Chapter 3
Hey all. I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying this. Thank you so much for continuing to read it. I've been enjoying the trip down memory lane. It's been so weird.
"Um…"
Delphine sniffled, attempting to control her emotions as she pulled back, looking at a very confused brunette. "Désolée… I didn't mean to… I'm just…" The girl was just as she remembered her, down to the hairstyle that had seemed so wild at the time.
Cosima shook her head, her colorful dreads whipping slightly through the air. "Don't worry. It's cool. Are you alright?" The dark eyes were filled with concern as they ran over Delphine's form.
"Oui… sorry. He's an asshole."
"Don't apologize for him." Cosima rolled her eyes, her hand coming up to push back her hair, straightening the glasses that had gotten jarred by the hug. "He's a dickbag. Are you ok?"
Nodding, Delphine reached up to adjust her bag, gasping as a pain radiated through her wrist, "Merde…" She winced, lifting her hand. She'd never hit anyone, even as an adult and she wasn't sure if this pain was normal or not.
"Oh boy." There was just a brief hesitation before Cosima reached out and grabbed Delphine's hand, noticing that the knuckles were beginning to swell but it was her wrist that was beginning to look bad. "Can you close your hand?"
When she attempted to do so, Delphine felt an excruciating pain radiate through her arm and tears welled in her eyes. This was the last thing she needed.
Cosima pursed her lips. "Yeah… I'm pretty sure it's broken. Looks like your pom pom days are behind you… at least for a while." With a sigh, she reached up and removed the joint Delphine hadn't seen that was tucked between her glasses and her ear, hiding it away in her glasses case. "Come on, we should get you to the nurse."
The nurse… Delphine had bad memories of the old woman who thought taking a small nap would fix a sprained ankle. "Non… my maman works at the hospital… I should…" She realized then that she was 17… she had come to school with Paul and didn't have her own car. There was no way she was going to walk the 4 or 5 miles to the hospital her mother worked at. She doubted she even had enough money to take a cab. "I can take the bus…" Just the thought of getting on the long death vehicle where she always felt her personal space violated by perverted old men made her stomach flip.
"That's gonna take like an hour or so…" Cosima bit her bottom lip, her eyebrows furrowed as she worked out a puzzle. "I can take you but I gotta drop my guitar off."
"You don't have to… you've already done enough." Delphine protested, although the pain was working it's way up her arm, making even her elbow ache. "I don't want to trouble you."
Cosima snorted at that, grabbing her on her uninjured elbow and pulling her towards a building. "Saving damsels in distress is no trouble at all." She joked.
Delphine couldn't stop the smile that tugged at her lips. She knew the brunette didn't have an easy time at school. Being the only openly gay female in the school made you a bit of a target for merciless bullying, but still the girl had a sense of humor. "You're too kind."
"It's the least I could do." Cosima spoke, her eyes always moving around them, always aware of her surroundings. "I don't get my honor defended a lot these days."
What had happened to the brunette, Delphine wondered, to cause such caution in her gaze? Personally, she'd never had to worry about it. She'd always been popular, especially in high school when she'd successfully found the equation to public approval… being a good student… being a cheerleader… dating the quarterback… perfect skin… perfect hair. No she didn't have any trouble whatsoever. Cosima, on the other hand, she defied the norm. Being a lesbian wasn't the only thing that made her unpopular. She dressed how she wanted, smoked pot and cut class while still getting top grades. Unconventional was an understatement.
But all of that just added to her character. On top of it all, she was a completely empathetic soul.
Entering the chemistry lab, Cosima unclipped the guitar from her back, approaching the only occupied lab station in the room. "Scotty boy, I need a fav." .
Looking up from a beaker, Scott nervously removed his goggles. "Cosima I'm right in the middle of… oh." His eyes feel on Delphine and he quickly turned off the bunsen burner. "Oh.. hey."
"Scott." Delphine smiled, taking in the younger version of him, the one that didn't know what his intelligence would bring him. Clean-shaven, huge glasses and a slightly larger frame, he was just as much a target for bullies as Cosima was, only he rarely fought back. It took everything in her to stop from hugging him, knowing that would probably make the shy boy implode.
"H-hey." He lifted his hand in greeting.
With a shake of her head, Cosima set her guitar next to Scott's stack of books. "Delphine here just broke her hand getting in a fist fight with a lizard so I have to take her to the emergency room."
Scott gave them an uncertain look and Delphine was sure he was going to say everything except what he actually did. "Is the lizard ok?"
Delphine snorted in laughter. "Non. He's worried about his audition." She could see the confusion on his face but she couldn't help her laughter.
Cosima grinned. "If I'm not back for this can you bring it home for me?"
"Well…" Casting a quick look at Delphine, Scott stood a little braver. "What… what's in it for me?"
Raising an eyebrow, Cosima dug a set of keys out of her bag. "You get to have sex… with yourself."
Delphine thought he would be offended, or blushing, but instead he laughed in that adorably dorky laugh of his. "Alright." He nodded.
Delphine lifted her good hand to wave as she followed Cosima. It was so strange. She had loved school when she was a teen, she had loved her popularity and all the friends she had, but now she couldn't wait to flee the prison it was. Was it really only the beginning of the school year? How was she going to keep up the facade? How was she… "What… is that?" Delphine gave the brunette a horrified look.
