Untouchable

Titled/inspired by Untouchable by Taylor Swift.

- -

It was always just a schoolgirl crush. Something that Hannah could suppress and shield away from curious eyes. Perhaps if she knew that there was hope for the two of them, she would feel differently. But that was the thing - there was no hope. Not a chance in the world that her and Grace could be together.

Sure, they could exist in the words written by longing fanfic writers on the internet or in the minds of their loyal supporters, but this was real life. And in real life, Hannah knows that if she were to press her lips to Grace's own, Grace would recoil and tell her not to. If she were to confess to Grace that she had feelings for her, albeit miniscule, the girl wouldn't return her sentiments.

Which is okay, really. Hannah's used to forming unrequited, minor crushes on her straight female friends. And that's what Grace is. A straight, female friend. Untouchable.

"I'm seeing someone," Grace says abruptly during lunch.

Mamrie looks up from her menu and grins, "Well it's about damn time."

It had been a while, that much is certain. Ever since her last breakup, Grace had stayed away from dating and men in general. She called it a break. Mamrie called it lazy. Hannah didn't care much, as long as she was happy.

"So does this new lover have a name?" Mamrie wiggles her eyebrows and winks across the table.

Grace rolls her eyes, "Chris."

"Are you and Chris serious?" Hannah questions, reaching towards the plate of sushi in the middle of the table.

"We've only been out a few times, but... I feel like it could be," Grace says softly and tries to hide the blush that grows on her cheeks.

Hannah doesn't doubt it, not one bit. Grace was never the girl that guys dated - she was the girl that they would give a drawer to in their apartments. The girl they'd take home to their families during the holidays. She was too good to be taken out a few times and then forgotten.

But when Hannah sees a light flare up in Grace's eyes as she says the name Chris, she can't help but wonder if maybe Chris will stay longer than six months to a year. She wonders if Grace feels the way about Chris that all of Grace's ex-boyfriends had felt about her.

-

Hannah meets the new love interest for the first time on a double date. Hannah with her on-again-off-again girlfriend Annelise, and Grace with -

"Sorry I'm late, there was an accident on the highway," Grace says as she pulls out her chair opposite Hannah and Annelise.

"Where's Chris?" Hannah asks, passing a menu across the table.

"Parking the car," Grace responds before biting her lip nervously, "Look, there's a minor detail I left out about Chris -"

"Hey!" A female voice calls out. It's deeper than most, but it's female nonetheless. Hannah spins her head around to see a tall woman with short, choppy blonde hair making her way towards them, "I'm Chris."

Hannah's mouth drops slightly and she hears Annelise snicker beside her, "Han... I'm uh... I'm Hannah."

"I'm Annelise," Annelise manages to say through her fit of giggles, "Grace, since when are you dating gir-"

"People your own height. Since when are you dating people your own height?" Hannah interjects, throwing a warning look at her girlfriend.

Chris laughs and looks over at Grace, "It's fine, I know I'm Grace's first lesbian experience. You guys don't have to be weird about it."