Keeping Score - part 2 (Patreon)

PDF is attached at the bottom, and text is in the main post!

You all spoke on the poll and I have listened - the Abbie/Rose story continues :)

I mentioned this in a comment on the last post, but I wanted to elaborate to everyone - though this part (Keeping Score/part 1 of 3) takes place in high school, this is not a young adult romance. Keeping Score will be completed in the next couple of months - mostly laying a fun background for the remainder of the story, as the 2nd and 3rd parts wouldn't make as much sense without this roadmap of their dynamic!

Without further adieu, enjoy!

------------------- Keeping Score---------------------

Unfortunately for Abbie, Mrs. Gellar, the terrifying librarian, did take it upon herself to tell Coach Dru about her spat with Rose in the library at the end of last week.

It became very apparent, as Coach called them both over at the beginning of practice, right after they finished their warm-up run.

Abbie’s stomach sank as she saw the strict expression on Coach’s face.

“Did you say anything?” Rose hissed to her from the side of her mouth.

Abbie darted her gaze to Rose, but was able to control her expression before it turned into a full-blown glare.

It didn’t matter, anyway, because Rose hissed, “Well, don’t look at me, Lemon! She’s going to know we’re talking!”

Rolling her eyes, Abbie faced forward, keeping her head down as they continued to trudge across the indoor field. “No,” she muttered back. “Why would I also rat myself out?”

Rose merely hummed in that haughty tone.

They both took a deep breath as they came to a stop in front of their coach, who stood with her arms crossed over her chest. Even though Abbie was the same height as Coach Dru, she felt like Coach was looking down at her.

“I presume you both know why you’re standing in front of me,” Coach started, arching them both a look.

“Yeah,” Abbie answered, promptly, at the same time that Rose stated, “I believe so.”

“Good, then I won’t have to drag a confession out of you. Two of my best, most hardworking players, two people that the rest of the team relies on, fighting in the middle of the library? To the point that Gellar had to break it up? What could have possibly been that big of a deal, huh?” She slid her gaze between them, expectantly.

Abbie shot Rose a look out of the corner of her eye, wondering how she wanted to play this.

Because Abbie – especially having lived the last several years with Caroline – wanted to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Which was that Rose had been a control freak that thrived on insulting Abbie for no reason.

“We were assigned to work on a project together, and we weren’t seeing eye-to-eye,” Rose stated, rolling her shoulders back as she looked up at Dru. “It was an embarrassing mistake, and it won’t be happening again.”

“It better not,” Coach cautioned. “On this team, we treat each other – and everyone else – with respect. And if you have a serious issue, please come to me. You’re both graduating this year; it’s time to lead by example.”

Abbie took that to heart, nodding solidly.

Fine, yes. Even if Rose had been a bitch to her, she could see that she should have handled it differently.

“With that in mind, I’ve decided we’re going to spend the second half of practice today doing shoot-out drills. And who better to pair up – as my starting goalkeeper and lead striker – than you two?” She lifted her eyebrows, making eye contact with both of them. “I want a respectful practice. I want to see you both working hard, keeping in mind that you are on the same team.”

“Yes, Coach,” they both echoed.

“Think you can keep up?” Rose muttered as soon as their backs were turned to Coach Dru.

Abbie scoffed. “I think you’re delusional if you think I can’t.”

As they ran some passing drills before their shootout, Abbie glanced across the turf at Rose, whose face was set in a deep frown. “Did you decide on the topics I sent you?”

She’d send Rose three possible topics for their capstone last Friday, as per Rose’s request when she’d stalked away from Abbie. Then, they’d seen each other on Saturday for their game but hadn’t spoken a word.

And now, as Monday was upon them, Abbie still hadn’t heard a word from Rose one way or the other. The longer that dragged on – even if it had only been a few days – the more anxious Abbie felt, wondering if Rose was going to be adamant that they continue with the Middle Ages Lit. topic she wanted to appeal to Ms. Belanger.

Rose grunted softly under her breath as she kicked the ball – harder than was necessary for their “friendly” passing drill. “Yes. I did some light research on all of them over the weekend. My preferred choice is to examine classically considered feminist literature with a modern-day critique. I’ve been compiling a list of sample works that I think we should incorporate.” She aimed a look at Abbie, “Unless you think that’s too controlling.”

Abbie kicked the ball back, also harder than was necessary, as annoyance sparked through her. “Obviously I don’t. If you’d been willing to consider any other topics right off the bat, we wouldn’t be freaking banned from the library.”

Yet another consequence that they were now enduring after last week.

Mrs. Geller clearly took arguing in her territory seriously, because Abbie had woken up on Friday morning with a message on her student portal, informing her that due to inappropriate behavior, she and Rose weren’t allowed to utilize the school library for the remainder of the month, unless it was with a class, accompanied by a teacher.

Even from this distance, she could see the way Rose’s jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. “Well, the topic is now decided, so we can just work on the project and get it over with. Sound good to you, Lemon?”

“Freaking great,” she muttered. Shaking out her shoulders, she refused to be pulled into the dark place with Rose, especially under the watchful eye of Coach Dru.

“I was thinking we could start Wednesday after school, since we only have morning practice that day. Which gives us a couple of days to compile the sources we want to use, and we can compare notes and make the outline for the project.”

Lifting her eyebrows in surprise at how… civil Rose sounded, Abbie agreed. “Yeah, that works.” She hesitated, before clearing her throat, “Since we can’t work in the library, do you want to get together in your dorm or at my house?”

Abbie honestly didn’t know which she’d prefer. Rose’s dorm was way more convenient, since they were both going to end the day here and all. But without any proper supervision in Rose’s dorm, Abbie was a little worried it would turn into a blood bath.

On the other hand, Abbie also wasn’t sure she wanted Rose in her home. Her safe place.

Over the summer, Abbie had Amaya over a handful of times, and a few other girls from the team had come over for the pool party she’d thrown for her birthday. But – obviously – Rose hadn’t been in that group.

“Your house,” Rose answered quickly, with a steely resolve in her tone. “We’ll meet at your house, after school on Wednesday.”

***

Anxiety riddled through Abbie Wednesday afternoon at the final bell.

Rose was coming over to her house. Rose Elliston was going to be in her home. Why was this happening to her?

