Chapter 7
I feel like I studied for this chapter by watching a ton of shitty romcoms. Thank you all for awesomely reading this and for all those that comment/reviewed. You are amazing.
"Ok… favorite ice cream?"
Delphine hummed softly as she picked up a piece of paper from the ground, flipping it over in her gloved hand to inspect it briefly before shoving it into the garbage bag, the task made more difficult by the cast on her arm. "Vanilla." She commented before looking up at the sun, shielding her eyes from the light. They had been picking up trash as their detention for over half an hour so far and she was already tired of it. Not that she could deny that she needed to be there. She'd, after all, assaulted a student and spoke less-than-kind words to a faculty member.
Cosima, on the other hand, seemed completely at home doing the menial task, almost as if she had done so many times before. The brunette rose an eyebrow at the answer, her mouth turned up in mischief. "Like… French vanilla?"
With a roll of her eyes at the brunette's extremely proud look on her face, Delphine picked up a candy wrapper. "Just vanilla. And you?"
With a lick of her lips, Cosima picked up a torn sheet of paper, someone's homework. "Eskimo Pies."
Delphine paused, trying to grasp what the teen was saying. "Eskimo what? I don't know it…"
"No?" Cosima moved beneath one of the trees, getting out of the sun. Removing her gloves, she pulled her dreads up into a bun. "We have got to fix that… it's basically your standard vanilla ice cream covered in a dark chocolate shell." A smile lingered on her lips as she leaned against the rough bark. "You know… I'm pretty sure this counts as like… corporal punishment or whatever."
"Non… I really should not have swore at the teacher." Delphine sighed, leaning against the tree as well, her shoulder pressed against the brunette's. "You are a very bad influence on me."
"Me?" Cosima laughed. "Despite all outward appearances, I'm a pacifist." She nudged Delphine's shoulder softly. "Make love, not war, and all that."
Delphine had to smile at that. "A pacifist? Interesting."
"Hey! Not all of us can be bad-ass ninjas that can take down football players." Cosima chuckled softly, pushing off from the tree. "Like my own knight in shining armor."
A light blush tinged Delphine's cheeks. "I am nothing of the sort."Standing a little straighter and stretching her back, she looked over the school grounds that had been abandoned by students with exception of the two of them and the few other students that were serving their own detention sentence. "So… we haven't really talked about a schedule for tutoring… and what can I do to pay you?"
"Pay me?" Cosima snorted, reaching down to pick up a wrapper. "Considering you keep coming to my rescue, no payment needed."
"Cosima… you've already put so much time in…"
"As if I'd have anything else to do." There was a hint of amusement mixed with a little longing in her voice. "I've enjoyed your company." She spoke softly, sweeping her foot through a tuft of grass under the guise of finding trash.
Delphine gave the girl a curious glance, a strange flutter settling in her stomach. "So have I." She admitted, not as surprised when dark hazel eyes looked up at her as she was by how true the statement was. She didn't know why it seemed important to reveal that small confession, but the look on the student's face brought a smile to her own.
It was strange, the predicament she found herself in. She was trying to save the girl from her future bad choices, but for some reason, whenever she was in her presence, the task seemed to fade from her mind. She should have been finding some way to subvert the future, yet her mind could focus on nothing but the present and the dark pools of wonder directed her way from behind dark frames.
Cosima cleared her throat. "So… um… how often do you think you need tutoring? I mean… I don't know how you managed to forget it all but your grasp on calculus seems a little… lacking."
Delphine blew out a long breath, not sure how to answer that. "Just more proof that if you don't use it, you lose it." She smiled. "It doesn't help that I have no care for math itself. I've always wanted to be a doctor, which unfortunately requires me to have passed calculus but in no way actually uses it."
With a small snort, Cosima nodded. "Yeah, school is such bullshit."
They both looked up as a whistle sounded and Mr. Leekie was waving them back in.
"I know we just spent this magical hour of environmental beautification together," Cosima joked as they made their way towards the office. "But did you want to study today? I think we can find somewhere better than my basement to hang out. We could get some pizza."
"Do you eat pizza every day?" Delphine had to laugh at that. "That can't be healthy…"
"Pizza is life, man." Cosima chuckled. "But like… we can grab some… salad or whatever." Her nose scrunched in mock disgust before a grin came over her face. "Don't know why you're so concerned with eating rabbit food. You're certainly in good health."
"Thank you, but perhaps the reason for that is… as you call it, the rabbit food."
Cosima smirked. "Two days of pizza won't hurt you, Captain."
Delphine mulled it over. She had already told Alison and Krystal she would go to the game, but after the confrontation in the cafeteria, she wasn't so sure anymore. "I promised my friends I would go to the game tonight." She explained.
"Oh." Unable to hide the sudden crestfallen look on her face, Cosima nodded. "Ok. That's cool."
"Actually…" Delphine felt a pang in her heart from the expression. "I think it's better if I stay away from football players for a while." She didn't regret the decision the second hopeful eyes looked at her. "So… where does one get salad and pizza around here?"
