When the song ended, Maddie and I rushed off the floor, giggling like school-girls with a crush. Which, well, we were. But you get what I mean.
Anyway, we ran off to our place: the Shrine. When we got there, we were both slightly out of breath from running, but Maddie didn't give me any time to catch my breath, pulling me into another kiss. When we pulled away, she was about to kiss me again, but I stopped her for a moment.
"Wait, Maddie," I said, panting. "What- what's going on?" She looked at me, seeming sad for a moment before trying to cover it up.
"I- I'm sorry. I'm probably coming on too strong. I-"
I cut her off. "No, no, it's- everything's perfect. You're perfect. I just- I've never done... this. Before. So I'm just... a little slow. And I thought you liked my cousin up until like five minutes ago." I saw a look of realization dawn on Maddie's face.
"Oh, well... I don't think I ever actually liked Ashlyn. I... I just really liked you, and I had this whole idea that if I could just... and I know this sounds terrible, but if I could just distract myself, then that would make wanting you go away. I... I didn't believe that you and I would ever... I couldn't believe that someone like you would actually want someone like me." She paused, then suddenly said, "Wait, is this your first..." She trailed off. I nodded.
"Er, yeah, kinda." She started grinning wildly.
"Oh, my God! Wait, was I your first kiss?"
"Er, yeah, kinda," I repeated. "I was... kind of... waiting. For you."
"Oh, wow! Well, as far as first times go, you are an amazing kisser. Actually, just in general, you're an amazing kisser."
"Thank you..." I said, unsure of how to respond.
"I- Hang on. Let me do this properly," she started. "Zoe Caswell, will you be my girlfriend? Like, officially, officially?" Now I was the one grinning like a crazy person.
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" She pulled me closer, sealing the deal with a kiss.
***********
I ran into the Honeycomb, hand in hand with Maddox. My hair was messy and I knew I was blushing wildly. And I was pretty sure my smile split my face in half. When we walked in, we saw Ashlyn with Kourtney. They seemed to be having a moment. I took an educated guess that Kourtney was psyching herself out about tomorrow, and Ashlyn was trying to calm her down and reassure her. Boost her self-esteem.
"Sorry, we thought this was gonna be empty," Maddie said as we walked in, heading down to her bunk.
"Oh, we can leave," Ashlyn offered.
"No, no, it's okay," Maddie reassured them. I sat down on her bed while she stayed standing, facing Ashlyn and Kourtney. "Actually, I said goodbye to somebody I wasn't even expecting to say hello to tonight, and... well, some other things happened. So, I'm a little upside-down." I could feel heat rush to my cheeks at that. I lightly pressed her hand to my lips, making her smile.
"Well, you both are glowing," Ashlyn said. Maddie and I smiled. I was glad my cousin could accept me and Maddie being together. "Don't mind us," she added. "Just talking about deep fears over here."
"Is this about the climbing wall?" Maddie asked.
"And all that it represents, yes," Kourtney said.
"I thought your teacher said you would do it when you were ready. Right?" Maddie asked. I could tell she was trying to keep any resentment out of her tone as she referenced Miss Jenn.
"I think I'm just gonna go to bed, and pretend like tomorrow night isn't opening night," Kourtney decided. We all kind of just nodded.
"Hey, guys. I was just on the swings," Gina said. There were tear streaks on her face. "I forgot about swings."
"Hey, are you okay?" Maddie asked. Gina just looked lost and broken.
"I think I just broke up with EJ," she said. I swear to God, I will murder my brother and get away with it. "Let's talk about it later."
"I guess tonight did end with a bang," Ashlyn breathed out.
"Well, as long as it ends soon. I mean, who knows? Maybe I can wake up as somebody else," Kourtney said. Maddie sat down beside me, and I laid my head on her shoulder.
"I'm glad at least our night wasn't trash," Maddie whispered to me.
"Yeah, I just feel bad that they all had such a bad ending to the day," I said softly back. She dropped a kiss to the top of my head.
"Hey, Kourt, can I borrow your prayer?" Ashlyn asked softly. She began singing, nodding at all of us to join her in harmony. And surrounded by all of us, I could see something change in Kourtney's eyes. And like the dramatic entrances in superhero movies, she led us all to the climbing wall, getting hooked in, and starting to climb.
We all just watched her from the ground, proud beyond words of her conquering her fears. When she made it to the top, we all cheered. Ashlyn and Gina wrapped an arm around each other, Maddie and I doing the same, when Ashlyn reached an arm out for Maddie, saying, "Hey, Gadget, Zoe. You know you're part of us now." We both just looked at each other and smiled.
***********
"Rocketman," Maddie called as she saw my brother passing by.
"Just the man we were looking for," I added. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, absolutely," he reassured us. "Did you have fun with Madison?" he asked Maddie.
"Yeah," she said. "It was a nice surprise. She helped me and Zoe get our acts together."
"So you two are finally a thing?" he asked. Maddie just laughed and looked at me. I glanced at her, and I'm 83% certain that I turned into the heart-eye emoji. Like my pupils literally turned into hearts.
"Yeah," Maddie said clearly not fully in the present yet. "Sorry, what?" She came back from the clouds.
"You were looking for me?" EJ asked.
"Yeah. Did you hear from Val?" she asked.
"No, why?"
"She got a tip that Channing is gonna go full reality show tomorrow. Like, he wants to try and stir up all kinds of trouble. And, it could mean that Opening Night will be a train wreck," she said.
"Well, what are we gonna do?" he asked. She shrugged.
"Buckle up," I suggested. With that, he walked away, agitated, leaving the two of us alone again. Maddie's face was contorted into a concerned and scared look.
"Zoe," she started. "What if... what if Opening Night is awful? Like... unimaginably terrible?"
"Well," I started. "Whatever happens tomorrow, it is not anyone's fault but Camera Guy's, and just remember that no one will be blaming you, so don't be too hard on yourself if tech stuff goes wrong." I mentally added a note that if anyone did give her a hard time, I'd try to get them to let it go (no pun intended), and if that didn't work, I'd take the fall instead. I obviously did not voice this to Maddie, but I think she already knew.
Maddie nodded, smiling a little. "Thank you." She pulled me into a tight hug, kissing the crown of my head again before whispering, "I know it's kind of early, but I just wanted you to know. I love you." I captured her lips in a kiss before it was broken because we were smiling too much.
Leaning my forehead against hers, I said, "I don't care how early it is. I love you, too."
***********
A/N: Oh my gods really random side note -- if you're reading this the day it comes out, it's my AP test day!!! Don't worry -- I didn't actually write this on or just before the day of the test -- I used the illustrious, the seductive, the one and only "Schedule Publish" function!!! That thing is literally the best thing since The Great Gatsby: A Broadway Musical (sorry, I'm a book nerd and theatre nerd, so... yeah). Anyway, yeah. Hope you liked this penultimate part!
CZYTASZ
Her | Maddox x OC | HSMTMTS
FanfictionMaddox and I have been close since we were twelve, but... I've kind of always wanted to be... more. She was my "gay awakening," so to speak. My "first crush." But we'll just have to see what happens. ** I don't own any of the characters except for Z...
