i forget how the west was won
Willow Schnee had never taken the easiest path. According to her father, the only thing she was good for was a pretty face and maybe a few babies, but Willow had some dreams and she was gonna be damned if they didn’t come true. Step one: get out of this god forsaken house and live a little.
Another thing about the young Miss Schnee, she’d never been the most social type. Daddy’s money drove people to her, her attitude ran them off. Nikolais Schnee was a cruel man; her mother had died giving birth to Willow, and that resentment reared its head often. Willow knew she had a timer now that graduation had passed, the end of the year at best, the end of the summer at worst, and she felt the worst get closer by the second.
Ghira and Kali Belladonna had been married for 5 years when Willow Schnee came like a tornado through that bar. You ask anyone in that bar, they checked the young Schnee’s ID, everything was up to par, what none of them knew was that it was a fake. Willow Winters was 22, a Gemini, and from the great state of Virginia. Willow Schnee, on the other hand, was freshly out of high school, 18, an Aries, and from Texas. Now, Ghira Belladonna was 23, a Libra and also from Texas; Kali was the same, only a week younger than her husband.
The bar was the Menargire, out of which ran the motorcycle club The White Fang. It was smoky and practically perfect for what Willow was looking for. What was the blonde looking for? Trouble, always trouble. She had dressed herself in tight jeans and a tank top, her boots on her feet with her hat sitting perfectly on her head. When she walked in, she made eye contact with none other than Kali Belladonna. Now, Willow knew who she was, but Kali wouldn’t recognize her. Willow smirks as she walks up to the bar, “I’ll have a PBR, thank you.”
“Pretty and manners? How nice.” Kali has moved down to the bar to stand closer to the blonde. Kali had been the subject of Willow’s infatuation when Kali was a senior and she was in 7th grade. Bad girl Kali, who rode motorcycles and had a tall, handsome boyfriend, Ghira. Not that Willow had thought of much more than the pretty girl she saw around town, but when she hit 15 over her ‘boys have cooties’ phase, the young blonde grew to have appreciation for Ghira.
“Well, you can’t be rude and have a dead mama, gotta pick a struggle,” Willow draws before she can think to stop herself. Oh, well, not like the bartenders can hear her over the juke box.
Kali lets out a laugh before looking back at Willow, her eyes sparkling, “Kali, nice to meet you.” If one were to ask Kali, she’d say this girl was a wildfire. Burning bright, lighting up everything in her path, even if it only ended in pain. Damn if she wasn’t willing to get burned.
“Willow, it’s a pleasure,” Willow says, letting out her laugh. The two talk about meaningless things until suddenly the topics grow deeper. Favorite color to favorite memory from childhood. For Willow, it was the first time she sat on the back of her horse, Snowy, ready to enter the rodeo circuit. Kali, the day Ghira got his motorcycle license and started teaching her on his first bike.
The activity of the bar seems to halt when a large tank of a man comes in through the door, grinning, “Honey, I’m home.” Kali rolls her eyes, not moving as Ghira makes his way to the bar. He places one arm on each side of Kali, leaning in close, “You come here often?” Ghira pulls Kali’s mouth to his. It takes several minutes before they break apart.
Unfazed by the fact he just sucked all the lipgloss off of Kali’s face, “Howdy, I’m Ghira.”
“Willow, nice to meet you.” When Willow extends her hand for him to shake, Ghira brings it to his lips, kissing it. A blush covers the pale girl’s cheeks, “Real charmer, you got here, Kali.”
Ghira grins, holding his hands out. “You two ladies wanna dance?” Kali returns the grin, before dragging Willow behind her to the dance floor. Turns out two hands are more than enough to spin both women around the dance floor. Ghira is content to watch the two dance around when he takes a drag from a beer at the barn. That's when he sees Kali’s mischievous smirk holding a familiar sight in between her thumb and pointer finger.
Willow watches as Kali pulls an unfamiliar sight out of her pocket. “Want a hit?”
