Strangers
In which Alice meets a mysterious brunette the last night of Pride and finds out some of Kiara’s dirty little secrets.
Trigger Warnings: Mention of drug and alcohol use, talk of cheating, a lot of gay.
Alice was sipping on a drink in her hands, slightly tipsy as she grinned and looked around the crowd. People kept asking if she was waiting for someone, and though she assured them she wasn't, it was clear the blonde was at least on the lookout for one person in particular. But Alice hadn't seen Kiara yet. Not tonight. So as she got another quick refill at the bar, she looked for someone that might be around Kiara's age. After all, she'd been young enough not to have an ID, right? Spying a brunette that looked far more baby-faced than Alice's warrior princess, she flagged her down with a quick tap on her shoulder. "Excuse me. Sorry. Don't mean to be rude- I just was wondering - have you seen a girl around with short pixie hair? Looks like a goddess and walks with the confidence of one too?"
Zella was out with the squad (literal squad, the cheerleading squad that is.) It was her turn to go back for drinks and she was hammered--not to mention high as a kite on some little tab Poppy had procured for them. She was floating on her way to the bar when some freckly bitch got in her way. At the description, Zella pulled her head back a little and snorted. "Uh. No. What kind of description is that?"
Alice gave a simple shrug. "An apt one, if I do say so myself. I don't know - you look to be about her age. Do you know someone named Kiara?"
Kiara. This bitch had just described Kiara as if she was some kind of manic pixie dream girl out of a romance novel. Oh, did Zella have news for her. Her eyebrows shot up at once. "Why do you wanna find her?" she asked, batting those eyelashes innocently. She was just nosy more than anything else, she didn't care, but the girl's response would determine how Zella answered.
Alice’s face lit up when recognition blossomed clear on this girl's.
"Oh,well- I just, I met her the other night, at the bonfire. We had a lovely time. She's excellent company. I've texted, but I was hoping to run into her a bit more organically again. Like the first time. At the bonfire," she clarified, though immediately felt silly for doing so. Blushing, Alice shook her head. "It's silly. I was just curious if she was about, is all."
Ah, well, that was--boring. Friendly little Kiara. She was just as annoying as her cousin, making friends everywhere she went. "She's not here, sorry to burst your bubble. Don't you know? She's underage," Zella scoffed.
Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Like that's stopped so many rowdy teens from sneaking their way into a party." Alice eyed the girl up as if to suggest she had probably done the same. "She's seventeen, isn't she? Not too far." The blonde looked down at her drink, twirling the straw a bit. "Besides, she seems very mature. Been through a lot, I think. It's in the eyes."
"Oh, yeah, real mature," Zella said with another snort. She twisted the straw around in her drink, eyeing this girl up and down. It was all in the eyes, and this girl had this ridiculous doe-eyed, innocent look. Oh, Zella was sure Kiara was eating that right up. "Like getting into fights at school and getting shitfaced at every party she goes to. Less mature, more sloppy."
Alice’s face screwed up at the girl's tone, and then even further at her words. "Fights? Wh- I'm sorry, what do you mean? Who is it she's meant to be fighting?"
"She's not meant to be fighting any one. But she got in a real scrap with some girl just a couple of months ago. I don't know the story behind it but she got her face absolutely fucked. If you ask me, it would probably be that mouth on her. Always talking before she thinks." Zella clucked her tongue and shook her head, like she was't the exact same way.
Alice gasped, a bit horrified, to be honest. "Oh my goodness. Poor thing... I couldn't even tell. I wonder what could have possibly started something like that. Did the other girl say something? Do something? Did they not get along?" She couldn't see Kiara just starting a fight out of thin air, even if it were just with her words. "I've got quite a mouth myself but goodness, I've never gotten my face bashed in for it." She had been thrown into a special version of hell because of it, though. "I feel like there's more to the story. Kiara just seems so... nice."
"Yeah, it's always the real fucked up ones that act real nice, but actually aren't. I feel bad for her girlfriend or whatever. She's got her hands full with that out." Zella scoffed again and shook her head,though she hid a little smirk into the straw of her drink.