Feeling like she was walking to the gallows, Abbie walked out of her final class for the day. Rather than head right for the exit, she steeled herself and walked across the hallway where afternoon AP Physics class was.

She leaned back against the wall next to the lockers, swinging her keyring in circles around her index finger as she waited.

Rose emerged at the end of the line of students, and – as always – looked immaculate in her uniform. Abbie swore that it was never wrinkled or creased or showed any signs of all-day wear, even after seven hours of school. Which was crazy; what, did Rose find time to iron her uniform over lunch or something?

“Ready?” She asked, pushing herself off from the wall, clenching her car keys tightly in her palm. It was like she was inviting the devil over; you should never invite a vampire into your home!

Rose stumbled to a stop, not seeming to have realized Abbie was there. “What are you doing here?”

Confused, Abbie could only stare. “Um… it’s Wednesday? We’re supposed to be working on our capstone together?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “I know that; what are you doing outside of my classroom?” She tilted her head, lips pulling into a considering frown. “Were you… waiting for me?”

Ridiculously, Abbie felt her cheeks heat with a blush. “It’s not a big deal, because – again – we’re going to work on our project together?”

“How did you even know where I would be?” Rose asked, and Abbie had to wonder if she was being difficult on purpose.

It sure as hell felt like it.

Abbie gestured behind her at the classroom she’d exited from. “I had World History with Ciocca last period; your classroom is, like, five feet away from mine. We literally pass each other in the halls after this period every single day.”

Rose arched a single, stupidly perfect eyebrow. “Huh.”

Closing her eyes tightly, Abbie inhaled a deep, calming breath. “Look, are you ready to go? The sooner we get started, the sooner we can finish. Do you need to get changed or anything?”

Abbie knew that Amaya liked to go right to her room and change out of her uniform as soon as the day ended, even if she was still just hanging out on campus. Abbie, for her part, also stripped off her uniform as soon as she got home.

Rose’s nose wrinkled at the suggestion. “What? No, I’m fine.”

“Well, why do you seem so confused, then?” Abbie’s exasperation leeched into her tone, no matter how much she was trying to be, like, magnanimous or whatever.

“I didn’t realize you were going to be driving me to your house,” Rose shot back, her own bafflement becoming clear.

And, oh.

Abbie lost some wind in her sails, but she was no less confused. “Why wouldn’t I drive you? I have a car on campus and we’re going to my house? How else were you planning on getting there?”

And, she was officially, legally, allowed to drive other people, unsupervised! As of today!

God, she couldn’t believe the first person she was driving around was Rose.

Rose, who coolly shrugged. “I assumed I’d be taking an Uber.”

“An Uber?” Abbie repeated, with no small amount of incredulity. She couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you even talking about?”

Rose huffed out a breath as she crossed her arms, clearly irritated by Abbie’s response.

Sobering, Abbie reached up and drew a hand through her hair. “Look, it’s up to you. If you’d rather take a car to my house and meet me there, it’s your choice. I don’t care. I figured this made way more sense, but you can do whatever you want.”

With that, she shrugged and turned on her heel.

Honestly, she hadn’t been sure whether or not Rose would follow her. In fact, she was legitimately shocked when she felt Rose catch up to her.

“I hope you’re a safe driver, Lemon.”

“My moms wouldn’t let me have a car if I wasn’t,” she shot back.

The twenty-five-minute drive to her house was just as unpleasant, just as Abbie would have suspected.

Starting with Rose looking around Abbie’s car in disdain – it was clean! Just a little cluttered in the backseat, jeez – to Rose primly sitting with her legs crossed tightly in the passenger side and her arms folded over her waist, as if she was anticipating Abbie to crash into something and that her own sheer willpower would hold her against the seat.

Abbie slowly drove down the long, curving driveway of the house. She didn’t have a spot in the garage – understandably, those were reserved for her mom and Caroline – but she did have a dedicated parking spot adorned with a wooden sign hanging in front of it that Caroline had arranged for her when she’d gotten the car.

Let’s get this over with, was her internal mantra, and she repeated it firmly to herself as she undid her seatbelt, grabbed her backpack, and got out of the car.

“This is your house?” Rose asked, as she slowly climbed out of the car, staring with wide eyes up Abbie’s home.

Unsure of Rose’s response and wary of her tone, Abbie looked between Rose and the house. “… yeah?”

Rose’s confusion was blatant, as she turned to face Abbie, and said in an accusatory tone, “I thought you were poor.”

Closing her eyes and shaking her head, Abbie just – she – “Seriously, what the hell is the matter with you?”

“I’m not saying that in a bad way,” Rose quasi-defended, narrowing her eyes into a glare.

“So, you wouldn’t have been nicer to me if you’d thought my family had money, then? Because that’s exactly what it sounds like you’re saying,” Abbie set her jaw, heated anger working through her.

Could she get out of this capstone and tell Ms. Belanger that Rose was a bigot? She felt like that had to have some sway.

“No!” Rose shot down, and to her credit, she sounded offended. “I don’t care how much money your family has, Lemon, I was just saying that I thought… I didn’t think…” She trailed off, pursing her lips as if realizing that she perhaps shouldn’t say it again.

Okay, Abbie couldn’t do this. Really, seriously, she could not stand in her driveway and have this insane conversation any more. She needed to get inside and get working on this project so that Rose could go home. And, at this rate, Abbie was thinking that she could Uber her ass back.

She turned on her heel and quickly made her way to the front door, able to sense that Rose was right behind her.

Abbie quickly keyed in the lock code and walked in. Against her better judgment, she flexed her hand on the doorknob and held the door open for Rose to enter her home, rather than shutting it quickly and firmly in her freaking face.

Rose quickly and efficiently took off her shoes, placing them neatly to a corner in the mudroom. Abbie watched curiously as she slowly closed the door.

“Come on,” Abbie sighed out, leading Rose into the main floor of the house.

The manners her mom had painstakingly raised her with warred with the urge to get this the fuck over with. In the end, manners won out – she could imagine the disappointed look on her mom’s face if she came home and found out that Abbie hadn’t treated her “guest” politely.

“Do you want a tour?” She gritted out.

Rose was already staring around the semi-open floor plan with wide eyes, seemingly taking in every little detail that was available to her. “Yes. I’d love that,” Rose answered, her voice strangely hoarse, and a little breathy. Almost like she couldn’t catch her breath?

