Pollen Count | ✓

e p i l o g u e

Every Friday for the rest of the summer, Allie and her parents find bouquets or flower arrangements left on the doorstep. Well, sometimes they're in the arms of Allegra's girlfriend, but more often than not, they're just left there. 

Daisy likes leaving her little jokes and doodles on the accompanying cards, which means Allie's collection of cute notes is getting out of hand.

Allegra starts spending her Sundays with Daisy and her family. Her grandparents are the sweetest, and they quickly come to treat Allie like one of their own. Their only flaw is – much like her own parents – they tend to pry and ask too many questions. However, it's only because they're so happy to see Daisy happy, so the two of them usually play along.

One of the last summer Sundays, the conversation has gotten to when did you two know?

"I knew from the time I saw you drop your books in the hallway," Daisy answers, telling Allegra more than her grandparents. "You blushed bright red, and I thought it was adorable."

Allegra looks confused, having zero recollection of that happening. "Did you say something?"

"Nah," Daisy admits. "I just laughed," she chuckles, laughing harder still when Allegra punches her upper-arm lightly for it. Her grandparents tut at both of them, but smile nonetheless.

Daisy's grandfather asks if they want more tea, to which they both say yes. Both him and her grandmother set about making a fresh batch, and they disappear to cut up some of the carrot cake Allegra has brought over, too.

While they're busy, Daisy steals a kiss from Allegra. Just quickly, chaste. She's not used to having a girl over that her grandparents actually approve of. She's a keeper, they say. Daisy agrees.

"You're the worst," Allie says, pulling back from the kiss. She rolls her eyes with her words and pretends like that's not her backhanded way of showing affection.

"You're the best," Daisy replies, in the same tone of voice, the grin on her face childish and annoying. It makes Allie's stomach flip. She likes her so much. It's dreadful.

"Oh, please," she says, huffing, as if she's tired of Daisy's compliments. "I'm allergic to bullshit," Allie teases.

"You're allergic to pollen," Daisy corrects, matter-of-fact.

"I'm allergic to you," Allegra says, gleeful snark in her voice.

And it's partially true – when Daisy's been at work, the pollen clings to her. It's enough to make Allie's eyes water, sometimes. It's not all bad, though. Allegra's gotten much, much better at taking her allergy medication.

***

Allegra turns up for their first day of class having slept very little. With summer over, she's not entirely sure where she stands with Daisy. For all she knows, they could've just been a summer fling – fun, short-term, no strings. Allie, unfortunately, has grown to want all the strings attached. She has so many feelings it's not even funny anymore. She feels equal parts pathetic and lovesick.

Daisy hasn't given it a second thought. While Allie's been tossing and turning, worrying about what the future holds, Daisy has breezed through it all and turned up fresh as a – wait for it – daisy.

She has on a new jacket, leather and distressed, so it already looks like she's owned it since the dawn of time (or run over it with her truck once or twice, perhaps) and her grin is as wide as ever. She's excited to be back, to see everyone. She's less excited about the classes and the studying, but... she'll live.

Allie is by her locker, stressing quietly. She's looking down at her phone, tempted to text Daisy. To tell her something like, hey, it's okay if your friends aren't going to understand, or, what we had was nice, i'll understand if this is it, or--

A hand is on her lower back, and then her pink-haired girlfriend is in front of her, slouching up against the locker beside hers.

"What's your first class?" Daisy asks, so nonchalant.

Allegra looks baffled. Why is she so calm? She doesn't have the brain power to immediately reply, thrown for a loop.

"Did you get, like, any sleep last night?" Daisy asks, in lieu of a reply, fixing her with a concerned look. She puts a fingertip under Allie's chin, and she gently tips her face up as if to examine the poor girl. "What kept you up? I know it wasn't me, for once," she says, her smile turning to a sleazy smirk.

Allegra would've blushed if she'd thought about Daisy's words properly, but instead she's still so busy trying to figure this whole thing out.

"It was you, actually," Allie admits, though she feels dumb doing so. "I wasn't sure--" Allegra shrugs, her eyes avoiding Daisy's. "Well, I thought perhaps... because summer was over...?" She's the picture of nervousness.

Daisy has never seen anything so adorable.

"You dork," she says, beaming and laughing, a direct contrast to her poor girlfriend. "You thought I'd let you escape my clutches just because we're back at school?" Daisy tuts. "What kind of garbage supervillain would I be if I let you get away that easily, huh?"

She's entirely teasing. A small smile grows on Allie's face. "I thought you were a superhero?" Allegra asks. "You know, when you broke your ankle--" she clarifies, reminding Daisy of her joke.

Daisy remembers. "Yeah, well, you were right. Superheroes don't wear ripped tights. You had me all figured out," she says, giving Allie a conspicuously evil raise of an eyebrow, tainting her grin.

Allegra laughs, her anxiety beginning to wash away. New year, same Daisy.

She presses her lips together, trying to hide her smile. Daisy leans in and kisses her, ignoring all of their fellow students milling around them. They can talk shit if they want, she thinks. She likes Allie too much to hide it.

When she pulls back, the two of them look at each for a long second, struck by how lucky they are. Matching grins bloom across their faces, and Daisy takes Allie's hand in hers.

"Did you bring any cupcakes for lunch?" Daisy asks. "You know I'm only dating you for the cake, right?"

Allie shoves into her side, laughing.

- e n d -

a/n: thank you so much for reading this story! it really means a lot to me. i know it's a little shorter than a lot of the stories on here, but i was aiming for short and sweet, so hopefully i achieved that! i really fell in love with these two nerds while writing them, and i hope you have too.

as always, i'm very open to feedback! please let me know if there's anything that you think could improve this story (or my writing). i'll let it sit for a while, regardless, before i decide whether or not to work through it again with an edit, but any suggestions would be appreciated!

t h a n k  y o u.
- molly ♥