Gregory Girls Gone Wild - Chapter 29: Chapter 29

The night before spring semester, Rainey stared aimlessly at her ceiling.
She shifted on her bed before turning to her phone.
Danika
Hey. Are you back? Can I come over??
Work tomorrow?
Rainey took a deep breath.
Rainey
Sorry I haven't been answering. I just needed some space over break. I'm heading to work tomorrow a little earlier than usual. If you're still planning on working, we should talk then. I think I just need to clear the air.
A message buzzed back immediately, as if Danika had been sitting vigil by her phone.
Danika
yeah, of course! im still planning on working why wouldn't I?
i have a bunch of stuff to tell you. are you at your apartment? i can't wait to talk to you :)
Rainey
No, don't. I need time to collect my thoughts. Let's just talk tomorrow.
Danika
oh, okay. no problem. how was your break?
Rainey clicked off her phone and stretched to her side. She felt the gentlest of nuzzles across her right cheek. Smiling, she traced the nose that touched her.
"If you're uncomfortable with me working with her..." Rainey began.
She twirled a pink strand of hair fondly.
"It's not a big deal to me," Fiona said. Wearing nothing but Rainey's shirt, she propped herself up with one elbow, allowing Rainey more access to her hair. "I'm not the jealous type."
She inspected Rainey's face keenly. "Unless, you still have feelings for her?"
Rainey sighed. "I don't."
"Because I don't want to get in the way—"
"Of what?" Rainey asked indignantly. "Me acting like a fool? No, I'm done with that part of my life."
She kissed Fiona's cheek softly. "Now, this," she traced her nose. "This is more like it."
Fiona giggled. They dove under the bed sheets.
It had been nearly two weeks since Rainey's birthday. Rainey had expected Fiona to take the first bus home the next morning, but to her surprise, Fiona had stayed another day, and then that day had extended to a week by invitation of Rainey, then another week after that. She couldn't remember being more happier in her life.
How different her life was compared to Christmas! What a wonderful person Fiona was!
They hadn't quite labeled their relationship yet but as Rainey had predicted since the play, she and Fiona got along well enough. There was an easiness to the pink-haired beauty; radiant and carefree in her affections. She was stylish too, and normal, which Rainey liked. She never teased her or said outrageous things. Rainey liked that.
When Fiona fell asleep, after their session in bed, Rainey stared up at the ceiling yet again. A pit dug into her stomach. The happiness she had acquired recently had brought clarity to the whole Danika situation.
Mariah had been right. She had been partly to blame for what happened at Jessica's party. She was a lesbian who had demanded her best friend—a straight girl—to kiss another girl in front of a crowd.
She groaned. It felt like she had fallen into the trap of a predatory lesbian in one fell swoop. In her defense, she was so sure that Danika had felt the same way. But, she reflected, she had fallen into another trap instead: inventing feelings that weren't quite there.
Turning around to face Fiona's sleeping figure, she figured she needed to be up front and apologize to Danika.
And if Danika wanted to end their friendship—although, the number of texts Rainey had received made it seem unlikely—then so be it. Rainey needed to focus on bigger and better things. Which included the upcoming meeting next week with Sam Stabbings.
The sun rose slowly and restlessly, as if it knew what was to come. Gregory College and all its inhabitants, returned from winter break, also woke up—groggy-eyed and slamming at their alarm clocks.
Rainey arrived at the water delivery parking lot at seven forty-five in the morning, wearing a leather jacket and black, skinny jeans. To her surprise, there was already a lone figure leaning against the water truck.
A sudden wave of shock hit Rainey; it truly had been weeks since she had seen or heard from the sophomore. Danika straightened up and blinked at her too, in surprise.
There was an awkward moment when Danika reached in for a hug and Rainey stepped back; then, Rainey changing her mind went for a hug, but Danika stepped back. Finally, they just eyed each other, Danika with a friendly, wary smile and possessive eye, and Rainey with a calm but respectfully distant demeanor.
"Hey, finally," Danika said, her throat moving visibly. "Been a while. How was your break?"
Rainey noticed that she had lost weight, and looked paler, unhealthier than at Jessica's party. She frowned. "It was alright. I was here for break, so the same old stuff, you know."
"Wait, what?" Danika spluttered. She looked nervous, strangely enough. "You were here the whole break? Why, what about your mother? And w-why didn't you answer me then?"