Baffled and put-upon, Abbie led Rose past the staircase through the large double-arched entry at the back of the house. “This is the kitchen,” she stated, before she threw her arm behind her. “Right off there through that doorway is the dining room.”

Hurriedly, she led Rose back down the hall, pointing into the airy, open rooms as they went. “That’s Caroline’s office. That’s the den. That’s the first-floor bathroom. That leads to the garage.” Finally, she came to a stop in front of the stairs, where they’d began a minute ago. “And that’s the living room,” she finished, jerking her thumb over her shoulder toward the couches and television. “Okay?”

Rose wasn’t looking at her. Rather, she was still walking along the line of the stairs, peering into the rooms Abbie had pointed out with wide eyes.

Finally, she nodded and acknowledged Abbie, as she looked at her once more.

Those large, dark, doe brown eyes were so wide, and Abbie – Abbie really didn’t have the energy to dig into it.

“Come on, let’s go to my room.” She tilted her head toward the stairs. Unable to help herself, she threw Rose a look over her shoulder. “All right, fine. I have to ask – why were you so sure I was “poor”?”

Like, what the fuck?

Rose was following Abbie diligently up the steps, but still wore that surprised expression, as she answered, “Well, for starters, you’re on scholarship.”

“We live in one of the best public-school districts in the country,” Abbie retorted. “Why would my parents pay for private school?”

Finally, Rose seemed to get some semblance of normalcy back, as she rolled her eyes. “Let’s not get into this again, okay? Besides that, your parents are…”

She trailed off, sliding her gaze to the wall of pictures that were aligned up the stairs. The one she seemed to focus on, however, was the one of her parents on their wedding day a few years ago.

They’d just finished their ceremony, both wearing white dresses, as they stared into each other’s eyes, smiling so widely.

Abbie had taken that very photo, and she was very proud of it. So were her mom and Caroline.

The warmth that picture usually infused her with sharply turned to disgusted anger, and she quickly turned to face Rose, incredulously. “Did you seriously think that my family was poor, because my parents are queer?!”

Uncharacteristically, Rose looked at her with her eyes wide and – seemingly – too surprised to speak, as her mouth opened but no words came out.

And she didn’t need to speak, honestly, because Abbie could see it. She could see that Rose was trying to backpedal out of this, but couldn’t quite summon the angry, defensive words she was so often quick with.

Abbie saw fucking red, and she stepped down onto the stair below hers, the one Rose was standing on, so she could look her right in the eye as she hissed, “Look, you can call me Lemon, and you can make your snide little comments to me, and that’s whatever. But if you have something shitty to say about my parents, then you can leave. Right now. I’m not even close to kidding. You can call your car and get the fuck out of here.”

She gestured to the picture that had started this conversation, pointing at Caroline. “She’s a lawyer – a really, really good one – and I’m sure she’ll be able to make a case as to how I should be able to do my own capstone or get a new partner, rather than work with you. I don’t care if your dad owns the fucking school.”

“I don’t care that your parents are qu-queer,” Rose finally seemed to find her ability to speak, even though she very – and very unusually – stumbled over her words, which were – just as unusually – spoken so quietly, without that angry edge she always had.

“Really?” Abbie scoffed back, crossing her arms as she stared and waited for Rose to come back from this, somehow.

Rose – finally – managed to gather herself to some semblance of normal, as she, too, crossed her arms defensively. “Really,” she shot back, setting her jaw tightly. “I don’t care. I’m just surprised that they look so normal when you sometimes act like you were raised by wolves, is all.”

Closing her eyes tightly, Abbie shook her head at the weak defense.

She just had to get through this. A couple of hours of working together every week and they could be done, never to see one another again.

“Whatever, Rose. But I mean it – one comment about my parents, and–”

“I heard you, Lemon. You and your legal threats. Got it.”

Abbie bit at the inside of her cheek, before she slowly released a deep, calming breath. Well, it was supposed to be calming. It didn’t necessarily do the trick, but oh well.

She turned and jogged up the stairs at a clip, not wanting to give Rose more time to look at their family photos. “Come on.”

Rose, annoyingly and unsurprisingly, kept pace with her easily. “I thought we weren’t supposed to say… queer,” she whispered the word, the sound of it clearly foreign on her tongue.

Abbie narrowed her eyes at Rose as she walked down the hall toward her room. “If you’re saying it derogatorily, then you’re right; you shouldn’t,” she emphasized.

Taking a deep breath, she really couldn’t believe she was about to let Rose Elliston into her bedroom. Into her sanctuary. Into the heart of the place that represented all of Abbie’s interests and hopes and dreams and glimpses into her past.

Without letting herself dwell on it, she opened the door and walked in.

This was her space, and she was going to control how this went. Rose was in her house, now.

Settling into that mindset, Abbie dropped her backpack where she normally would, right next to her desk. “You can put your stuff… wherever. I usually work at my desk, but I figured we’d just set up right here on the floor. If you need to go to the bathroom, it’s that door right there,” she pointed across the room, making sure Rose didn’t end up walking into Abbie’s closet.

Rose took her time entering into the room and looking around, like she was walking into the habitat of an animal at the zoo.

The pit of Abbie’s stomach tingled with embarrassment, but she steeled herself against it; nothing here was embarrassing.

Her room was always tidy, but she’d made sure to clean it properly last night, knowing that this was coming. Her bed was made, she’d hidden the stuffed animal she still slept with under her pillows this morning. She couldn’t imagine Rose could judge the posters on her wall – all either soccer related, one for a pop group she liked.

“Huh,” was all Rose said, as she finally landed her eyes back on Abbie.

Better than she’d expected. With that, Abbie plunked herself onto the floor and grabbed her backpack to pull out her laptop. “Let’s get started.”

“I was thinking that we could review source materials we’d like to us, first, and then go over what elements we’d both like to see in the final project, before we compare our lists and determine what our responsibilities will be,” Rose immediately outlined, snapping back into her expected, normal self.

Abbie was almost relieved.

***

“Abbacado,” Caroline’s voice called out, with a soft knock to Abbie’s bedroom door.

Surprised that Caroline was already home – had almost two hours with Rose in her home already passed?! And the only thing she and Rose had argued about were which books they wanted to use as their primary sources?!

