Can I get an Audrey infodump plsss :D
Yes of course you may :D
Ok so I first created her when I was like ten or eleven and she was originally a background character to a totally different story I was writing, but I got way too invested in her and Maya’s backstory that I decided to focus on writing about them
She’s your classic Goodluck Babe! Comphet lesbian with internalized homophobia because of how she was raised, and her whole character arc in my story is not only accepting that part of herself but also finding out who she is without societal pressure weighing her down.
She’s 100% based off the song Little Miss Perfect (which probably tells you everything you need to know). Adopted as a baby by a rich, kind of conservative couple who lost their daughter Alyson a while ago and needed a child to continue the family line or something (they can’t have children on their own anymore which is why they turned to adoption). Even though they do care for Audrey, they’ve always seen her as Alyson #2 and are often pressuring Audrey to be the perfect daughter to maintain the family image.
The lyrics “my parents spoiled me rotten, often I ask myself what did I do to get as far as I’ve gotten?” Apply to Audrey in the sense that her parents have provided her with all the materialistic things she could ever wish for and she in turn feels as if she should be grateful for them allowing her to be part of their family and that she owes them something because of it. It’s because of this that she becomes a raging workaholic and perfectionist with an unhealthy obsession with perfection and people-pleasing. She allows her parents to take control of her life, allowing them to control what school activities she partakes in, what career path she’s put on, and even who she dates, and she never questions it because she’s never been taught to. The “perfect” daughter wouldn’t question her parents, so why would she?
When the story starts, she’s finishing her second to last year of high school. She has a boyfriend, Christopher, who’s family has been close friends with Audrey’s for years (so duh of course they’re expected to be together) and he’s your classic golden boy and they’re the picture perfect couple on paper, and even though Audrey says she’s happy and in love with him, she’s definitely not. She doesn’t like kissing him, she doesn’t like when he gets touchy (like hand in hand or hand on hip etc) and she feels most comfortable around him when she’s able to secretly pretend they’re just friends. But obviously Audrey never tries to think too much about it, because she’s supposed to love Christopher, therefore she must.
Obviously she doesn’t because she’s lesbian but that’s so incredibly deeply repressed because that’s not who she’s supposed to be and therefore that’s not who she is.
That’s where Maya comes in!!!!
Maya is the best person ever, actually. She and Audrey have been best friends since kindergarten and she’s probably one of the few things keeping Audrey grounded and sane at this point in her life. Audrey admires her, because whereas she’d rather be fake in order to maintain an image, Maya is honest. She’s blunt. She’s fearless. She’s not afraid to be herself, she knows who she is, and Audrey is in complete awe of that (and secretly wishes she could have that freedom too). Maya has also been in love with Audrey since their freshman year of high school and has been pining like a useless bisexual ever since but that’s a story for another time ☝️
So anyway in the story Audrey and Maya get shipped off to the French countryside to spend a summer with Audrey’s cousin and her roommate (wink wink) for Audrey’s aunt’s wedding (Maya is allowed to come along because Audrey is allowed to have a plus one and her cousins love Maya) and long story short it’s a very very gay summer that they spend together away from Audrey’s parents and Christopher and school and everything that forces her into this little box of perfection that has been slowly suffocating her since childhood
And one thing leads to another and Audrey starts to maybe question some things. A lot of things. And then they have an almost kiss moment and her world is flipped upside down.
And then as if things aren’t complicated enough, Christopher and two of her friends arrive for the wedding! This is cuz Audrey’s 2 friends Josh and Nia are somehow related to the groom therefore they get to attend and Christopher is Josh’s plus one. This makes everything super awkward for Audrey because now she’s hyper aware of the fact that she literally isn’t attracted to Christopher at all and she doesn’t want a future where she marries him and he definitely doesn’t make her feel butterflies. But you know who does? Maya. But obviously our little gayby is in denial so she pushes those thoughts down deep.
Uhhh Christopher isn’t dumb btw he can tell something is off in their relationship so before the wedding (or at, idk) he pulls her aside for a talk and is like “hey I think we should take a break” and admits that he feels something is off with him too! And Audrey feels super guilty and like she’s done something wrong but Chris is nice cuz he’s a good guy and reassures her so now they aren’t together. Now that they aren’t together, Audrey is free to focus on other things.
Other things meaning Maya. She leaves the wedding early and there’s a whole thing with a lavender field (symbolism hehe) and they’re in the lavender field together and talking and one thing leads to another and they kiss hwoah gay and it’s amazing and nothing like kissing Christopher and Audrey is hot with the sudden realization that she actually really wants Maya as more than a best friend and it scares her so bad that she runs away and has a full on panic attack about it because hello identity crisis!!!
Because for her, liking Maya is more than about liking girls. It’s about the fact that she can’t remember the last time she ever felt like this for a guy, which makes her question if she’s ever liked a guy at all. Which leads her into a spiral of what even does she like? Who is she? And the more she spirals and asks these questions, the more she realizes she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know who she is without other people’s expectations molding her identity and that scares the shit out of her. Her entire life she’s been told who to be, and now this one thing, this one person, is making all of that crumble.
So yeah she isn’t having a very good time. She avoids Maya and a bunch of stuff happens and by the time everyone gets home Maya and Audrey aren’t talking at all. Maya has given up on trying to talk to Audrey and Audrey can’t even look in Maya’s direction without wanting to vomit.
The story events get a little blurry after that cuz I don’t have a clear vision of what happens, but basically Audrey confesses everything to Christopher because she’s really scared and he’s the only person she can talk to and she feels disgusted and terrified and so, so lonely and it’s a really great bonding moment between the two where Christopher reassures her that he’ll always love her no matter what and he’ll always be her friend blah blah blah and it does wonders for the start of her self acceptance journey.
And then there’s your classic romcom confession scene where she runs across town (because it has to be dramatic) to mayas house and climbs to her bedroom window and gives her this whole speech about how she’s spent her whole life saying I love you and every time it’s been a lie, and she doesn’t feel like she knows anything except that she isn’t lying when she says she’s in love with Maya. And then they kiss yay the end
Uhhhh also Audrey has a prosthetic leg that Maya painted wildflowers on (which Audrey’s parents weren’t happy about), the only school activity she’s in that she actually enjoys is track because running was a good outlet for whenever she started overthinking (aka running away from her problems), she’s valedictorian, she’s way too obsessed with tracking her weight (part of her obsession with perfection), she’s actually gotten really distant from her friends over the years because of how hyper-focused she is on being the perfect daughter/student/athlete and if it weren’t for Maya keeping her tethered she probably would’ve drifted away completely
Anyway I think that’s it for now yippee 🥳 she’s been with me for a while so a LOT of her story is stuff that I went through before I realized I was lesbian/when I actually had that realization and up until now @commute-connect-candy was the only person who knew everything about her
