There's Always Tomorrow (Prequel to BWYDT)

Chapter 5

A/N: Hopefully you will all enjoy this. Things are finally starting to take off. It wont be completely smooth sailing but we are going to start seeing the blending of the old Lauren and BWYDT Lauren in the next several chapters. We get to see how Adrianne responds to really learning about the raven-haired she has developed this crush on. That's all within the next chapters though. :P

Thank you for reading. Enjoy.

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Lauren finally made it back to the apartment about midnight and Adrianne shot up from the place on the couch that she had been sitting for the last few hours. The raven-haired stopped in silence and the two shared a look. Adrianne's eyes were asking if everything was okay, while Lauren's seemed to be searching her for some sort of answer to a question she had yet to ask. "Are you drunk?"

Lauren rolled her eyes and even smiled faintly before she took off her coat. "No. I didn't have my bodyguard with me."

"Right. I just wasn't sure if that applied in this case..."

"Adrianne..." The brunette shuffled on her feet, eager to see what her crushes' night of soul searching had yielded. "I'm okay. I just need to know that you aren't going to do something like that again. While I am flattered by your interest, I'm not gay."

She tried to hide it as she deflated. "Right. No, I won't try and do that again. I didn't mean to cause you to feel uncomfortable. I guess I was just reading the wrong signs." She was sure she wasn't, but that was what Lauren needed to hear at the moment. "And I'll completely understand if you start locking your bedroom door at night. I'll try not to take it personally."

Lauren huffed a laugh and hung her jacket up. "I don't think that is necessary. To be honest, if a woman had done that to me a month ago, I would have completely freaked out and done everything in my power to make sure I never saw her again. But you're different."

"I'm different?" Adrianne asked nervously, shifting her eyes around the room and placing her hands in her back jean pockets before returning her eyes to Lauren's. This was a good sign and she was trying not to grin like a teenager in love.

"Yeah. I mean, before, I would have felt that keeping my distance from you was what I was supposed to do, but now... I'm not going by what I'm 'suppose' to do, but what I want to do. You're like, the closest friend I've had in years. Possibly in my life. I'm not going to cut you out of my life just because of a misunderstanding. I just need you to respect my sexuality as much as I respect yours."

Adrianne nodded. "Yeah. Sure. Of course. I, um... I will keep my hands and lips to myself unless you start it first." Lauren smiled with a little blush as she dropped her eyes again. "Was that not respecting your 'straightness'?"

"No. That was just you being you." The raven-haired stated, finally taking another step further into the apartment. "I can deal with that."

"Well, that's good. I might be able to keep my hands off of you but I've always had issues keeping my mouth shut." Lauren gasped playfully and went wide-eyed. "I know. It's shocking, isn't it?"

"Completely. I would have never guessed."

"Sure you wouldn't have. So... now that I know you aren't off drunk and having to try a push an army of guys off of you, I think I will head off to bed."

"Okay." Lauren nodded and waved her hand slightly. "I think I will as well. The cold air has made me a little sleepy."

"Then I guess I'll see you in the morning." She nodded again and Adrianne walked toward her bedroom, keeping the distance of the apartment between them so she didn't freak the raven-haired out anymore. She kept the soft smile on her face until she disappeared into her room and shut the door and frowned. It started as a low growl and she fell face first onto her bed and then muffled her cry of frustration in her pillow. What was taking Lauren so long? They had known each other for over a month, lived together peacefully, she said she was the best friend she had ever had, she's complimented her and been complimented by her, she's blushed, giggled, flirted... Adrianne decided it was Angela's fault. Not really, but she would still blame her anyway. She had gotten the brunette's hope up that all it would take was that little kiss. At least it didn't ruin anything. Adrianne would just have to keep waiting.