Chapter 1
Laura woke surrounded by the smell of something rough and woodsy, yet familiar. She also woke with the lack of oxygen due to her face being smooshed into something warm and…moving?
Quickly her head darted up from it’s previous relaxed position and she immediately regretted it as she observed her surroundings. Her head spun and she took everything in. She wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t even in ANY bed. Currently, her tiny body was crammed against the back of the couch, sandwiched by none other than Carmilla Karnstein herself in her drooly, bed headed glory.
“Carm,” Laura nudged her with her knee. Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed and she yanked Laura closer by her waist, burrowing her face into her stomach. Laura laughed.
“Carm get up, we fell asleep on the couch again,” Laura brushed some hair out of Carmilla’s sleepy face. “Let’s go grumpy gills, we’ve got errands to run today.”
Carmilla huffed but didn’t open her eyes, but Laura knew she was awake. She squeezed Laura even tighter before rolling unceremoniously onto the floor with a thump and reluctantly dragging herself to the bathroom. Laura flopped back onto the now much colder couch with a sigh and tried to still her rapidly beating heart. Cuddly morning Carmilla was not something she ever got used to, even after 6 years of friendship and living together.
Laura and Carmilla had met at university, roommates that butt heads over chore wheels and clogged shower drains. But after unintentional eavesdropping of a very loud, very aggressive phone call from Carmilla’s mother, Laura softened. And so began their weekly movie night and unlikely friendship.
After university, they two had gotten an apartment together, both painfully single and not willing to live without each other just yet (not that either of them would admit that). In the two years following her seemingly useless journalism major, Laura some how landed herself as the host of a late night show that threw some very crooked people under the bus. Not quite the investigative journalism she thought she’d be doing with her life, but she was grateful non the less. Money was never an issue anymore.
Determined to pull her own weight though, Carmilla’s now useless Philosophy degree collected dust as she worked full time in a tiny bookstore in hipstery downtown. She grumbled and complained a lot, but Laura knew she loved it.
Laura was broken from her nostalgic thoughts when a less grumpy, yet no less attractive emerged from the bathroom in a short towel, steam curling around her.
“Cupcake,” she said warningly. “You wake me up, on my day off mind you, and you haven’t even moved from the couch,” she tried to scowl at the creampuff still flat on her back and a smile threatened her glare.
Laura threw a pillow over her face to hide the beet red color of a very almost naked Carmilla standing a few feet from her.
“Uh I’ll be ready in a minute,” Laura’s speech was muffled by the fabric. She heard Carmilla chuckle and didn’t need to remove the pillow to know that damn smirk was present on her face. Carmilla’s light footsteps retreated to her room as Laura groaned and pulled the pillow off her face.
“I was thinking we should buy a turkey this year, maybe get a head start and keep it in the freezer so we don’t have to fight the crowd. Plus, my dad is somewhere in Vancouver for the holiday on business so I’m all yours for Thanksgiving,” Laura spoke as she flung every unhealthy item within her reach into their cart.
Carmilla made some sort of non committal noise behind her as she continued to tap way on her phone. Laura continued to list her meal plans for the two when she glanced back at the broody girl behind her. “Carm, are you even listening to me?”
“Mhm sounds great buttercup,” her eyes never leaving the screen. He let out an exasperated huff that blew her bangs off her forehead for a moment before settling right back over the eyes.
“I also think we should get matching Christmas tattoos this year, I’m thinking I get your portrait of you in your grumpy car sweater on my ass,” Laura glanced back again, checking her reaction.
“Sure me too,” Carmilla mumbled, clearly not in the conversation at all.
Laura stopped walking and waited as Carmilla crashed into her.
“What the-cupcake! Why’d you stop?” Carmilla finally looked up at her with a surprised expression.
“Carmilla, I just told you I was getting a tattoo of your face on my ass and you said ‘sure me too’” Laura gave her a pointed look. “Where are you today?” her face scrunched up in concern and leaned in towards her roommate, intending to brush some hair out of her face was decided against it halfway there, her hand falling awkwardly at her side. Carmilla didn’t miss the movement.
“Sorry cupcake, my brother and sister are texting me non stop.” Carmilla sniffed and looked down. “Apparently I’m expected home this holiday.”
Laura felt her gut wrench. She always tried not to pry into Carmilla’s home life since she resented it so much. But from what she picked up, Carmilla was still painfully closeted with her family. Her homophobic mother not making things any better when Carmilla would try and find the courage to tell them.
As long as Laura had known Carmilla, they had spent every Thanksgiving together. Sometimes, at home, sometimes with Laura’s father. But never once had Carmilla gone back home to her family. Laura wasn’t even sure where she was from.
“Hey,” Laura started softly. Carmilla still wouldn’t meet her eyes. “What do you need?”
Carmilla exhaled forcefully and looked like she was about to brush Laura off the suddenly her eyes went wide. Laura knew that was her idea face. She never liked her idea face. She took a step backwards toward their cart and opened her mouth to say something when Carmilla blurted out.
“Be my girlfriend.”
The air left Laura’s lungs in a whoosh and she coughed on her own spit. After some hard thumps to her back she finally regained her ability to speak.
“What?!”