Rainey cleared her throat. "My mom went to live with her boyfriend so me and Mariah decided to stay at Gregory College for Christmas. " She narrowed her eyes. "By the way, were you here at all over break?"
She recalled, with suspicion, New Year's Eve, where she had seen a vision of Danika at Darling Darlene's. After being dragged by Mariah to another bar, Rainey had sneaked into Darlene's later after midnight and had seen no trace of Danika. She had also been hallucinating dancing squirrels that escorted her down the street, so she figured that Danika too had been a figment of her imagination. Fiona's drugs had definitely fucked her up.
Danika looked down. "No, I came back to Gregory College yesterday from my parent's place."
Rainey got the feeling that Danika was hiding something from her, but it made no sense that she would have stayed in Gregory College over break, let alone get within one hundred feet of a lesbian bar at that. She internally shrugged. Whatever. Not my business.
"Anyways," Rainey braved.
"Yeah," Danika agreed. "Anyways..."
There was an awkward pause.
"Sit?" Rainey suggested.
"Sure."
Danika's neon orange sweater was too baggy on her figure, and it crinkled against the hard concrete on the curb of which they sat. Her long black hair was tied in a ponytail, looking dull and in need of a wash.
"Anyways." Rainey took a deep breath. "I was pretty messed up after—you know, after Jessica's party. And the stuff that happened. That's why I needed space."
Danika nodded grimly. "Me too, Rainey. I—"
"Do you mind if I finish first?" Rainey asked gently. "I-I just would rather get this off my chest."
Danika nodded hesitantly.
"Okay," Rainey said, fiddling with her fingers. "I just wanted to say sorry for the way I acted at the party. I was drunk and stupid and mad at you but that was no excuse for my actions. Things just spun out of control, you know?"
"Yeah, they did," Danika mumbled. She stared blankly at Rainey's fingers. "Why were you mad at me?"
Rainey flushed. "I'm just going to be honest with you, okay?" She took a deep breath. "I-I had some weird feelings for you last semester."
She kept her eyes peeled on the curb as she felt Danika stirring in surprise.
"At the party, I was getting some mixed vibes from you, which wasn't your fault obviously, I was plastered and not thinking clearly. I know it's not cool because first of all, I'm your boss, and that's a no-no. Second of all, I know you're straight so that would never happen."
She pulled at her fingers nervously. "It's not a big deal. I sorted my feelings out over break and I don't like you like that anymore. But if you're uncomfortable working with me or even—"
Something caught in her throat. "Or even being my friend anymore, I won't hold it against you. I just wanted to clear the air."
She stood up and faced the still-sitting sophomore.
After a moment, Danika looked up. Her brown eyes looked conflicted. "So, you like me?"
Rainey sighed, not wanting to get teased. "Past tense. And just barely."
"This is a lot of information..." Danika scratched her head.
"Well, you were the one asking—"
"I'm pretty offended, you know?" Danika got up. Rainey stepped back, swallowing hard. "You really think that less of me?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean," Danika's eyes flashed. "I wouldn't end a friendship over something as little as that. Do I come across as that bitchy to you?"
"No, of course not—"
"I would never. But," Danika's fists clenched. "I could end a friendship over the fact that you didn't talk to me at all over winter break," she finished, sounding hurt.
Rainey frowned. "I'm sorry about that. But I needed space to think, Dani, especially after that whole mess—"
"Yeah, I know," Danika's voice broke. "But I'm the type of person that needs to communicate, Rainey. I can't deal with radio silence. I wanted to make up right then and there! I know I acted like a jerk at the party, daring you to take your top off and shit, and I didn't understand why I was acting that way before...but—but I'm slowly starting to now—"
She cleared her throat. Rainey blinked back tears.
"I needed you then, Rainey." Danika exclaimed, her body trembling. "Y-you said we were best friends and I thought that included some modem of respect, you know? Like not ignoring each other! And yet—"
Rainey hugged her to stop her shaking, her yelling. "Okay, I'm sorry about that too," she whispered. "I know I can be selfish at times. I know I shouldn't have ignored you, I'm sorry. Forgive me, Dani. I'm sorry."
Danika wrapped her arms around her. "I mean, of course I'll forgive you," she trembled. "That's a no-brainer. This whole stupid thing was my fault anyways. I can just get so riled up sometimes. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry."
"Forgiven," Rainey said instantly. She broke the hug and looked at Danika. "It's in the past now, okay?"
