psych- Leighton Murray

VI

"It's wonderful that Essex is finally honoring Susan B. Anthony with a portrait, but I swear, the artist had to have been trying to make her breasts look good," Ginger grumbled.

"It's to symbolize her female power, Ginger." Lindsay chuckled.

"Or- she could have had a huge rack." Tova grinned, earning themselves a punch in the arm from Emerson.

Emerson had arrived at the Women's Center an hour before Leighton even though they both had the same community service hours, but Emersom actually wanted to go, and Leighton would sell her left kidney to avoid going.

"Anyway, I'm Leighton."

"Hey! I'm Alicia, she/her."

"Lindsay, she/her,"

"Tova, they/them."

"Ginger, she/her."

"You know who I am," Emerson murmured.

"I'm she/her, obvi," Leighton scoffed, referencing her aggressively feminine outfit.

"I don't know if Em's told you, but I oversee the volunteers here. I set your hours, recognize that you've done them, tell you when and where to show up, basically boss you around for a while." Alicia smiled at Emerson who was trying not to laugh at the look on Leighton's face.

"I think I'll work... one to three? Try to avoid breakfast and dinner traffic."

"Oh, no. That is so not how this works. I set your hours, starting tomorrow from five to ten during feminist poetry night." Alicia picked up a clipboard and jotted down the hours. "If you get through all of it, that's six hours off your service time."

"I'm busy on Fridays."

"And I don't care." Alicia rolled her eyes.

"It's getting tense in here guys." Ginger pushed the safe space bell.

"Why do you need a safe space bell at a safe space?" Ginger pressed it again.

"Welcome to the Women's Center, Leighton," Alicia grumbled, walking away to try and get away from the situation.

"Leighton?" Emerson called after the blonde who had turned to leave. She stopped for a beat, waiting to hear what Emerson was saying. "Don't say that your pronouns are obvious. It makes you sound like a dumb cis bitch." Emerson said with a smile.

Ginger hit the bell again with panic on her face.

Emerson spent most days now eating lunch with Alicia. They'd grown to enjoy each other's company, laughing and messing around. They had a lot of shared experiences and that made them closer than they thought they could be. Emerson pushed her feelings about Leighton to the back of her mind, focusing on the warm buzz she got from being with Alicia. Alicia would touch her hand in a way that would be friendly to anyone on the outside but so much more than that to Emerson. She was the person she felt most comfortable being fully herself around.

She thought the poetry night would be a great time for her to get some flirting in with Alicia. Maybe she had a little thought of making Leighton jealous, but overall, she just wanted this to happen with Alicia. She needed something if she couldn't have Leighton.

"Do you think she'll show?" Alicia asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Yes. I saw her begrudgingly choosing a Versace bag." Emerson snorted, gripping her wine glass a little tighter at the thought.

As if she heard her name (she did, she'd been lingering in the hallway, trying to hear Alicia and Emerson's conversation), Leighton walked in wearing a flattering black turtleneck. Emerson raked her eyes up and down her body, taking a sip of the wine she wasn't supposed to have.

"You showed! I'm glad. Now, settle in. It's about to start!" Alicia smiled, putting her hand on the small of Emerson's back, leading her to the back of the crowd.

Leighton sat drinking spitefully on a stool. Why did her feelings have to be so confusing? It's not like she liked Emerson, right? But seeing her with Alicia made her want to rip Alicia's face off with her acrylics.

Tiff (a quiet member of the center) began to read a poem and Leighton couldn't help herself- she pulled out her phone and began to record. She giggled throughout the performances, gulping down a few glasses of wine and eating through a half bowl of chips before Emerson walked over.

"Leighton, you need to stop filming people without their consent." Emerson looked down at the empty drink in Leighton's hand. "You're drunk at your community service for underage drinking!? Leighton, good God." Emerson picked up the wine glass and handed it to Alicia who had walked behind her specifically for that purpose.

"You're drinking too!"

"I'm not the one who defiles statues and cries loudly when I'm drunk," Emerson grumbled.

Emerson walked back over to Alicia, who pulled out a chair for her, wrapping her arm around Emerson's shoulder. Emerson couldn't pretend she didn't enjoy the stares that Leighton was giving her. They made her feel recognized- and she hated that she liked it. Emerson's social anxiety couldn't handle leading someone on like she was- sort of- doing right now.

Bethany (a sad, musical gay) walked onto the stage with her guitar in hand and began belting out an out-of-tune original piece. Emerson just grinned to herself, biting a smile away. She heard Leighton giggling loudly in the background. The giggles turned to full-on witch cackles before long. Leighton pushed her stool back and ran out the front door.

"Oh, that bitch-" Emerson reached across Alicia's lap, grabbing her hand.

"I've got her. Just worry about Bethany, I think she might cry." Emerson let go, realizing what she'd done and feeling supremely uncomfortable with such contact.

She walked through the doors toward the sound of the loud giggling. With a heavy sigh, she found Leighton laughing her ass off against the front of the Center.

"Y'know, Alicia said she is not signing off on your hours for this."

"I should get double for sitting through that shit."

"You just sat and drank wine." Emerson rolled her eyes.

"You can't seriously think it was good, can you?" Leighton raised an eyebrow, taking a noisy sip of her wine.

"Oh god no, it's awful. But I would have waited, like a normal person, to laugh about it with you on the way home." Emerson smiled.

"Oh." Leighton looked down at her shoes, trying to hide the blush on her face.

"Come help clean up."

"Fine. But only because you asked." Leighton grumbled.

Emerson sighed, looking wistfully at the blonde's rosy face and full lips. She'd never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in her entire life.

"Almost done?" Alicia called.

"Yeah!" Emerson hurried inside.

"Dammit, Alicia." Leighton sighed and followed.