First Person I've Liked
Kate stared into the mirror when she woke up. After using the bathroom, taking a shower, brushing her teeth - she was ready for the day.
She stared into the mirror, and wondered.
Her hair was down.
Brooke wanted it down.
She had a crush on Brooke.
Life was kinda complicated right now.
But everything had kinda crawled back to a baseline, after… everything with Victoria. She’d woken up this morning, and felt the weight of the last day slip off her shoulders like water. She woke up, feeling like a different person. She was going to work with Chloe, be a better friend to Max, act less like her mother. And…
And she had a crush on Brooke.
A girl.
She had a crush on a girl.
It wasn’t like Max. Max… Max was a complicated problem, that she still had yet to work out. Her feelings for Max were very complicated, and very tough to wade through. There, really, was only one time she’d ever even considered-
...But she wasn’t thinking about that.
She was thinking about Brooke.
Because what she felt for Brooke wasn’t very complicated at all.
She had a massive, stupid crush on Brooke.
She took a deep breath - and looked right through her reflection.
You’re fine.
She wasn’t even really sure if she said the words aloud. It didn’t really matter.
You’re fine. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to work with Brooke on this World History project, and you aren’t going to be weird, awkward, sweaty, or stupid.
Because you. Are. Fine.
...She was fine.
And maybe she really would’ve been fine - except, of course, the world kinda hated her.
Knock knock knock.
She startled awfully - whipping around and opening the bathroom door.
Someone was knocking on the door to her dorm.
Knock knock knock.
She stalked forward hesitantly - grabbing up her bookbag with a quick movement as she did and slinging it over one shoulder.
She opened the door.
And was wholly unprepared for Brooke to be standing there.
“Kate.” The brunette said - while Kate had to suddenly shift her thoughts away from psyching herself up, and instead focus on controlling her unbearable crush; already perking up at the image of Brooke, wearing something that was far more formal then yesterday. She had a brown, thin button-up sweater with the cuffs folded back once, to show off her watch, which was tucked into her loose black jeans. Apparently skintight jeans were for weekends only.
She adjusted her glasses casually, and she was the perfect picture of a straight-laced academic.
It was absolutely adorable.
“Brooke.” Kate managed to keep her voice mostly flat and emotionless - and she thread her other arm through the other strap of her bookbag. “What’s up?”
“I came to quickly review some plans for your dorm before class.” Brooke said, shouldering her way into the dorm and glancing around. “I must say, even with the stars - this place is even more macabre then I remember.”
“It’s not macabre, geez.” Kate said. “It’s just… space-efficient.”
“It’s empty.”
“Well, if you wanna put it that way - sure.”
Brooke hummed something under her breath, taking a notepad out of her pocket - and Kate was sure that those were men’s jeans now. Those pockets were too big for women’s jeans.
“I’ll be paying for everything, of course.” Brooke said eventually, eyeing up the windowsill rather obviously. “But I wanted you to get the final say on everything before we start redecorating in earnest.”
“...Right.” Kate said. “Well, what did you - uh - have in mind?”
“Well, painting these walls would be a very good start.”
Kate blinked.
“Can… we do that?”
Brooke paused.
Slowly turned to her.
Stared at her, like she was a complete idiot.
“...Yes. We can do that. Almost everyone does that in Blackwell - haven’t you ever visited a friend’s dorm?”
“Yes.” Kate said, a little more harshly then she meant to. She bit her cheek - and kept her tone as blank as she could when she course-corrected, “but I don’t think Max’s dorm was painted, and you had so many posters I could hardly tell.”
Brooke seemed to consider this argument.
“Irrelevant.” She said, eventually. “You should’ve known this.”
“Wh- how could I have possibly known about that?!”
“It’s common knowledge for all students.” Brooke said, voice utterly flat as she adjusted her glasses again - and it was probably just how unemotional she was about it that pissed Kate off.
“Well, clearly not!! I didn’t know about it, Max never mentioned it - frankly, it seems like you’re just assuming everyone who doesn’t know what you do is an idiot!!”