An argument that had lasted for over a half hour and still didn’t have an answer, for the record, but they’d both taken to putting a pin in that topic for now, and were working on their individual outlines. Rose had set a timer on her phone to go off when they hit an hour, to compare where they’d gotten by then.

Cheeks heating in a blush at the nickname – not that she disliked the nickname, but that Rose had freaking heard it – Abbie resolutely didn’t look at her. “Yeah?”

Caroline opened the door, then, before she paused and took in their set up – both of them sitting on Abbie’s floor about six feet apart, with both of their laptops, several books, a kindle, and a few notebooks organized around them. “I didn’t realize your… friend was still here.”

Abbie knew Rose didn’t miss the hesitation before Caroline labeled her as a friend. “Yeah, we’re not even done with our outlines, yet.”

And she hated that it was the truth, because it meant that what she foresaw for this project was a lot of working together time.

A small smile played on Caroline’s mouth, with that look of pride she so often wore with Abbie. “Well, a job well done can take some time.” She turned her attention to Rose, who was staring up at Caroline, and Abbie had no idea how to label what that expression was on her face.

Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were wide, her jaw set into a hard line. And Abbie felt a curl of anxiety slide through her. Obviously, she knew that Caroline could effortlessly manage a shitty comment from a teenager, if need be.

But she didn’t want her to have to. She didn’t want to be responsible for bringing a homophobe into their home, didn’t want to have to admit she’d been an idiot, and hadn’t really thought about the fact that Rose definitely was conservative before they’d come here today.

“Hey – Elliston, right?” Caroline snapped her fingers, aiming that comforting, warm smile she had at Rose.

Who blinked back at her. “Right,” she cautiously agreed.

“I know we haven’t met officially, but I’m at every Red Fox game, so I recognize you. Amazing goal, by the way, last week,” Caroline complimented. “I’m Caroline.”

Begrudgingly, Abbie would admit that Rose had scored a very impressive goal over the weekend.

Rose smiled, and Abbie could only stare, incredulously.

Had she ever seen Rose actually smile, before?

She didn’t think so. Sure, at practice or a game when she performed well, or in class when she got an answer right. But those smiles were… smirky. Self-satisfied.

This one was weird. Well, weird to Abbie, because Rose’s features seemed so – so soft, with the very quiet, small upturn of her lips.

“Thank you,” was all she said in return, her voice quiet and… sweet?!

Abbie could only gape.

Who the hell was this pod-person sitting on her floor, who’d snapped at Abbie that she’d “rather fail this assignment than write a single cookie-cutter statement about Pride and Prejudice” only an hour ago?

“I’m going to be making dinner tonight, because your mom isn’t going to be home for another half hour or so, and I am starving.”

Abbie playfully groaned, dropping her head back.

Caroline narrowed her eyes, waggling her finger at Abbie. “You watch that lip, kiddo.”

“I’ll never forget those mashed potatoes,” Abbie returned, forcing a shudder.

“I made those five years ago,” Caroline shot back, tossing her hands in the air. “I don’t even know where I went wrong.”

“They were a paste, and I will never be able to forget them.” She mock-gagged.

“Well, since we have company,” Caroline stressed, throwing an exaggerated look at Rose. “I’ll stick to the basics. Frozen pizzas, anyone?”

“My favorite of your homemade meals.”

Caroline jokingly waved her fist toward her. “Keep it up, Abner, and I’ll figure out how to make that potato paste again.”

Abbie snorted in laughter.

“Sorry for the assumption,” Caroline’s voice became a little less playful, as she looked at Rose again. “Are you staying for dinner?”

Rose stared at her uncertainly, before she turned to look, questioningly, at Abbie. “Um…?”

Abbie glanced down at her outline, which was just over halfway done. She’d already mentally committed to getting as much of this over with as possible tonight, so… “Yeah?” She slid her gaze from Rose to Caroline, and back to Rose, arching an eyebrow. “If you want to?”

“Sure,” Rose agreed slowly. “That should be fine.”

“Pizza good with you?” Caroline asked.

“Yes, that’s fine,” Rose agreed, politely.

Abbie, once more, stared at her, baffled.

“Great. Then, I’ll get to it. I’m timing it for when Hannah’s home, so… downstairs in about thirty minutes?” Caroline asked, running her eyes between them, before she shot them another smile and shut the door.

As soon as she was gone, Rose turned back to her laptop, only to lock eyes with Abbie. She frowned at her, deeply. “Why are you staring at me like that, Lemon?”

Abbie rolled her eyes. “Well, I was wondering if you’d gotten a personality transplant, given how you acted in front of Caroline. Oh, that’s fine,” she mimicked, using an upbeat, light tone.

Rose glared at her. “Clearly you don’t understand manners. What, did you think I was going to talk to your mom like an entitled bitch?”

“I guess that’s just reserved for me,” Abbie muttered.

“Only because you push on my every nerve,” Rose muttered back.

Abbie opened her mouth to argue – because again, she’d never done anything to Rose! But, she cut herself off at the quick. That argument in the library had gotten them nowhere, and Abbie didn’t want a repeat of it in her house.

She grit her teeth and looked back down at her laptop.

***

Abbie snapped her head up, her stomach growling, as the scent of pizza reached her.

She sniffed the air. “Dinner’s ready.”

Rose looked up at her, incredulous. “What are you, a werewolf?”

Abbie deliberately sniffed again in her direction. “Yep. And if I don’t eat soon, I’m going to be starving… you don’t want to see how feral I become, then.”

With that, she hopped up. Rose followed suit – granted, far more elegantly, as if unfolding her body in a single, swift motion from the ground.

Abbie led Rose back down the hallway to the stairs, smiling to herself halfway down, as she saw her mom and Caroline together in the mudroom. Caroline’s arms were around her mom’s waist, pulling her in close, as her mom’s hands sifted through Caroline’s hair.

She had fun mocking them for moments like this – greeting each other like they’d come back from war after being apart for the afternoon – but she loved to see it.

Only, she came to a pause, tossing Rose a look over her shoulder as Rose’s steps came to an abrupt halt as soon as she saw Abbie’s parents. Her eyes were wide as she stared at them, and Abbie narrowed her own into a defensive glare.