“I’ve never done marijuana before.” Winter sheepishly admits. For all the swagger she had earlier. From walking up to the bar to spinning around the dancefloor with Kali and Ghira, the blonde suddenly felt out of her league.
Kali laughs, throwing her head back, “21 and never smoked?” Willow’s breath catches in her throat. “Wanna try?” Willow nods, wordlessly. The air had changed before Ghira left them, and the tension was only growing. Kali breathes in a big hit before leaning into Willow’s face, pressing their lips together until Willow can inhale the smoke.
They separate for a moment, Willow’s mind a buzz as Kali’s eyes soften before pulling Willow’s mouth back to hers. Before the younger girl can form a thought, Kali’s fingers are in her hair, pushing off Willow’s hat. Ghira catches it before it hits the ground, placing it on his head. “Can you do that again?”
Before Kali can answer, Ghira pipes up to the two women, not realizing he had rejoined them, “You gonna leave me out?”
His wife rolls his eyes, a fact Willow had forgotten before the cold band brushed against her ear, as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.“You’re a big boy, you know how to take a hit.” Kali passes the joint off to her husband, grinning.
“You want another hit?” It takes Willow a moment to process what he means. The kiss with Kali was one thing, that was after the alcohol hit her system and before she remembered the twin rings on her dance partner's hands. The blonde looks into the dark-haired girl's eyes and sees nothing but twinkling. This is happening, Willow thinks as she takes Ghira’s collar in his hand as he takes a hit, repeating what his wife had done only minutes before.
Before Willow can tell what’s happening, they are stumbling up the stairs to the apartment above the bar. They take turns slamming into the walls, Ghira loses his shirt on the stairs, and Kali pulls the other two into the bedroom. Willow swears she’s never felt anything quite like the feeling when Ghira hooked his thumbs in her belt loops as Kali slips the blonde's tank top off.
That thought is thrown out by her newest favorite feeling, watching Kali take off her jeans as she pulls Willow in front of the mirror. The Willow in the mirror is a different person, clad only in her bra and underwear. She looks happy. “Damn, we look good.” Kali stands behind Willow, kissing her neck. The dark-haired girl grins into her neck, whispering, “You sure you wanna do this?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” Ghira stands behind both of them, wrapping his arms around both of them. Willow squeaks as Ghira scoops her up in one arm and Kali in the other. Light and Dark, worlds were about to collide, and nothing would ever be the same.
“Good.”
Later, as she lay between them, Willow felt a wave of guilt crash over her, something the afterglow couldn’t cure. She sits up abruptly, taking the sheet with her. “I lied.”
Ghira sits up to look at Willow’s face, “What do you mean?”
Willow hesitates, but looking up at Ghira and Kali, who have nothing but sweetness on their faces. “I’m not 21. I’m 18”
The silence stretches for a moment before Ghira asks, “How long have you been 18?”
“Three months.” Ghira’s eyes widen in realization. There’s only one family this side of Texas with the white blonde hair, the family that runs Schnee Oil. The biggest and worst place to work in this tiny town. Ghira was known for being vocal against them, Kali as well. The blonde looks down at her hands in her lap. I’m sorry, she thinks.
Kali looks down before scooting up and cupping Willow's face, forcing the younger girl to look her in the eyes. With the look in Willow’s eyes, she questions how they ever thought she was old enough to drink, “What’s your last name?”
A tear drips down Willow’s face, the ice queen melting in the span of a few hours. “I think you know.” She sniffs at the end, turning away from Kali, wiping at her face. Trying to stop the tears. Shit, what have I gotten myself into it, she thinks. She shouldn’t care this much, not so soon.
Ghira rotates from his position on the bed, taking up a post at the end so he can see both the light and dark-haired women. he smiles not unkindly, “Not until you say it.”
Willow stands from the bed, ignoring her state of undress, “Willow Schnee, nice to meet you.”