Alice paled, face falling with the word 'girlfriend.' "She has a girlfriend? Like, a right proper one?" Kiara hadn't mentioned that. She definitely hadn't mentioned that. But, Alice sucked in a deep breath and shook her head. "They've probably got an open relationship, yeah? I've heard of those. A bit surprising for someone so young, but... b-but admired. I like openness."
She was making excuses for a near complete stranger, but she couldn't help it.
Wow. This girl was either desperate or someone had made her seriously delusional at some point at her life. Kiara attracted crazy, though, so it made sense. Callie was like boring as shit. No wonder Kiara had already cheated on her (probably.) Man, this was juicy. "Uh, no, pretty sure they're not. Kiara is like in love with love or whatever. One of those real romantic types. Got a history of cheating,though." With me, Zella added primly to herself.
"There's nothing wrong with loving love." Alice was quick to jump on the defensive, but even she couldn't help running a hand through her hair as she looked around, feeling her heart sink. "Just as long as it doesn't define you or ruin relationships... And as long as you don't cheat." Was this Kiara really a cheater? Of course. It made sense. Alice couldn't have just met a nice, magnetic, beautiful, actually gay girl who seemed to be actually interested in her. She wasn't that lucky. She never was.
"I'm sorry, what did you say your name is?" She hadn't, Alice knew that, but she needed to know who was giving this information exactly.
Zella looked the girl up and down once more. "Oh, my name is Jenny. Jenny Foxworth. It's lovely to meet you. I'm so sorry to break the news to you. This is a small town, I forget that not everyone knows everyone."
Alice repeated the name back, "Jenny," as though it was this stranger's name she was trying to grasp and not what she'd just said about Kiara. "I'm Alice. It's... Ah, it's lovely to meet you as well. And there's no need to apologize, nothing's ruined." Had there even been anything to ruin in the first place? The feeling in her stomach would suggest so. "I'm new, so... I'm sorry, um- You know Kiara how?"
"We go to school together. Small school. News travels really fast there." Zella put on another pout. "Do you want me to buy you a drink to make up for it? I feel real awful. Truly."
Alice laughed nervously, tucking her hair behind her ear. "No, you've no need to do a thing like that. Besides, I don't want you to go about feeling bad for anything. There's nothing that's your fault, after all, and I'm fine. Really." She insisted, toothy grin and all, though it faltered slightly at the edges.
What ugly teeth. Zella imagined what it'd be like to kiss her--all teeth and no lip. Still, Zella smiled. Her freckles looked like confetti underneath the neon flashing lights, through her drug haze. "No, really, I insist. I was on my way to get a refill anyhow. It's the least I can do."
Alice gave a solemn nod, giving in. "Alright, then. I suppose that would be okay." She wanted to add Just don't go making me feel all jittery only to turn out to be a fake, too. But instead she just smiled,letting this girl lead the way.
Zella smiled wide. "Great! And--I'm gonna preface this by saying I am decidedly not taken. Also, open relationships sound practically ideal. Are you in one?" She tugged her over to the bar and flagged the bartender down. "I'll have a shot of tequila. And, whatever the lady would like."
Alice blinked at the way all this information was being thrown at her at once. She couldn't help but blush even though now a tiny voice chastised her for it. Fool me once, and all that. "Am I...? No, no. I'm not. But I've always found the idea... I don't know. Nice. All love, no jealousy or fighting..." Alice hated fighting if she could avoid it. Turning to the bartender, she balked for a moment. "Ah... I'll just have another Jack and Coke, if you don't mind." She set her empty glass on the table.
Zella was making this girl blush--that was cute, in a pathetic kind of way. Zella really hoped that Kiara liked this girl. She was so--simple. So easily manipulated. Zella was not normally very good at the whole manipulation thing. That was more Ana's style, but damn, this girl made it so easy. It was actually kind of fun. "Jack and Coke. Now, that's a classy drink. I like it. Not many girls order something like that."
