The train pulled up to the platform with a somewhat disconcerting screech, just about loud enough to find its way up past the barrier of Laura's earphones and make her jump. She had a tendency to get lost in her reading, and had missed multiple trains before on account of it; but today she got up and into the late night service, taking one of the many empty seats. From here, the train would head down to Brighton before it made its way back up to London, and when it got there it would be flooded with people - it was the night after Pride, and the trains between the two cities were inevitably packed, but she'd learnt that you could head up to Preston Park station and catch the train when it was yet to fill up. It was almost routine at this point - Laura made a point of hitting every pride she could each year, London, Manchester, Brighton, she'd even made it over to L.A. last year. She didn't have many friends to go with, but she loved it anyway - the real pull for her had always been the activism, standing up for a cause you believed in. She marched every time, always with a new handmade banner promoting some cause or other. She'd finish up, take a look around the city, maybe grab a few drinks, but she never stayed too late; the fun faded after the parade without anyone to celebrate with.
It was only a few minutes till they arrived at the next station and the people began to pour in - usually drunk, usually decked out in full rainbow colours, and usually very very obviously gay. It used to make her uncomfortable, but now she just grinned at the happy celebrators - for many after all, it was the one night of the year when they got to feel free in who they were. The seats quickly filled up - opposite her were a couple, making out like there was a million dollar prize for devouring the other person's face. Awkwardly turning her head, she saw the person sitting next to her; they were wearing a lot of black compared to the people swarming around them, but their face (it was quite a nice face, now she came to think of it) was adorned with rainbow paint. They looked more tired than anything, worn out by a few hours of partying no doubt, and they were surprisingly young for this time of night - setting herself aside, the earlier trains were largely populated by the middle aged and elderly, making a relatively early trip home, whilst those who were younger stayed out till the early hours of the morning. She tried flashing them a smile, but got no response - they were staring out a window across the train, and Laura didn't really have the social confidence to get their attention.
It was half an hour in when they reached into their bag and pulled out a bottle of water, pouring some onto their hands. They tried to clean the paint off their face, and met with some measure of success - but they faltered as they realised it wouldn't all come off. A clear panic started to set in, their breath quickening as they scrubbed harder and got ready to stand up and head to the bathroom. She didn't know whether it was tiredness, or just that she'd spent the last twenty minutes trying to work out a way to talk to this person, but she reached out a hand to meet their now shaking arm. It recoiled from her touch, and they spun around, confusion in their eyes.
"You won't have any luck with water, I can lend you some of my make-up remover if you want? I used it earlier to clean up, it worked wonders." Her voice came out in somewhat of a nervous squeak, which might at least help her to not seem patronising - but still, they were silent for a second, their face filled with distrust, before they sat back down again. Reaching down into her bag, she got out the remover and handed it over.
"I'm Laura by the way!" Well that wasn't awkward. "Laura Hollis!" They needed to know your second name? "I uh, I take she!" Would they even know what that meant? What if she was making herself look stupid? The slightly scared glare she was receiving didn't seem like a good sign, not that they didn't seem to have a minor case of resting bitch face (it was a really, really nice face though).
"I'm Carmilla. I use she too." The words were all she got before the girl turned away and started to scrub at her face, her breathing at least appearing to be slower, her shaking less visible. Laura didn't really know what to do - there wasn't much to say, but if she didn't speak now she would lose any vestige of confidence she had managed to miraculously obtain.
"Are you, um, worried about people at home finding out? You seemed a bit panicked there is all," she said, her fingers drumming on the table as she chastised herself internally for - what? Daring to speak to an attractive girl? She honestly didn't understand herself sometimes, if not most of the time.
"My family is none of your business Hollis, and my sexuality is none of theirs." Ouch. She really wasn't doing well - no wonder she hadn't had a date in years when this was how she handled social situations.
"Sorry, I just thought I could help, we've all been there after all, I didn't mean to overstep!" Carmilla turned to her, eyes rolling dramatically.
"If you want to help, pass me my drink from my bag under the table, my hands are a bit full right now." Well at least she could manage that one without problems, and she was being talked to now! A good sign, maybe? Maybe she should stop overthinking. Ducking down, she opened up the bag to find a beer and, lying there, a leaflet from the same university she was heading to in September. She sprung back up, drink in hand, almost banging her head on the underside of the table.
"You're going to Silas too?" The excitement in her voice would have embarrassed her if she hadn't been too busy being, well, excited. In contrast, Carmilla's face went visibly pale as she took the drink.
"Yeah, but I'm sure we wont run into each other, it's a big university."
"Oh it's not that big! And besides, we could arrange to meet up or something?" Silence. She really did need to take some lessons in reading social cues.
"Look, you're lovely and all, but you're right. I'm not out, and I can't be seen hanging around with people who are." She stood up, leaving the remover on the table and taking her bag. "Thanks for the help, the drink's on me. See you." And with that she was gone, the seat swiftly being filled up by an old drunk in a vibrant rainbow peacock style dress.