A grin spread across Cosima's face from ear to ear. "I know just the place."
When they got to the girl's planned destination, Delphine looked around, her eyes wide as she took in the decor of the restaurant. "I am… without words." There were peanut shells littering the wooden floor and a moosehead above the booth they were sitting at. She was hesitant to ask if it was real, fearing what the brunette would say.
"It's amazing isn't it?" Cosima hadn't stopped grinning since they walked in, especially when Delphine had jumped in fear after nearly walking into a stuffed brown bear. She seemed to be giddy at the blonde's reluctance. Her elbows were planted on the red and white checkered tablecloth, her chin propped up on her balled fists, giving her an obnoxiously adorable look.
"Amazing is… not the exact word I would use."
Cosima didn't let it ruin her mood as she grabbed Delphine's textbook and began flipping through it. "Ok so… yesterday we started on the sum rule…"
Delphine pulled out her notebook and began to flip through her notes, scrambling to shift her brain back into learning mode. Thankfully, her mind was younger and more adaptable than her 40 year old brain had been and she found herself absorbing more information than she thought possible. Maybe it was that all the information was stored somewhere in her memory, begging to be extracted. Or maybe….
Cosima reached up to toy with a blue dread that had come loose from her bun, twirling it around her fingertip. "A linear combination is y(x) = au(x) + bv(x), where a and b are any real numbers…"
Maybe she didn't want to look like an imbecile in front of the student. If she was going to be stuck at the past, she knew she had to get all of this down before SATs. She needed to get into Berkeley.
She had accepted the fact that there were events in the world she would never be able to change. From presidential scandals to terrorist acts, there was no way one person could alter those events without getting into hot water themselves. No one would believe an innocent teen… an immigrant innocent teen… that was ranting about a possible attack…
But she could change this. Delphine was sure of that. If there was one thing she would change, this was going to be it. The more she got to know the student, the more her certainty grew.
"Alright ladies," The waitress interrupted Cosima's lecture, setting the round pan in the middle of the table. "One medium veggie pizza and," She winked at Cosima before setting a bowl down, "one order of rabbit food."
Delphine rolled her eyes at Cosima's chuckling while carefully taking the salad, pursing her lips before pouring a small bit of Italian dressing on it. "Are you sure you're not interested in some?" She asked, picking out a cucumber slice and popping it into her mouth.
Freeing a large slice of pizza from the tray, Cosima shook her head. "No way. This is like heaven. I don't have room for anything else."
Delphine chuckled, taking a bite of her salad. "Suit yourself." They both took a moment to enjoy the food, the silence between them oddly comfortable.
"Ok…" Cosima finally spoke around a mouthful of pizza. "Where were we?" She wiped her fingers off before flipping through the pages of the textbook, beginning to read over the information.
As the brunette spoke, Delphine took notes between bites of salad. She had found that Cosima was patient with her, finding ways to explain things in a way that she would understand. She moved at a considerate pace, making sure that Delphine was following along. She was surprised to find the equations beginning to make sense in her brain.
It wasn't long before Delphine was helping Cosima finish the pizza, the teen having a knowing grin on her face when Delphine groaned in appreciation of the pizza. By the time they were packing up and leaving, she felt as though she had actually accomplished something.
It was a short ride to Delphine's house and she felt a bit of regret as released the strong torso and slipped off the back of the scooter. "Thank you, Cosima."
"You know, you didn't have to pay for dinner." Cosima protested again.
"It was the least I could do." Delphine shrugged, settling the helmet on the brunette's head with a grin. "All your tutoring and hauling my ass around on your death machine."
"Hey now… my scooter is awesome." Cosima adjusted the helmet before buckling it under her chin, scooting back to get more comfortable. "Thank you, though. One doesn't get treated to dinner by the cheer captain often."
Delphine snorted at that. "I think my position as captain is questionable right now."
"I say it's for the better." Cosima grinned.
"You would." Delphine shook her head, adjusting her backpack. "I should go." She leaned forward to brush her lips against the girl's cheek.
She didn't expect Cosima to move, or the way her heart stopped as lips met her own. It was the briefest of contacts, a soft and tender embrace before she felt Cosima pull away suddenly, realizing exactly what had happened.
"Shit… shit… I'm so sorry Delphine." Cosima's expression turned to one of panic.
Delphine had no idea what to do. She took a step back, surprise evident on her face. "Non.. it's ok." There were a thousand emotions that were overcoming her ability to think and she took another step back, not sure what else to do. She laughed nervously, trying to offer a nonchalant wave. "It's fine, Cosima."
"I didn't mean to…" Unsure of what else to do, Cosima started her scooter. "I…shit I'll see you later."
Delphine wasn't given the chance to say anything as the brunette sped off without another word. This was not the route her plan was supposed to take. The last thing she wanted was to break the heart of some teenage girl, but her hand came up of its own accord, tracing her lips that still seemed to tingle from the contact.
Which teenage heart would she be breaking? Cosima's? Or her own?
"Merde."