Alice wanted to say that Kiara ordered drinks like that. That it was part of how they met - getting a drink. But she didn't say that. Instead, she smiled and gave a shrug. "I'm sticking to simple tonight. Looking to get pissed and have a good time, you know? Although, you're being very direct. Straight with the shots. I like it," she smiled.
"Direct is my middle name," Zella said with a smile. "Two tequila shots." The bartender brought them over complete with a lime and salt. Zella licked her hand, keeping eye contact with the girl--whose name she still hadn't got, before putting her hand in the salt. "To open relationships?" Zella asked, batting her eyelashes as she raised her glass.
Alice had a protest ready on her lips before watching the girl's tongue dart out of her own to lick her hand. She blinked,and picked up her own tequila shot. Alice had to admit, she liked it better when Kiara had toasted to pride and love and her freckles. But now the thought came peppered with doubts. So she smiled. "Yeah. To open relationships."
Zella raised her eyebrows but she smiled and passed the salt to Alice. "You've taken a tequila shot properly before,yeah? It's real easy if you haven't."
Alice blinked and gave a little "Oh!" setting down her glass. "Right. Right. Sorry." She'd been distracted. By the licking. And thinking of Kiara. Licking the back of her own hand, she poured the salt on it too and picked up her shot again. "It's been a while,sorry. Cheers, yeah?"
"Cheers," Zella clinked their glasses before knocking hers back. "No need to apologize, by the way--" she paused,she would've said the girl's name but she didn't know it. "What was you're name again? I'm so sorry, you asked for mine but I didn't get yours! That's horribly rude of me."
Alice clinked her glass against the other girl's, then knocked her shot back with a grimace before moving on to licking the salt and sticking the lime in her mouth. After a gasp, she laughed, flushed from the warmth of the alcohol, and waved a hand. "Oh, I think it might've gotten drowned out by the music, it's fine love. Alice. My name is Alice."
Whoops. Forgot her name. It was a boring name anyways. Alice. "Well, would you like to dance, then, Alice?"
Alice wiped the back of her arm over her lips and laughed as she nodded. "Yeah- Yeah, I would. I'd like that."
"Wonderful," Zella said with a grin like a Cheshire cat. She held her hand out for the other girl and pulled her along towards the dance floor. When they got to a good spot she turned and put her hand on the girl's waist. It was very soft. Her freckles were looking like confetti again. Zella moved closer so their hips brushed.
Alice slipped her hand into Zella's hesitantly. Another girl, another Pride event, another hand to hold. Was this girl hiding secrets? Alice was suddenly weary of who to trust. But she tried not to think about it. She would confront Kiara about it all later. Right now, she was just going to let this cute girl pull her into dancing. Smiling, she let the music define her rhythm and mirrored the girl's movements, brushing her hips against hers in return. It was no twirling Kiara, or snuggling by a bonfire, but it was a bit tingly in a different way.
After a minute or so, Zella took another step closer, her head tilting slightly to the side, eyes flicking down to Alice's lips and back up. Her body was zinging with that adrenaline she got when she was doing something bad. She rubbed their pelvises together slightly harder, her hand sliding down from Alice's waist to her ass, though she didn't grip it, merely rested it there, quirking an eyebrow.
Alice found everything to be moving so fast suddenly. Their bodies moving in tune, Zella's hand on her rear, and the way she was looking at Alice... It made breathing a bit more difficult. With Kiara, it had been all toothy grins and blushes and glitter exploding with butterflies. But this... this was warm blood and heart-thumping and the bass vibrating her limbs. Except... she didn't know if she wanted to kiss this girl. She still felt weird, though the alcohol was helping. Alice placed a hand on the brunette's waist as well, pretending it was more to steady herself even as she met the other's eyes, her own brows raising in response.
This had to be Alice's idea. That was what Ana's voice was whispering the back of her mind. And that was alright with her. She already had ensnared her, just needed to close the trap. "You're freckles, they’re--lovely. I can see why Kiara was taken." Kiara's freckles were nicer, a quiet part of Zella's brain whispered. She didn't listen to it. Just smiled and squeezed, just lightly, at Alice's ass.