Cosima smirked, unlocking the lock around the tire and storing it before lifting the helmet from the hidden compartment under the seat. "I think you're gonna need this more than I am… in case you fall off."
Taking the helmet and glancing into it, Delphine looked up again to see the brunette backing the vespa away from the bike rack. She had horrible memories of when Paul had bought a motorcycle, his laughter at her terror as he went faster than was safe, apparently enjoying the way she hugged closer to her in fear, her whole frame shaking. "I think I would rather catch the bus…"
Sitting at the front of the seat, Cosima pat the seat behind her. "Come on." She noticed the fear in Delphine's face and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't worry. It doesn't go as fast as a car does. I'll keep it slow, it's just faster than walking and much faster than waiting for the bus. The faster we get to the hospital, the sooner you can give me some of those killer meds they'll give you." Seeing the blonde was wrestling with the helmet, she crooked her head. "Come here." She smiled gently, taking the helmet and settling it on the blonde's head, careful to adjust the strap so it was snugly in place. "Ok?"
Caught in the gaze of dark hazel eyes, Delphine could only nod. There was something about the way those eyes held a sincerity that she rarely found in people, it made her take a breath as she settled on the bike behind the brunette. Unsure of what else to do, she put her good arm around the girl's waist, feeling the surface twitch slightly against her hand.
There was an awkward moment of silence before Cosima spoke. "Hold on tight." Her voice had a strange tone, almost too quiet to hear. "I know you've only got one hand so I'll go slow."
True to her word, they crept at a speed around 30 miles an hour down the suburban street, Cosima careful to avoid all pot holes and abrupt changes in speed. Delphine didn't even notice the pain in her arm as the air whipped past them. When they got to the hospital, she hesitated for just the barest of moments before slipping off, wincing slightly as she jarred her wrist.
"Easy there, Captain." Cosima smiled as she set kickstand, reaching up to unfasten the helmet.
"Captain?" Delphine rose an eyebrow at the brunette, being rewarded with a lopsided grin as the girl stored the helmet under the seat.
"I mean I figure it's like a boat right… do the other cheerleaders NOT call you captain?"
As they walked into the emergency waiting room, Delphine chuckled under her breath. Surely the teen was just trying to keep her mind off the pain, and it was working. "No they don't."
Cosima tsked as they neared the check-in desk. "It's a shame. Such a wasted opportunity." Instead of letting the blonde talk, she smiled and turned to the nurse, charm obviously a part of her secret artillery. "Hey… Nurse Debbie," she spoke easily with a glance at the woman's name tag, "can you page Dr. Cormier and let her know her daughter broke her hand… or wrist… or whatever happens when you punch someone who's..."
"Cosima!" Delphine cut her off in exasperation. She had no intention on telling her mother what happened and smiled at the nurse. She didn't go to the hospital often so she only knew a few of the doctors and maybe one of the nurses. This wasn't one of the familiar faces. "She's kidding. I'm a cheerleader and I just landed wrong." Hearing Cosima's snort, she smiled. "The only thing I punched was the ground trying to break my fall." All those years of lying to herself and everyone else came in handy at least.
The nurse looked back and forth between the girls, her expression colored with doubt as she picking up the phone.
"Merci." Delphine gave the woman a thankful smile before pulling the brunette aside, taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Cosima, for bringing me and for showing up when you did but can we please not tell my mother… it's just going to complicate matters. The last thing I need is for my father to show up with a shotgun to school." She was trying to add humor to the situation, but she could tell the girl wasn't finding it funny at all.
Instead, there was a strange look that came over Cosima's face as she moved closer, so as not to be heard. "Look… I know you want to keep it all on the down low, I mean sure he's like the most popular guy in school and it's probably social suicide, but you really should tell someone. What if I didn't show up? Jerks like that don't even know they're wrong."
"Cosima, leave it." Delphine sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of her nose but wincing in pain when she realized it was her injured hand. "Merde."
"Hey… watch your hand."
"Delphine?"
Both girls turned to see the older Cormier stepping into the waiting room, a worried look on her face. "Maman." Delphine tried to school her reactions. "Sorry to be trouble, I know you're busy."
"Don't be silly, Delphine." The woman lifted the bruising limb. "This needs an x-ray. Why didn't the school call me? Debbie said you fell wrong? Cheerleading practice isn't until after school."
Delphine nodded. She'd expected a slew of questions but she wasn't a child. She'd been a part of interviews from sources more malicious than her mother and she was used to fending such an avalanche of inquiries. "It was my fault. Krystal and I were doing a quick competition of tumbles between classes and well… she won." She rattled off in French with a meek smile. "You know as much as I do that the nurse is an imbecile and I felt the hospital would help more than a quick nap." Finally she switched back to English as she cast a quick smile at the girl who was listening intently, a confused look on her face. "Cosima gave me a lift here."
The older woman smiled at the brunette. Delphine's mother always had the ability to judge people by their actions and not their looks, something her daughter wished she had learned to use more while still a teenager. "Merci, Cosima. That was very kind of you."
"Yeah… no problem… I'll just…" Cosima gestured towards one of the seats.
"Non… please." Delphine gave her a pleading look, her expression begging the brunette.
Cosima rose an eyebrow, looking around before nodding and following the cheerleader and her mother, the older woman raising a slight eyebrow but saying nothing.