“You are an idiot.” Brooke said, without inflection.
Kate recoiled like Brooke had hit her.
“Now, as I was saying,” Brooke said - like she hadn’t just called Kate an idiot without blinking. “The best first step would be to-”
“You think I’m an idiot?”
Kate wasn’t sure whether the dark undertone to her voice was anger or hurt.
Brooke glanced at her.
Blinked.
“...Oh. I’ve offended you.”
“Wh- of course you have! You called me an idiot, Brooke!”
Brooke suddenly looked a lot less confident.
“I didn’t mean it as an insult.” She said - and she didn’t sound confident, but she didn’t sound apologetic, either.
“How could you not?!”
“Nearly everyone is.” Brooke said - like this was supposed to be some consolation.
“No, Brooke, they aren’t! And I’m not! You - geez, you aren’t even all that smart! I probably get better grades then you!”
“And Shawshank Redemption got awful box office returns.” Brooke said. Her voice hadn’t changed. “That doesn’t make it bad. The Shining got awful reviews, that doesn’t make it bad. I’m smarter then you are, Kate. I don’t mean that as an insult - I don’t mean anything by it. It’s just a fact.”
“Says the girl who provoked Victoria Chase!” Kate fired back - and her voice was getting louder, she was getting angrier. And it was only really because Brooke wasn’t responding. “Says the girl who never had a friend! Says the girl who had two identical watches, when her sleeves covered her scars just fine!”
Finally - something flitted across Brooke’s face.
She didn’t say anything, though. And, after a moment, even that miniscule response was gone.
And Brooke was just blankly staring at her again.
“I - I’m not an idiot, Brooke! And you can’t just - just assume you’re smarter then everyone else!”
“It isn’t an assumption.” Brooke said, voice quiet and flat. “It’s a fact.”
“That’s just what I mean! What makes you think you’re smarter then I am?”
Brooke adjusted the strap on the bag slung over her shoulder.
“I had a perfect knowledge of the basics of trigonometry by fourteen.” Brooke said, voice still utterly inflectionless. “I know the five stages of corpse decay in great detail. I have the perfect word for any situation - including this one. And, most of all - I don’t lash out and get defensive when someone calls me an idiot.”
Kate, for a moment, had no response.
All of her anger drained away.
“...I’m not an idiot.” She said - and her voice was a little more sullen then she’d meant it to be.
“I really didn’t mean it as an insult.” Brooke said. “Lots of people are idiots. And, despite the fact that you’re an idiot - you’re the first person I’ve ever liked.”
Kate, for a moment, didn’t quite process the words.
The moment she did, though, she looked up - and stared.
“...You like me?”
“That is what I just said, Kate.” Brooke responded. “Please keep up. You might be an idiot - but you’re far smarter then most people. You don’t look at me like you want something I don’t have - at least, not too often. You don’t insult me, even when I’m rude. You’re kind, accommodating, constantly working to improve yourself - really, in everything but smarts, you’re far better then I. Really, if I had to choose anyone to-”
Brooke, very suddenly, went dead silent.
“...If you had to choose anyone to…?” Kate made a little ‘go on’ gesture.
“Nevermind. I was done.” Brooke said. She glanced away. “Besides, we’ve hardly got anything decided with your apartment. Let’s get back to the job at hand, hm?”
Kate, for perhaps the first time, felt like Brooke was deliberately changing the subject - not because of an interest in the subject she was changing to, but rather to avoid the subject at hand.
...She decided to let Brooke get away with it.
(She still had to ask about the scars on Brooke’s arm, though.)
“Right.” Kate said, glancing around her own apartment like it was something very mysterious. “So - paint the walls?”
“Yes. I was thinking mint green.”
“Like your nails.” Kate said, with a tiny grin.
“Yes, like my nails.”
“Okay, we can paint the walls.” Kate said, giving Brooke a glance. “Wanna do that after school?”
“If I get to decide the music, and we order Chinese - yes.”
“I’m good with Chinese.”
Brooke glanced at her - and gave her one of those rare, fleeting smiles.
Kate’s heart fluttered.