Before she could say anything threatening, Rose blinked herself out of whatever thought she’d clearly been having, and turned to look at Abbie. “No need to attempt to be intimidating, Lemon. I only paused here because you did.”

Well, Abbie knew that was a freaking lie, but… whatever.

Pursing her lips, she started down the rest of the stairs. The sound of her footsteps must have informed her parents she was coming, as they broke apart. Her mom looked up at her, even as Caroline’s attention remained on her mom.

“Abbie, honey, I’m so glad you got home before the storm started!” Her mom said, her tone super intense.

“Um… yeah?” Abbie answered, confused. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m fine,” Hannah asserted, calmly, as she sent Caroline another look over her shoulder before returning her attention to Abbie. “I had a little accident on the way home. But I’m absolutely fine.”

Her heart leapt in her chest at the mention of an accident, and Abbie jumped off the remaining two stairs to reach her mom in record timing. “What happened?”

Her mom reached out and put her hands on Abbie’s shoulders, squeezing them comfortingly. “I’m okay, honey, I promise. Just a little fender bender, but I was terrified that either you or Caroline might still be out on the roads right now.”

“I came home right after school,” she promptly said, still frowning at her mom. They were the same height, now, but somehow Abbie still felt shorter. “I thought we were just supposed to get some rain?”

“Well, given that it’s a lot colder today than the weather report predicted, that rain has started to freeze,” Caroline informed her, her own tone low and calming.

Between Caroline and her mom standing in front of her – both totally fine – Abbie fully relaxed.

Caroline’s arm wrapped around her mom’s waist, though, and Abbie knew she wasn’t fully relaxed about this, yet, herself. “But, we’re all home safe. Damage on the car is fine; it’s just a car. And I don’t think anyone should be going out again tonight.”

It was only then, as Caroline aimed her stare above Abbie’s shoulder, that she remembered Rose was even here.

Slightly embarrassed at Rose having witnessed this… family moment, Abbie turned slowly around.

To see Rose standing right at the bottom of the stairs several feet away, her hands interlaced primly and properly at her waist, as she watched them curiously.

“I can call a car,” Rose said, her voice quiet but clear. “In fact, I can do that right now.”

“Rose, right?” Hannah stepped forward, out of Caroline and Abbie’s holds, to offer her hand. “So sorry I didn’t introduce myself a minute ago; I’m Hannah, Abbie’s mom.”

“It’s all right,” Rose informed her so freaking demurely. Again, Abbie could only gape in shock. She hesitated for a moment, before she reached out and shook her mom’s hand. “But… yes, I should call a car soon.”

Hannah frowned, gently patting the back of Rose’s hand with the one that wasn’t shaking it. “I really wouldn’t feel good, as a parent, letting you go out in this weather. Elliston is over twenty minutes away without inclement weather and with no traffic; it would be a nightmare right now.”

Caroline stepped forward, putting her arm around Abbie’s shoulders now and squeezing slightly. “I second that. Why don’t you stay over? If the weather clears up, you can drive in with Ab in the morning, and, if not, you’ll probably be having a snow day, anyway.”

Everything in Abbie froze at the suggestion, and she could tell from the wide-eyed expression on Rose’s face that she felt the exact same way.

“I, uh…” she started, but didn’t know what to actually say. No, she didn’t want to have a sleepover with Rose, but, like, she didn’t want to send her out in an Uber and have her die in a car accident, either!

Especially when it would make her mom and Caroline look bad!

“Yeah,” she forced out, trying to inject some pep in her voice, which was what her parents would expect from her if she was allowed to have a friend sleep over during a week day. “I think that makes the most sense.”

Rose slid her shocked eyes to Abbie’s. “You do?”

Abbie felt her cheeks burn. “I… do,” she confirmed, feeling awfully like she was signing some sort of warrant for her own arrest or something. “Why not? It’ll be really… fun.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed slightly back at her, and she tilted her jaw up at Abbie, as if she were accepting some sort of challenge. “Yes, it will be.”

“Great,” Abbie muttered back, setting her jaw.

“Grrreat,” Caroline slowly drew out, gently squeezing Abbie’s shoulders. “So, it’s settled.”

“Do you want me to call your parents?” Hannah asked, softly.

Rose snapped her eyes to Abbie’s mom, quickly shaking her head. “Um – no. That’s not – you don’t have to.”

“Rose lives at Elliston, Mom,” Abbie supplied.

“Right,” Rose was quick to recover. “I just have to call Ms. Hutton, my dorm supervisor, to let her know.”

“Ah, all right.” Her mom nodded, giving Rose a gentle smile. “Why don’t you do that, while we get dinner set up? We’ll be in the kitchen.”

Rose returned her smile with a tight one of her own, nodding with it. “Sure.”

Abbie followed her parents past Rose into the kitchen, her stomach tying up in knots so tight she wasn’t sure she’d be able to actually enjoy pizza night.

Especially as she slowly walked by Rose, their shoulders brushing together, as Rose shot her an indecipherable look.

This was going to be a long, long night.

***

Abbie wasn’t wrong.

The night was very, very long.

At dinner, Rose had stared down at the frozen pizzas with her eyebrows furrowed, until Abbie whispered, “Have you never seen pizza before?”

She wasn’t even trying to be snarky! She just didn’t understand why the fuck Rose’s face was like that.

Rose glared at her. “No, I’m so mystified by this strange circle with cheese. Obviously, I’ve seen pizza, Lemon.”

Abbie held her hands up in a silent defense, before zipping her mouth shut and not making any more comments, so her parents wouldn’t hear.

As they’d been eating – and Abbie, specifically, had been scarfing down four slices – her mom asked, “What did you have for a snack after school today? You seem like you’re starving.”

Abbie had frozen mid-bite, glancing between the intent stares of her mom, Caroline, and Rose Elliston – seeing her here, sitting at her table to have dinner with her family was not sinking in at all – before she admitted, “We didn’t.”

Caroline’s mouth fell open. “No after-school snack? Who are you, and what have you done with my Abbacado?”

“Ha-ha,” Abbie snarked back, mid-chew.

“I hope you offered Rose something to eat when you came home?” Her mom asked, sending Abbie an arched eyebrow.

Feeling herself shrink under that look, Abbie shrugged. “I forgot?”

Mostly, she’d wanted to stop watching Rose roam around in her house! Was that a crime?

