Date. Not a Date. Whatever it is.
“So it’s a date?”
Jess is perched on the edge of Lena’s bed. Lena is pacing in front of the mirror with four different blouses in her hand, trying to decide which goes best with the skirt it took her 30 minutes to pick out.
“Yes? Maybe. I’m not sure.” Lena tells her tossing aside a green button up. Jess looks uncertain.
“It’s a party though, right? Parties aren’t really for dating.”
Lena turns to her suddenly concerned. “You think it’s not a date?”
Jess stands up and takes Lena’s hand. “No. No, that’s not what I said.”
Lena huffs and disqualifies a blue shirt. “What are parties for anyway? Never seen the point.” Jess laughs at this.
“Don’t I know it! I always have to drag you. And they say Excelsior is a party school.”
Lena laughs. “I had better things to do at that boarding school than party my parents’ money away.” Lena tells her trying on the white top and comparing it to the red.
Jess shrugs and says “Well, you’re the only one. In my experience…”
“Oh, this ought to be good.” Lena teases. Jess ignores her.
“In my experience, parties are for hanging out and hooking up. Maybe that’s all Little Miss Sunshine wants.”
Lena looks skeptical. “I don’t know, Jess.” She takes off the white top and puts on the red, eyeing herself in the mirror. “Kara doesn’t seem like the ‘hook up’ kind of girl.”
Jess shrugs turning around and accessing Lena's outfit. “Maybe not.” she says “But this is definitely gonna make her think twice.”
---------
Kara pulls the laces out of her cleats and starts lacing them again for the third time. She keeps messing up and missing a loop.
“You okay, Kara? You seem nervous.” Lucy asks sitting beside her in the locker room. “I mean, more nervous than usual.” she teases.
Kara smiles. “Yeah, I’m fine.” she lies.
She is not fine. Lena Luthor asked her out. On a date. Lena Luthor asked her out on a date. And she had to say no. Instead of going out on an actual date, she had to resort to inviting her to this stupid party. A party where there would be drunks and loud music and prying eyes. All of which would only make Kara more nervous than she already would be when standing in the same room as Lena. She was so screwed.
Lucy ties her shoes obliviously. “Don’t psych yourself out. We can beat these guys. I can feel it.”
“No, you’re right. We’ve totally got this.” Kara nods.
Lucy turns and scrutinizes her. “Then what’s wrong with you? You’re never this fidgety before a match.” Of course, that makes Kara fidget more.
She stands and closes her locker, muttering “I invited Lena to the party tonight and I’m freaking out.”
She speaks so fast Lucy only catches the words: Lena, party, and freaking.
“Slow down, Danvers! You did what now?”
Kara takes a deep breathe and tries to control the massive smile that spreads across her face.
“I invited Lena Luthor to our party tonight and I’m really nervous about it.” She says slowly.
Lucy jumps up in excitement. “Kara, that’s awesome! When did this happen? How did this happen?” She punches Kara in the arm “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Kara laughs, shaking her head. “I don’t know. She asked me out yesterday, and I had to say no, because of the match and the party and everything. But I really wanted to see her, so I invited her and she said yes!” Both girls bounce up and down, momentarily drawing strange looks from a few teammates.
“So what’s the problem?” Lucy whispers, leaning against the lockers.
Kara sighs and shakes her head. “Now it just seems kinda weird. Is it still a date? Can parties not be dates? Does that not count? And what if she doesn’t like the whole athlete thing? What if she thinks I’m just a dumb jock looking for a lay?”
Lucy places a hand on Kara’s arm to stop her. “Okay, stop. Stop.” She laughs. “First of all, I can not believe I just heard you say ‘looking for a lay’.” Kara blushes. “Second of all, you should totally be looking for a lay.”
“Lucy!” Kara smacks Lucy’s hand away and Lucy laughs harder.
“Okay! Okay! Sorry. Third, chicks dig jocks. Nothing to worry about.”
Kara looks skeptical. “Right, and how would you know that?”
Lucy scoffs. “Um, excuse me? I am a chick.” Kara rolls her eyes.
Their coach sticks her head in the room and yells “Alright, ladies! Five minutes! Get your asses in gear!”
Lucy pulls her hair up in a ponytail. “All jokes aside, Kara. Date, not a date, whatever it is. I’m sure you’ll feel better going into it as a winner instead of a loser. So get your head in the game, okay.”