come in a long time as she cuts up fresh vegetables for an omelette. Connor’s photo no longer lives in her bedroom, instead keeping a calm residence on the counter next to a picture of Isaac as a calf (he’s moved onto the ranch, now, too far to visit) and Robin’s mother. There’s even a frame around his young face now. She doesn’t reach out to touch the photo, like she once might have, but she feels the urge when she looks at his smile for too long before turning back to the cutting board.
Once she actually gets working on the stove, she loses herself in the rhythm of it, easily focusing on something that exists here and now. Breakfast is real. Robin is real, when she presses up against Ava from behind and kisses her neck.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
Robin kisses her again before pulling away. “Good morning to you too. The rascals fed yet?”
“Not yet.”
As Ava finishes breakfast, Robin puts out food for the dogs and cats, both of them finished at the perfect time to sit down for food within minutes of each other. Ava means to be rational and calm about the whole thing. Unfortunately, her mind has far less charitable ideas about it. She thinks of Connor. Last night gave her another dream of his body on the floor. So cold. So bloody. Messy. She thinks of it when she bites into a strawberry, and Robin must see the look in her eyes because she goes all soft around the edges of her smile and reaches out to hold her hand.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Like always, Ava says no. She hasn’t reached the point where she can acknowledge the pain she’s been through, or her own role in what happened. Not to someone else, anyhow. She’s fairly certain that Robin knows the story, though, since it was on national news.
Robin doesn’t push her, but she does love her, and strokes a thumb over Ava’s knuckles to remind her of this fact.
Okay but I need to know more about your new au tho 👀👀
Ooh heck yeah <3 chekker time babey 😌🌸
***
So Ava was always a good student and person like she never talked back and was always punctual
She did a bunch of extracurriculars and tutoring (and she was in a band with her friends, she plays guitar 🥰)
She was in accelerated classes all through school and was planning on graduating early so she could perfect her application essays and entrance exams for med school
But then in the first quarter of her senior year her parents suddenly announced they were moving to the USA
Ava’s mum had gotten a job working for Cornelius Rhodes and it was an offer they couldn’t pass up :/
Ava hated this because it meant she would have to redo senior year because her graduation wouldn’t be for another few months and her parents wouldn’t let her stay in South Africa
Also American med school is so different so it would put her about five years back in terms of training and stuff :/
So it felt like her parents were throwing away her future and all she’d worked specifically for for the past 4+ years
She was pissed and hated that she had to leave her friends and her band and all her plans for the future behind
So she rebelled
And now she makes it her goal to piss off her parents <3
Which includes being disruptive in class, getting into things she shouldn’t, making out with girls in the school hallway (her parents “don’t support this gay phase”), swearing at teachers, etc
She still does all her school work and gets good grades but she’s also a little shit 😌🌸
Her partners in gay crime include April and Crockett, who are also pretty well known for being “bad” (they just like to test the boundaries but yknow teachers hate that) and April’s girlfriend Sarah <3
(Sarah’s not one for being too rebellious but she goes wherever April and Crockett do and her and Ava get along well!!)
So one day Ava gets in Deep Shit and has to decide between one month of detention or community service within the school
Not wanting to lose her freedom too much she begrudgingly chooses the community service, which happens to be working with the drama club for their semester production
Robin is the school’s resident actress basically
Y’know that one theatre kid who did years of musicals and plays in every local company and school program imaginable and has written her own screenplays and seen Broadway shows a billion times?
Yeah that’s Robin
She’s not stuck up like those kids stereotypically are though, she’s actually a sweetheart but anyway
Her best friends are Connor and Sam !! They’ve acted together in a lot of shows and have been friends since elementary school
So Robin’s the star of this production and the co-director
And she’s hell bent on making it her best performance yet because it’s her senior one and she knows reps from universities and agencies will be there
She hopes to get a (very deserved) scholarship from her dream arts university <3
So when her teacher brings in the South African transfer student who’s nothing but trouble and says she’ll be working with them for the semester
Robin is like :///
Ava notices immediately and she decides, like the lesbian gremlin she is, to pester her especially
There’s no way she’s letting Ava ruin her big show so she’s >:((( at first
But Ava is really charming and her laugh is cute and Robin can’t help but find it kind of endearing that she starts immediately coming over to her during rehearsals to see how she can help
Because she could go to the teacher, the other director, who is supervising her community service
But she decides to ask Robin instead <3
But also there’s tension between Connor and Ava because her mum works for his dad and she hates that because that’s why she’s here
And Robin’s friends don’t trust Ava
So everyone is very wary about each other for a while