“It’s fine; we both really wanted to get working on our project,” Rose chimed in, and Abbie could have fallen out of her damn seat from the shock.

When she looked across the table at Rose, she was met with a glinting look. Rose so knew she’d done Abbie a solid and Abbie had sat up straighter in her chair, feeling like she had to be on high alert.

Game on.

The night hadn’t gotten any less weird.

After dinner, her parents had asked if they wanted to watch a movie.

Abbie answered for the both of them – yes, yes they did want to watch a movie!

Not only because Rose seemed to be on her best behavior while they were being supervised by adults, but because Abbie had no idea what they would do with themselves in her room for another two hours?

The joke had somewhat been on her, though, as her parents had sat cuddled up to one another on their big couch in the den, and Abbie had sat, awkwardly, equidistant between her snuggling parents and Rose, who seemed to be hugging the other arm of the large couch to keep distance.

Like that didn’t look fucking weird!

Abbie’s stomach fluttered with anticipation and anxiety as she and Rose started climbing back up the stairs.

“I know we got the call that Elliston has the day off tomorrow, but it’s still lights-out by eleven, okay?” Hannah called behind them.

“Okay!” Abbie called back, darting her gaze down at her phone to see that it was just after ten. Which was great, because she had no fucking clue what she was going to do with Rose, now. Sleep sounded like the best possible option.

As she shut the door behind them in her bedroom, she found herself standing with her arms hanging listlessly by her sides, unsure of what to do next.

Like… at a normal sleepover, she’d never felt weird or uncertain or anxious or on-guard. Sleepovers were fun.

“So, Abbacado,” Rose annunciated with a sharp, teasing grin on her face as she turned to face Abbie as well, “What do we do, now?”

“First, what you don’t do, is call me that name,” she snapped. Abbie was almost thankful for Rose’s nickname use, though, because the annoyance that cut through her worked amazingly well to erase her nerves about this strange situation. “You can stick to Lemon for all I care, but don’t ruin that.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Second, you can figure out what you’re going to do right now, because what I’m going to do is take a shower and get ready for bed.”

With that, she marched across her room and shut the bathroom door behind her with a snap.

Before she leaned against it, heavily, tilting her head up. God, what had she done to deserve this?

Taking a quick shower, she did an abbreviated version of her bedtime routine – she didn’t want to leave Rose in her bedroom, unsupervised for that long, after all – before she wrapped a towel around her body and realized…

All of her pajamas were in her bedroom.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Abbie steeled herself – this was fine. She and Rose were in the locker room together all of the time.

She’d rather have Rose see her in her fluffy towel, though, than have Rose spend uninterrupted time in her room, so with that in mind, Abbie opened the door.

Rose didn’t seem to notice, though, as she stood with her back to Abbie, looking at the large corkboard she had up – the only thing that wasn’t a poster. Filled with pictures from the last four years, since she’d hung it up, so many of Abbie’s memories were on there. Visuals of her friendships, of her biggest soccer moments, of holidays with Caroline’s family. There was a picture she had up with herself as a toddler, being held by her mom, with her grammy in the back – that was one of her favorites. Mostly because it was also one of her mom’s favorites.

And Rose Elliston was standing there, taking in all of Abbie’s private memories.

“Bathroom’s available,” she announced, taking a little satisfaction in the way that she made Rose jump in surprise.

Rose spun around, before her gaze landed on Abbie, her eyes widening. Her cheeks flushed, before she averted her gaze to stare down at the floor.

“I organized all of our work,” she informed Abbie, her voice higher than usual. “So, we can work on it tomorrow when we get up.”

“Can’t wait,” Abbie responded, only a little sarcastically.

But, of course Rose’s first thought was about how they could do homework first-thing in the morning on a snow day. And of course, she already made that decision for them.

Rose rolled her eyes, before she strutted forward and sharply closed the bathroom door behind her. With just enough force, that Abbie felt the blow of the air rush against her back.

She made quick work of getting dressed, opening the drawer that held her pajamas… only to pause, her hand tightening on the clothing in her hands.

Rose didn’t have clothes here. She only had her uniform.

Which meant… she was going to have to wear Abbie’s clothing. She was going to have to borrow Abbie’s personal pajamas – and even an outfit for tomorrow, probably.

“This is so fucking weird,” she muttered under her breath, shaking her head with it. “It’s so wrong.”

She debated what clothes to give Rose – like, she imagined Rose Elliston sleeping in a full-on pajama set. Something, like, satin? That buttoned up the front, with long sleeves.

She snorted with laughter to herself at the thought.

Finally, she sighed and just pulled out a tank top and a pair of cotton shorts – same thing she would wear – before grabbing one of Caroline’s old, worn-in large flannel shirts. She’d given it to Abbie years ago one night when she’d had a cold and couldn’t stop shivering, and she’d kept it ever since.

It was the only long sleeved “pajama” shirt Abbie owned, though, so she figured she would give Rose the option. Mostly because she had her mom’s voice in her head, reminding her about manners. She could also picture the look she’d gotten at dinner, about that whole after-school snack thing.

With a sigh, she closed the pajama drawer and made quick work of pulling on her own pj’s; she had no idea when Rose would be back.

A soft knock at her door pulled her attention. “Yeah?”

Caroline opened the door, and offered her two cold bottles of water. “Just wanted to make sure you two have everything you need for the night.”

Not really; Abbie would like if maybe Caroline could go back in time and change the weather, so that Rose wasn’t going to stay here. Or, maybe, she wished they could give her a sleeping pill, so that she could wake up and it would be done with.

Or, so she could slip the sleeping pill into Rose’s water?!

No, that was going way too far.

“Yeah, we’re good.” Unfortunately. “Light’s out by eleven, scout’s honor,” she promised, as she took the water bottles.

“Is everything… okay, with Rose?” Caroline asked, her voice dipping very low, as she lingered in the doorway.

Abbie narrowed her eyes, confusion working through her. “What do you mean? She’s fine; she’s just in the shower.”

Or she was looking through Abbie’s medicine cabinet, vanity, and towel closet with the same careful curiosity with which she’d been looking at her corkboard. Either way, Abbie didn’t love it.

Caroline shrugged, crossing her arms. “Just asking. So, she lives at school?”