Alice blushed, at first, a nervous giggle rising to her lips as her freckles were once again complimented by a cute girl. A girl who was very obviously hitting on her. Still, bringing up Kiara didn't help. Ironically, she had the same thought - that Kiara's freckles, particularly the splash of them she'd made from her drink that got her to laugh - were much prettier. She still didn't know what to believe about Kiara, but for right now, this girl - Jenny - she was fondling Alice and complimenting her and... shouldn't that make Alice want to kiss her? She swayed forward slightly, and stuttered out a quiet "You've got very lovely eyes. I feel like- like... there's a lot behind them."
Zella laughed a little at that. "Oh? Well, you did say it was all in the eyes,didn't you?" she purred quietly, flicking them down and then back up again. "Yours are--bright, like sunshine." Look, Zella was no poet.
Alice huffed another laugh, flushing again. "Yeah? Now that's a new one. Sunshine eyes. I'll have to remember it."
"Bright and clear," Zella said, inching her lips closer. She could feel Alice's breath on her tongue, the tequila sharp and sweet. Just how Zella liked it.
Alice doubted somehow that her eyes were clear. Bright, maybe, but clear? They felt hazed over with alcohol and the closeness of her body against the brunette’s; the way their lips stood just inches apart.
She warred with herself. She’d snogged the hell out of Kiara that night at the bonfire. Had really, really liked her. And thought it was mutual. But if what this girl said was true, and Kiara had a girlfriend, she stood no chance anyway. Especially if they were in love and committed and not open at all. This girl… well, she was into open relationships. No harm, right? At least, it’s what Alice told herself as she took in a deep breath and closed the gap between them, kissing the other girl firmly and winding her free hand up into her hair as she did so. Jesus, did she hope she wasn’t getting shit screwed up.
Hook, line, and sinker.
Zella smiled against Alice’s lips, but it was a grin, feral in its nature. But that was always Zella, wasn’t it? Wild and dangerous. She shouldn’t be doing this, but it just made her stomach bubble and her toes curl in her shoes. She’d kissed Kiara for the first time the same way, while she’d been in a relationship. It wasn’t something they should’ve been doing. It never was.
That’s how Zella liked it, though. Her scalp tingled as the girl wound her fingers through it. She wanted her to tug, but this girl seemed soft. She wasn’t like Kiara. She wasn’t going to bite back. Still, Zella’s hand curled around her hip. They weren’t moving anymore, both of them focused on the kiss. Her hand moved up her back to pull her closer. She poked her tongue out of her mouth, running it along the seam of Alice’s lips, tasting the tequila there.
Alice couldn’t believe she was kissing another girl for the second time in less than a week. She had been having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that she’d kissed one girl, and now this? If she weren’t so absorbed in the moment, with alcohol running through her veins and warming her from the inside out, she might think more on the confusing nature of this entire night.
But as it stood, she was absorbed into the kiss. Just like before, she thought about how soft a girl’s lips were and how smooth the skin; how different it was to tug gently on long strands of hair rather than try to get a grip on boy-short locks. Kissing this girl, Jenny, was different from kissing Kiara in few ways. They were both soft, but Kiara had been tentative and unsure and they gave each other the push and pull closer - a mutual hesitation met with mutual encouragement.
She shouldn’t be thinking about Kiara right now. So instead, Alice focused on how kissing this brunette felt like little sparks in her stomach and not being able to breathe properly. Jenny’s tongue running across her lips caused them to open easily, and her tongue darted out to tease at the other girl’s as well as she deepened the kiss. Kiara had tasted like the fruity concoction they’d both shared. This girl tasted like salt and lime and tequila, just like Alice was sure she did as well.
It’d been awhile since Zella had hooked up with anyone at the club. The whole building shook with the music, drowning out her thoughts, turning her brain to putty, which was exactly how Zella liked it. She didn’t like to think, she liked to act.
And what better way to get revenge than kiss the girl that the girl you were trying to get revenge on had kissed?