"Okay." Danika rubbed her nose. "Okay, I agree. In the past." She glanced at her shyly. "I missed you, Ran-Ran."
Rainey smiled. "Ditto."
Danika chuckled lightly. Once again, Rainey noticed the strange nervousness lurking in her eyes. "Hey, I got something to tell you."
"Oh yeah?" Rainey said. "Me too, actually."
Danika looked at her, startled. "You first."
So Rainey did, explaining the email from Loralie about the meeting with Sam Stabbing. They began to load the water boxes inside the truck while Danika listened to the news with a concentrated face.
"January fifteenth?" Danika said, eyebrows furrowed. "Can I see the email?"
As Rainey drove the truck to the first stop, Danika read the email, silently mouthing the words.
"A banana?" She raised an eyebrow. "A checkbook? Do you even have a checkbook?"
"No," Rainey admitted. "I'll have to ask the bank for one."
Danika sighed. "And this is the only way to get out of the Phoenix Kings? Stroll right into the lion's den?"
Rainey shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."
"I can't let you go alone, obviously."
"Well," Rainey tugged at her collar. "I wanted to ask you to come as back up but I felt weird after...you know..."
Danika looked out the window. "Don't worry about that. Your safety is more important, Rainey. Forward the email and we'll go to the building together."
Rainey nodded happily, feeling like things between them were beginning to patch up.
After unloading the first batch of water bottles, Rainey quickly texted Fiona.
Fiona
So bored without you 24/7. Class sucks.
Rainey
I knoww. Missing you :)
Told Danika about the meeting. She's down to help.
Fiona
Awesome :) glad everything's working out!
"Busy fingers today, huh?" Danika grunted, as she swung another carton of bottles on a table.
"Ah," Rainey shifted her phone out of sight. "Something like that."
Of course she had confided in Fiona about the Phoenix Kings. Rainey had been dying to tell someone about the upcoming meeting anyways, especially when Danika hadn't been an option.
She frowned at Danika now. "Hey, didn't you have something to say earlier?"
Danika glanced at her nervously. "What? Oh, yeah."
They climbed back in the truck to the next stop. Danika seemed to be fidgeting quite a bit. "If you don't mind," the sophomore said quietly. "I need to summon up some more courage to say what I want to say."
"Really?" Rainey asked wryly. "You can't just blurt it out like you usually do?"
Danika rolled her eyes. "No, it needs to come out correctly. It's delicate. I just need to—I'm figuring out the..."
She muttered to herself, baffling Rainey. Rainey wondered vaguely if the sophomore was stressed about something.
"Well, take your time. We have all shift." They got out of the truck again.
The day's work was plentiful as extra water bottle shipments were demanded from thirsty students and insufficiently supplied buildings. Danika and Rainey worked quickly and promptly as they traveled from stop to stop, delivering water to frazzled looking volunteers.
At the last stop, Rainey was texting Fiona a funny joke she thought up, a scenario with a lesbian walking into a bar. She was just about to send the punchline when—
"Okay, so you know how we had a month off for winter break?" Danika asked her. They were in front of the gym, the last stop of the day.
"Uh-huh."
"And so I was doing a bunch of thinking, you know?"
"Yeah." Rainey licked her lips as she typed on her phone.
"More than thinking, actually—"
"Right."
"Hey, are you listening to me?" Danika huffed. "Earth to Rainey! Seems like now you can't stop texting all of a sudden, hm?"
Rainey winced. She could tell that was going to be a sore spot with Danika. "Sorry, go on."
Looking perturbed, Danika continued. "Anyway, you were saying how you—you liked me earlier, right?"
Rainey bristled, already sensing a trap. "Okay, listen up here. I don't want to be teased about this or bullied—"
"No, that's not what I mean—"
"But my feelings for you are basically gone, if it even counted. I've moved on, Dani. Please don't worry about me mooning over you and such—"
"You've moved on?" Danika asked suddenly, taken aback. "What do you mean?"
Rainey shook her head, irritated. "It's too early to even talk about this..."
Danika stared expressionless, fists clenched.
"I mean, if it'll really make you feel better, I've been talking to Fiona recently," Rainey admitted. "A lot."
Danika looked taken aback. "Fiona? Pink-haired Fiona?"
"Yeah," Rainey looked down at her phone bitterly. "So don't worry about me hitting on you anymore, okay? I've got someone else now."
Danika blinked at her, looking shocked. Rainey pushed past her and grabbed three boxes from the truck. "Hurry up and help me finish this load, will you?"