Abbie slowly lifted her eyebrows. “Yes…?” Like, how much was Caroline going to want to know? Abbie, honestly, had very limited knowledge on this topic.

Then again, she was pretty sure she knew Rose as well as Rose seemed to want anyone to know her.

“She’s a proctor, so she’s, like, one of the students in charge in the dorm or whatever. You’ve seen her on the team. We’re doing our capstone together,” she gestured to the neat and tidy piles Rose had made on her desk with their work from earlier.

Abbie screwed up her face in thought; yeah, that was all the info she had on Rose. That she was willing to share with her parents, anyway.

Caroline slowly nodded. “Just checking. I haven’t heard much about her, unlike Amaya and some of the other girls.”

Abbie shrugged, before she turned to put the water bottles on her bedside table. Caroline could always read her face like a freaking book, and she always knew when Abbie was lying.

Like a lawyer superpower.

“I mean, yeah, we’re not super close friends, obviously. Mostly just… hang out at practice or in class,” she elaborated, which mostly wasn’t a lie.

She wouldn’t say she and Rose ever hung out, but – it was only a small fib.

Changing the subject, Abbie turned around to arch a look at Caroline. “Mom’s really feeling okay, after the accident?”

Caroline’s face morphed from dogged curiosity to something much softer, as Abbie knew it would. “Yes, she is really okay,” she assured, her voice soothing. “I managed to convince her to take a warm bath. She has a few bruises, but she looks absolutely fine other than that. And you know I wouldn’t be fine without a doctor visit if that wasn’t the case.”

That was very, very true. Caroline, as level-headed as she was, never rested on her laurels when it came to either Abbie or her mom’s physical safety. In fact, she was too pushy about going to the doctor. Last year, Abbie had twisted her ankle during a game – she was completely fine! – and Caroline had made her go for a full checkup.

“Okay,” she acquiesced, feeling completely reassured.

Even though she’d been with her mom all evening, there had still been a part of her that was uncertain. Her mom could push through, and mask a lot of discomfort and pain. Abbie knew that.

“We’ll be in our room if you need anything.” Caroline took a few steps forward and pulled Abbie into a brief hug, as she did most nights. “Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you, too.”

Caroline shut the door behind her and Abbie glanced over at the bathroom door.

Yep, still firmly closed.

With a sigh, she grabbed her phone and flopped down onto her bed.

With Rose having been here all night, Abbie hadn’t had a chance to text anyone like normal. While working on their project, she knew even without Rose snapping it at her that she should keep her attention strictly on their work. Which was fine, because she’d been trying to power through and get as much done as possible, anyway.

Her parents didn’t like to have phones at dinner. And then during the movie, Abbie would have normally sprawled out and split her attention between chatting with her friends and paying attention. But her defenses had been constantly raised, and she hadn’t wanted to lower them for a single second.

Finally, she went through her messages.

Answered Norah’s texts about how she was going to be coming home for spring break from college and that they better have time together – obviously.

Responded to the soccer group chat.

And finally, she landed on the text from Amaya.

Amaya – 8:34PMsooooo Rose isnt back yet, and word around the dorm is that she’s staying AT YOUR HOUSE TONIGHT?!?! LOL WHAT

Abbie groaned and laughed at the same time, shaking her head.

Abbie – 10:41PMYeeep. The weather is so shitty and apparently the roads are a mess so my moms didn’t feel safe sending her home tonight…

Abbie – 10:41PMrip to me

Amaya – 10:42PMim SCREAMING ahahahahah

Omg

Has she attempted to slit your throat or something yet???

Abbie – 10:42PMAssassination attempts (as of now) are at 0… but I think the true test is when I fall asleep and I’m completely defenseless

Amaya – 10:42PMI would like to do a reading at the funeral, pls

Abbie didn’t get a chance to message back, as the bathroom door opened, and she turned to look.

Only to swallow thickly, sitting up straight as her face burned, and she blinked several times, because –

Um.

Well.

Because steamy air billowed out behind Rose like in some sort of X-Rated scene, and she was standing there wrapped in a towel with her dark hair slicked back and water droplets rolling down her shoulders.

Abbie’s heart thudded, heavily, in her chest, as her stomach twisted and –

“It’s come to my attention, Lemon, that I don’t have anything to wear to bed,” Rose muttered, as she lifted one of those perfectly arched eyebrows in Abbie’s direction. “Should I just put my uniform back on, or…?”

Hopping to attention so quickly, Abbie almost tripped over her feet, she hurried to hand Rose the folded pajamas she’d taken out for her. “Here, these should be good.”

Why did she sound so breathy?!

Rose merely hummed in response, before she turned and went back into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her once more.

And Abbie stood on her carpeted floor, staring with wide eyes at the door.

What the fuck was that about?! She asked herself, lifting her hand to settle right over her chest. Where her heart was still beating too quickly to be considered normal in any way.

This was not normal.

She’d been in the locker room with Rose a hundred times, she reminded herself harshly. She’d seen Rose in all kinds of states of undress in the last year and a half.

Okay, she’d never seen her, like, naked. But she hadn’t been naked just then, either!

It was a crazy, jarring reminder that Rose Elliston was just so… beautiful. She really, really was – unfairly so.

Abbie took in a deep breath through her nose, and blew it out her mouth. Then she repeated it, again and again, until she felt calmer.

She’d always known that Rose was incredibly pretty. It was literally just a fact, something undeniable.

She’d just never felt attracted to her, before.

Which, insanely, was what that feeling was. She was seventeen; she’d been attracted to women, before. Just – just not Rose Elliston!

Abbie turned and sat on her bed, with weak knees.

In the locker room, she was focused on the game. She wasn’t attracted to anyone in the locker room; she was there with her team.

So, it made sense that she’d never looked at Rose that way in there, she reasoned.

Right now, Rose was just… a very pretty girl. Someone Abbie didn’t think of as a friend, so she wasn’t in friend-mode. And she’d been basically naked.

That kinda made sense, she figured, trying to calm herself the fuck down.

She only had a minute, before the bathroom door opened again and Rose walked out. She was wearing just the tank top and shorts, and she handed Abbie the flannel back. “I can’t sleep in long sleeves,” she informed her, her tone almost regal in its dismissiveness.

Well, there went the image of her sleeping in that full pajama set.

