Lydia moved into the library, dizzyingly gorgeous in her new pumps and that short, short dress. It’s strategic, you see. It lets everyone know she’s out of their league, and maybe, just maybe, it will attract the attention of the one person out of /her/ league. Not that she cared what Cora thinks. Nope. Not in the slightest. Lydia tossed a section of strawberry blonde curls over her shoulder as she surveys the library or her tutee: Malia Tate.
The familiar bob of dirty blonde is nowhere in sight, but she went to wait at their usual meeting spot anyway. Malia got 10 minutes to show, and then Lydia was out of there. (It might seem harsh, but she had other homework to get to.)
She was just about to leave when something caught her eye. Dark hair, grungy plaid...Cora. Alright. Maybe she’d stay just a bit longer.
Cora was sitting against a window, book propped against her knees and headphones securely over her ears. Her somewhat busy eyebrows were drawn together as she read -what was that, Hamlet? Lydia remembers the first time she read it (fifth grade. Good times).
Five more minutes, and Malia still wasn’t there, so Lydia slung her bag over her shoulder and made her wait to Cora.
“Shakespeare?”
Cora looked up and slid off one side of her headphones, staring up at Lydia with the cutest grump expression. Her lovely red lips were turned down slightly at the corners as she opened her mouth to speak. “It’s for my college prep english class…” She took a pause before speaking again, her voice gruff in a way that Lydia considered to be quite attractive, “Have you read it?”
Lydia nodded, and, with a slight flounce, sat at Cora’s right side. Carefully positioned for the best lighting from the window. “Of course I have.”
It comes out much ruder then she’d intended, and Lydia’s nose scrunches in an inward wince.
Her next sentence is a little more calculated, more thought out in tone, “It was difficult to get through.” Sympathetic. Perfect! Lydia gives Cora a little smile, head tilted slightly to one side so that her hair fell just above her brow in a little swoop of red. The light catches the artful gloss on her lips just enough to make her look absolutely radiant. Lydia was a mastermind when it came to seduction, and yet Cora showed little to no reception of it. God, it was enough to drive her mad!
The young Aphrodite moved slightly closer to Cora, and brushed a hand back through her carefully tousled curls. The move spread a small cloud of her perfume.
Cora glanced at Lydia’s neck, then at her lips, before looking back to her book, “Yeah, erm, it is kinda difficult to work through. Have any tips?”
Now that was progress! On a normal day, she couldn’t get Cora to say two words to her. Lydia nodded, her smile turning up further into a full on grin, her white teeth and rogue lips a stunning piece of art. “Sure. Try keeping notes in the margins on what’s going on, that way you can go back to it any time without having to work through all the wordage.”
Cora almost smiled as she thanked Lydia, and she started to dig through her backpack for some sticky notes. She ends up pulling out a pad of light purple notes with little violets around the edges.
“Those are cute,” Lydia said, reaching for them, “Where’d you get them?”
“Ah...from my sister, I think. She likes to get me stationery.” Cora’s sister, Laura, worked at Papyrus. So it made sense that she would be supplying the youngest Hale with stationery.
Lydia nodded, still smiling brightly. The violets were very cute, and she found herself wishing she had something cute like that. She tended to stick with the more traditional supplies….something she often regretted. People always seemed to have the cutest stuff.
“Do you like violets?” Lydia asked after a moment, taking the opportunity to gather some more information on her crush. It could come in handy some day.
Cora shrugs, but Lydia can tell from the light pink rising to her cheeks that the answer is ‘yes’. She can’t tell why Cora would be so embarrassed about that -unless it had to do with keeping up her badass imagery. Cora was known around school as a total boss. Hiking, camping, dirt biking. Her family ran a wolf sanctuary, for Gods sake! She practically screamed outdoorsy and boyish. Guess there was a softer side to her though….
“That’s cute,” Lydia found herself speaking before she could think the words through. Oh gods. Did she really just say that out loud? Oh gods.
Cora laughed, her body leaning instinctually towards Lydia. Her hand landed just below Lydia’s knee to brace her, the gold painted nails digging slightly into Lydia’s bare skin. Lydia leaned slightly into her in response, a small smile gracing her lips. Oh...oh, okay. This worked.
“Thanks,” Cora said a moment later, looking up at Lydia through thick, dark lashes. She almost looked like a doe -with big brown eyes, flecks of green and gold towards the center. Central heterochromia, Lydia’s brain supplied. Thanks brain. Way to kill the moment.
Lydia felt a slight heat rising to her cheeks, the familiar pricklings of a blush. God Cora was so close to her...she could just lean less then an inch and their lips would meet...She shook herself out of the daze as Cora leaned away. God she was so gone on this girl.
“So, what brings you to the library?”
Lydia cleared her throat, not yet trusting her voice to stay steady, “I was supposed to meet Malia here for tutoring, but she never showed….” She glanced around the library again just to make sure. Nope. No sign of Malia. Where could she have gotten to?
Cora nodded, “Mm...she probably got sidetracked. You know how she is.”
She’d almost forgotten that Cora and Malia were friends...Hm. Maybe she should ask Malia for help wooing the stubborn Hale. Lydia contemplated it for a moment, before realizing what a disaster that could turn out to be. Malia wasn’t the best at keeping her mouth shut -there was a fair chance she’d just tell Cora straight off what Lydia was up to. Ugh.
Lydia shrugged a moment later, still lost in thought. She wanted Cora so badly; wanted to /know/ her, truly and intimately. Like the sun and the moon. They could be great together.
“I gotta get to class,” Cora said a moment later, totally killing the moment. She grabbed her bag, her book, and her coffee, and flashed Lydia a little smile before darting off.
Lydia looked down at her hands and sighed.