She trudged to the gym, flushed. She was pleased that Danika had asked her about Fiona; pleased that she now had someone to parade about, boast about.
The volunteer at the table ordered her to drop the boxes behind the gym, so Rainey had to trudge even further, sweating and puffing as she did so. When she made her way back, glaring at the spotless volunteer, she stopped short of the door.
The rest of the boxes from the truck were unloaded and stacked neatly on the gymnasium floor. Confused, Rainey went over to the truck area and found that Danika was nowhere to be seen.
Gritting her teeth, she texted her,
Where did you go? You can't just leave before the shift ends, you know??
With a kick at the truck, Rainey furiously pushed the rest of the boxes towards the back of the gym like the volunteer had asked. Eerily, the six or so boxes stacked on top of each other reminded Rainey of Danika's first day, when the sophomore had carried the boxes as a result of Ethan's dare.
Dares. Rainey shook her head. It was so unlike Danika to skip work like this. She wondered if she had said anything to offend her.
Dropping off the truck alone on the way back, she figured that maybe Danika hadn't believed her about Fiona and had decided to break off their friendship. As she headed to Nutty's for an evening shift, she felt quite gloomy at the thought.
The evening blew cool air into the ice cream parlor. Winter was always the worst season for customers, but a few students always managed to crawl in, desperate for some icy sweetness despite the cold. Big M as usual was minding the back room, while Rainey dealt with the customers.
She texted Fiona sporadically throughout her shift. She attempted to finish her lesbian in a bar punchline.
A lesbian enters a bar and she sees—
The front door bells jangled. Rainey looked up, distracted, before her jaw dropped.
It was Danika, wearing the same outfit as before and looking worse for the wearer.
"Why, you have a lot of nerve showing up here after skipping shift early—" Rainey began, heated.
Danika stalked over to the front counter and held a hand up. "Are you happy with her?"
"If her means you, no, I am absolutely not!"
The few customers sitting at tables looked at them in concern.
"No," Danika said, teetering unsteadily on her feet. "With Fiona. Are you happy with her?"
Rainey blinked. Danika looked sickly, in her opinion. She got out from behind the counter and approached the sophomore cautiously. "Dani, are you okay?"
"Listen, Rainey this is important," she interrupted. "Tell me, honestly."
Hesitating, her eyes taking in Danika's figure, she nodded slowly.
Danika's shoulders seemed to sag. "How long have you two been talking? Just curious."
"A few weeks."
"Wow," Danika's eyes burned with some alien emotion Rainey couldn't quite identify. "You look happier too. You've gained some weight."
Rainey frowned. "Yeah, you lost some weight over break, you know? Is everything alright, Dani? Are you stressed about something or—"
"Just classes. Internship interviews. You know, the works," Danika said evenly. She closed her eyes. "Sorry for bailing at work earlier. I just wanted to be alone. Won't happen again."
Rainey felt uneasy, unsure of what to do next. This wasn't the bubbly Danika standing in front of her but it wasn't the angry one either. "No worries, I guess. Want a free ice cream?"
Danika shook her head. She opened her eyes and they looked quite normal again. "You're truly happy, Rainey?"
Rainey scratched her chin. "I mean, except for the whole Phoenix Kings trying to kill me, yeah I guess so."
Danika flipped her hair impatiently. "Didn't I  tell you not to worry? I can handle them—Ethan, Sam Stabbings, no problem."
Rainey stepped back from her intensity.
"What I wanted to say earlier," Danika continued, grabbing her shoulders. She stared into Rainey's eyes. "Is that I want you to be happy. More than anything. Especially after what I did at the party. And if you're happy with Fiona—"
Rainey held her breath unconsciously.
"Then I wish you the very best," Danika smiled. It was a dazzling, classic-Dani smile that always made her feel warm inside. "You deserve it."
"Thanks, Dani," Rainey mumbled. "I appreciate it."
Danika gazed around the ice cream parlor like she had never seen it before. The customers who had been staring returned quickly back to their ice-creams. "Got to head out. Early class tomorrow."
"Are you sure you don't want a free ice—"
But after a soft squeeze to the arm, Danika departed Nutty's, leaving Rainey slightly confused in her absence.
As she walked back behind the counter, Rainey bit her lip.
Then, her phone buzzed.
Fiona
Need company at Nutty's?
Rainey grinned.
Come on over.