Abbie deliberately didn’t make eye contact, and instead took the flannel from her and set it down on her dresser. Before she took a deep breath, and turned to face Rose; she could do this.

Only…

She blinked again, that hot feeling sparking through her.

Abbie also knew, objectively, that Rose had a curvier body than she did. Abbie, despite nearing the end of puberty, hadn’t filled out a ton. She was happy with her body; it did what she needed it to her, and it did it well. She didn’t hate that she had a smaller chest or only slightly-curved hips and waist.

Rose… was not the same.

So, so not the same. She had such a generous chest, and the curve of her waist into her hips was – well, it wasn’t usually so pronounced in their soccer uniform or their school uniform.

What was wrong with her? She silently asked herself, feeling faint.

“Cool,” she managed to get out, cringing at herself. What?

“So… where am I sleeping?” Rose asked after a few seconds. “I’d like to settle in for the night.”

Slowly, Abbie turned to face her. “Um – in here?” She slowly told her, gesturing around her room.

Rose frowned, deeply, as she looked around as well. “Is there a second bed in here that’s invisible to anyone that uses logic?”

Gritting her teeth, Abbie felt a surge of irritation – which she latched onto; that was great right now. Such a good reminder.

“No. You’re going to sleep in my bed?” She said, slowly, in explanation.

Her cheeks heated, though, because of that feeling she’d just had. Earlier, she’d been anxious for an entirely different reason and now, she had two!

The disdain on Rose’s face was obvious. “What are you talking about, Lemon? Don’t you have a guest room?”

Abbie rolled her eyes at the snotty tone. “Yes, we have a guest room, but my parents have never prepared it for one of my friends for a sleepover.”

She emphasized the word, like – duh.

Only, Rose continued to stare, obviously confused. “Why not?”

Abbie’s own confusion slid through her. “What do you mean, why not?” She parroted, shaking her head. “Because… that’s not the point of a sleepover. The point of a sleepover – when you’re friends – is to stay up late together and talk and laugh and try to make sure your parents don’t overhear you and bust you. That’s what normal people do.”

The way Rose stared dismally back at her confirmed for Abbie that Rose had most definitely never been to a sleepover with friends.

“Do you want me to set up the guest room for you?” She asked after several seconds beat by.

Granted, it would definitely beg some questions from her parents, but – oh, well.

Rose set her jaw, so hard, Abbie could see the muscle clench. “No, that’s fine. I’d rather just get to sleep.”

Narrowing her eyes, Abbie couldn’t be happier that Rose was so Rose, so she didn’t have any more of those alarming attraction feelings in this moment.

“Okay. Great. Let’s get to sleep, then,” she muttered, and went to flick off her lights.

The room fell into darkness, save for what filtered in through the windows from the night sky.

That feeling – awkward and unsure – swept through Abbie again as she walked toward the left side of the bed.

Carefully, far more carefully than she’d ever done at a sleepover before because… this was Rose. They weren’t going to be cuddling in together and giggling and showing each other videos on their phones.

In fact, her stomach swooped and dipped and erupted into butterflies at the very thought.

Militantly, Abbie laid in her side of the bed on her back, her arms at her sides.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rose do the same.

She was about to wish Rose an awkward goodnight, only for Rose to surprise her by asking, “Why do your parents think that we’re friends?”

Her tone shocked Abbie, enough for her eyes to open widely once more.

She’d expected – as was typical for Rose – something disdainful or mocking for a question like that. Instead, it was quiet. Softly reaching Abbie’s ears in the dark.

Unable to stop herself, she turned onto her side to look at Rose. Her bed was a queen, and there was over six inches of space between them, and yet it was by far the closest she’d ever been to Rose. Alarmingly so.

Especially as Rose turned onto her side to face Abbie as well.

“What are you talking about?” She asked, her voice falling to a whisper.

Rose frowned, her forehead wrinkling in consternation. “I mean… you said that your parents have never prepared the guest room for your friends for a sleepover. Which means that your parents think that we’re friends.”

Well, Rose had Abbie there.

Biting at her bottom lip, Abbie debated how to answer.

Only for Rose to absolutely shock her again.

“I mean, it’s very clear that you’re close with them, after tonight. So, I’d imagine that you’d have come home from school and told them all about the bitchy girl at school,” Rose stated in that matter-of-fact tone she had, though Abbie could literally hear her eyes rolling at the word bitchy.

“Well, I haven’t done that,” Abbie shot back.

“Obviously,” Rose’s exasperation was clear, as she blinked at Abbie from across the bed. “I want to know why.”

“Because! My parents didn’t even want me to go to Elliston in the first place. At least, they were really unsure about it,” Abbie explained, unsure why she was even giving Rose an explanation. She didn’t owe it to her, but the words were bubbling out.

The power of a sleepover, she guessed. All truths came out.

Rose frowned. “Why? And I know, you went to a good public school or whatever. But Elliston has a great school and a nationally ranked team.”

“And that’s why I wanted to go.” Abbie stared at Rose, unable to understand her in any way. “But, gee, I don’t know, Rose. Why wouldn’t my parents want me to leave a school I was comfortable at and had been in for years? Maybe they were worried I’d get called names or be judged by people. Maybe because of that.”

Her gaze was intent, burning into Rose.

Whose hand on top of the blanket clenched into a tight fist, as she rolled her lips. “I see.”

“If they knew you called me Lemon or gave me such a hard time, they would be all over me about potentially going back to my old school. Or…” she trailed off, shaking her head against the pillow.

“Or… they’d have an issue with me, specifically,” Rose filled in, softly.

“Yeah,” she confirmed.

And she could only imagine how much hell her parents would have wanted to bring down on Rose if they knew she was Abbie’s personal little bully – as much as Abbie had ever been bullied, anyway.

“And you’re a great striker, and I didn’t want to fuck anything up at the team, or make anything even more awkward at school. So, here we are. To them, we’re friends. Hence,” she lifted her hand and gestured between them, before dropping it back down to fall on the mattress, an inch away from Rose’s.

Rose, who continued to stare at Abbie, her full lips drawn into a tight line. Before she gave Abbie a tight nod, and turned onto her other side. “Thank you for the explanation.”

Baffled – but, wasn’t that the going rate, for Rose – Abbie merely sighed. “Goodnight, Rose.”

After several seconds, Rose whispered back, “Goodnight, Lemon.”

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