Zapped by an Apple | An Appledash College AU Fanfic | Human Characters

⓵⓻ 『 The Reject 』

Holy shit, thought Rain as she shut the door to her dorm and thudded her back against it, I just tried to kiss her. Then, overwhelmed by the internal self-conviction, she repeated aloud in a single breath, "I just tried to kiss AJ."

     "That's cool," a dirty-blonde woman garbed in tan-hued sweatpants and a white tank top rasped listlessly, fitting a freshly shined ceramic plate in the drying rack next to the sink, "...which one is AJ again?" 

     Caught off guard by the presence of her roommate, Rain felt her face flush in frustrated consternation as she hissed, "Jeez Gilda, since when are you awake at this time?" The brunette snuck glances over her shoulder suspiciously as if spies hid behind each wall with tape-recorders. 

     Gilda was one of Rain's good friends back in highschool, and just before college, they had agreed upon sharing a dorm together at Earthquest. Rainbow was admittedly quite pumped about the whole thing, booking the two-year program in advance and preemptively buying all kinds of cool furniture she knew Gilda would dig. The two were initially drawn to one another as friends because they held similar values in athletic competition and rock music, but Gilda had this particular mean-streak that Rainbow never really picked up on due to her own struggle with social queues. Not until one night, when Gilda got drunk and said all sorts of fucked up shit to Piper--stuff she'd clearly been holding back up until that point, and she never really apologized for it all. Rain was forced to room with her despite everything due to Earthquest not offering refunds on the whole 'double-year' deal. 

     However--while the two weren't nearly as close as they used to be--they'd, more recently managed to treat one another as casual acquaintances. Not necessarily friends again, but they adopted some form of increasing tolerance nonetheless. 

     Gilda was not someone Rainbow trusted with this particular...revelation of hers however, so, before she had a chance to respond, the brunette athlete made an attempt to shift the subject elsewhere, clearing her throat to say, "Nevermind. Is it cool if I use the TV for a bit before I crash?"

     This question was a part of a longer series of repetitive brief interactions the two had had. For the most part, both ladies stuck to their own rooms and didn't say a word to each other. But there was only one television, and it was tucked in the unpretentious space between the kitchen and the two bedrooms in a lounge-area that--if one was being generous--they could refer to as a 'living room.'

     "Sure man, go nuts," Gilda shrugged and dried off another dish before shuffling past Rain towards her mysterious cavern. 

     Rainbow delivered an exhale at her smooth escape as she covered the length between the entrance and her desired destination, and then, she dropped onto one of the multiple cloud-themed beanbag chairs which littered the small living-room space. 

     The jock reached for the remote and flicked on the glowing box in order to drown out her thoughts, but the flutter in her chest had refused to settle since she had been dropped off a couple of minutes ago. It surged through her bloodstream and provoked an added flow of energy that she (obviously) did not need. 

     I tried to kiss AJ. 

     It was all she could think. Her cranium echoed with it. Over and over. 

     But why the hell would she do it? She didn't like AJ--not that much anyways. Sure, if she had to choose between any one of her other friends, she would say that the cowgirl was her favourite to spend time with, and she had very well acknowledged that she was sort-of fond of her. But she had considered it all so insignificant--just one of those petty, temporary crushes one might have on a peer now and again that goes away and ends up meaning nothing. She certainly didn't like AJ enough to kiss her.