The truth of it all would take a while to come out, but that was alright with Zella. She didn’t mind playing with this girl in the meantime, like a cat with a spool of yarn. Her tongue was soft and her mouth was hot and she tasted sharp, even though her curves were soft. Zella nipped at her lip and slid the hand on her waist farther down to grab gently at her ass again.
It was odd. Not necessarily in a bad way, it was just- strange, how Alice wasn’t the one taking the lead this time. Rather, Jenny was the one biting at her bottom lip, and the blonde sighed as she tugged at the strands of ebony in her fingers a bit more, kissing the girl a tad more fiercely.
It helped to drown out her thoughts and suddenly it was like the only things inhabiting Alice were the music, the warmth, and this small brunette. And though Alice had experienced someone gripping at her arse before, it definitely hadn’t been with the slender fingers of a female. It was different, but nice different. The kind that whispered into her mind how much nicer it would feel if those same fingers slid their way up the skirt of Alice’s dress.
Was this moving too fast? Okay, maybe this was moving too fast. Just like Alice’s heartbeat. But she loved it, that rush. She liked the way her body vibrated with the bass and how she was forgetting other people were around. She moved to take Jenny’s face in both hands and kissed her breathless, becoming more fervent and passionate. God, how long had it been since she’d been snogged and fondled? Sure, Kiara and her had snogged plenty the night of the bonfire, but that had been a chaste, almost innocent sort of snogging.
This felt nothing like innocent.
When Alice deepened the kiss, at first, Zella was surprised. This girl had that wild-eyed innocence about her that said she’d never fucked or been fucked. But, she didn’t kiss like that. She kissed like she wanted more, more. Zella was happy to oblige, opening her mouth, sucking Alice’s tongue like it was the lime they’d both just had.
They made out for a few more minutes, until the song ended. There were hands in hair and hands twisting in the fabric of clothes. Zella pushed back as much as Alice pushed forwards, fighting to stay in control of the kiss. The blood in her veins singed.
She hadn’t expected this, when she’d decided this little plan. (Still didn’t know what the outcome of the plan was, she’d just thought of it about fifteen minutes ago.) But, she wasn’t going to complain. It would be short lived. Kiara would eventually find out, Alice would eventually find out. Zella was content to cross that bridge when she came to it.
The kiss broke with a pop at the end of the song. Zella brushed her nose against the other girl’s breathing harshly. “Would you like to move this somewhere more private?” She tilted her head to nip at Alice’s lip again.
When the kiss broke, Alice was still fumbling in a haze. She almost didn’t hear Zella’s whisper as the song transitioned into a new beat, and in fact, a part of her wanted to pretend like she hadn’t at all. But she did. She heard the suggestive question and she even shivered a bit when the girl nipped at her bottom lip once more.
It had been so long since she’d felt like this, and it wasn’t exactly as though it had led down the best road with the last - and only - person she’d slept with. Taking a deep breath and swallowing thickly, Alice laughed a bit as she flushed, embarrassed. “A-Actually, I… I’m enjoying the dancing. I hope that’s alright.”
Oh, so maybe she wasn’t what Zella had imagined, what that kiss had told her. The disappointment flashed across her face--as fast and sharp as lightning. She had never been good at hiding her emotions the way her sister was, the way her mother was. Instead she used those emotions to her advantage. But, right now, she was not supposed to be herself, she was supposed to be Jenny. L O L.
So, Zella reluctantly let go of Alice’s ass and moved her hand up her spine so it hovered around the middle of her back. She tilted her head and smiled that sharp smile again.
“Of course, dancing is perfectly fine.” Though, she couldn’t quite make her words as honey sweet as they’d been before.
Alice smiled and let out a low breath of relief. Pressing her forehead against the other girl’s, they moved back into dancing with the beat. The haze of desire drifting away now that the kiss had broken, Alice spent the rest of the night fighting both the urge to get it back as well as thoughts of Kiara invading her head.
Eventually, the brunette left her and Alice went back to Edelweiss with another girl’s number, and a lot of questions.
