#stepril fic

[saltypistachio]

i’m on the outside looking through - ch. 7

sterling throws her head back and laughs, loud and bright, and when you turn to pick up your drink from the table, you spot april’s face.

the first thing you notice is her jaw, oddly enough. usually it’s clenched tight enough that it makes your own jawbone hurt just by looking at it, but now it’s relaxed and borderline gaping. her eyes are wide and solemn and locked on your sister’s bare neck. you step into her view and her dazed expression snaps back into her usual haughty one.

she stands and offers sterling her hand. “april stevens,” she says. “i’m assuming you’re blair’s sister?”

sterling beams and does an awkward little bow. “sterling wesley at your service.”

;;

a fake dating au where relationships are strained and others are formed

CHAPTER 1  // CHAPTER 2 // CHAPTER 3 // CHAPTER 4 // CHAPTER 5 // CHAPTER 6

[stepril-fic]

"It’s 9:22 am and April Stevens is late. She was supposed to leave nearly ten minutes ago to get to school on time to catch the bus for the annual Senior Ski Trip. Instead, she’s staring at her suitcase trying to decide if she should pack the baby-blue sweater with the cute neckline or not and it’s all Sterling Wesley’s fault.

Somehow it’s always Sterling Wesley’s fault."

[girlpash]

Blair doesn’t let go of Sterling the whole ride home.

Sterling doesn’t speak, or look in the rear-view mirror, or stop crying; just stares blankly out the window thinking about the hand clinging to hers and about her sort-of ex-girlfriend pursuing her ex-boyfriend and about her mom actually being her aunt and about her twin sister being neither her twin *nor* her sister.

How do you mourn the loss of someone who’s still sitting right next to you?

(Post-S1 finale. Three parts, three hurting girls, three rounds of picking up the pieces. Title from Taylor Swift, per usual.)

[heathercollinsmd]

i want to finish this stepril fic continuation in one chapter. one. but if i introduce the threat of the maternal grandparents (who will be the next season twist villain imo) I will not be able to do that in one chapter.

BUT if I'm writing this in canon and Bowser is helping the girls figure this out because they don't trust their parents anymore... Bowser would immediately look into the family tree???

[stepril-fic]

April turns her attention back to the debate to distract herself from the way the sound of Sterling's laugh sets her blood on fire.

“Do you think any of these imbeciles even know how to craft a comprehensive piece of legislation?”

Sterling rolls her eyes. “Call me when you’re elected to congress, then.”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

“Ooh, can’t wait.”

April knows that Sterling is being sarcastic, but there’s a shine in her eyes and her mouth is still frustratingly smiling and God, April wants. ___

The long, arduous, and unexpected journey of how April Stevens fell in love with political organizing. And also Sterling Wesley.

[stepril-fic]

Things are already tense as April swipes into their shared room at the end of the hall, but it gets a whole lot worse when they actually enter. Ellen had promised the team double queen bed rooms; Sterling and April stand in silence and stare at the single king bed in front of them. Sterling’s heart is doing this thing where it climbs into her throat and beats against her windpipe, and she can’t swallow down any air at the thought of sleeping in such close proximity to April.

...

aka, an overnight debate tournament + Sterling Wesley, Queen of Yearning + possibly my favorite fanfic trope

[stepril-fic]

“You’re impossible,” April says, just a hair softer than before, but enough for Sterling to notice.

Then she’s turning around and jogging away, and Sterling notices the way her t-shirt rides up her lower back, the winter sunlight striking the inch of exposed skin rebelliously peeking through. Sterling swallows, watching the way the muscles in April's thighs tense and release with each purposeful step, and almost falls over again.

“Blair,” she hisses, once they’re finally released from gym class, “something crazy just happened, for the first time in months, since everything, I was… horny again.”

If Sterling’s not mistaken, something like a tear forms in Blair’s eye, before she’s crushing Sterling in a hug.

“I’ve never been more proud of you.”

[stepril-fic]

“I don’t want to come over to your house,” April says into the phone, not bothering to try to keep the excitement out of her voice, “I want you to come over to mine. Where no one else will be there.”

She hears a sharp breath, then a thunk through the line that she's 95% sure is Sterling dropping her phone. April grins to herself until Sterling’s voice is back on the line.

“Yeah, uh, yes, I would definitely like that, yes,” Sterling fumbles, sounding slightly out of breath and April has to sit down to manage the wave of affection that courses through her.

--

Or, these two gals try desperately to bone and end up accidentally having emotional growth along the way.