Chapter 4
Tonight had been a complete bust for Nico. After her little fight with Alex, she tried her best to squeeze some information out of the elite guests, but all of them had practically laughed in her face and claimed that Karolina Dean wouldn’t be caught dead in a club, something about messing with her image. At least that’s what Nico gathered, and when she thought about it, it did make sense. From her extensive research, Nico knew how seemingly perfect Karolina was in the public eye. With her attempts foiled, and her spirit crushed Nico was ready to head home, even if it meant an awkward car journey with Alex. But first, she had one last idea. A nightclub bathroom was a safe haven from the outside world, a place where women bonded together over shared mascara and hair ties, and more importantly, it was a place where secrets were shared without so much as a second thought. Normally, the black-haired woman avoided public restrooms as much as she could, the smell being the most off-putting quality for her. But, much to Nico’s surprise, she found the restroom completely spotless and even more surprisingly, empty when she entered. A part of her was relieved, especially since she was in the VIP section, where she knew she’d find nothing but drug use and hook-ups occurring. She wanted to lie in wait, not walk into the lion’s den uninvited.
Two affairs, a dozen lines of coke and a fleeting one-sided lesbian kiss later and Nico was more than ready to hunt down Alex for a ride home. Sure, what she had witnessed had been juicy, but none of the people she could write about were nothing compared to Karolina. The young journalist was about to give up when the crashing sound of the restroom door caught her attention. The mysterious woman was just out of Nico’s view, so she tried to peek through the small crack near the head of the toilet, only to accidentally lean down on the handle of the toilet and scare the woman away. Cursing herself, Nico decided it was time to give up and left her little den at last. As she watched her hands – only to keep up appearances more than anything – she was suddenly and surprisingly stopped in her tracks by the faint sound of crying coming from the stall on the far right.
“What the...Hey, are you okay in there?” Nico’s voice was soft and sweet for a change, and she didn’t know why. Usually, she wasn’t one for dealing with other people’s issues, especially not whilst in the middle of her own crisis. But something perplexed her to speak, and even more to reach out and gently knock on the bathroom stall. “Anyone home? Or are the voices back again?” She tried to joke and swore that she could hear small chuckles break through the aching whimpers.
“I’m not sure about the other voices, but the one in here is real.” Karolina smiled shyly but made no move to open the stall as she hugged her long legs up to her chest. “I’m fine really.” She added, but Nico wasn’t fooled as the raw emotions were still heavily laced in her voice.
“The old me would walk away, but you sound like you need someone and I’m in dire need of some good karma.” The black-haired woman smiled softly to herself before sliding down the wall next to the stall and settling herself on the cold – but thankfully, clean – floor.
“That’s very sweet of you, but I promise you that I’m fine, really...just a little panicked,” Karolina replied, a little too quick for Nico’s liking. She could tell that there was something more to her voice, she was terrified and miserable all rolled into one.
“Okay...well if we aren’t gonna talk about you I guess it’s my turn.” Nico stretched out her short legs, crossed her feet and made herself comfortable, unsure of how long she’d be on the floor.
“You’re turn?”
“My Mom brought me to confession once, before she gave up on religion...this kinda feels like that.” She replied, not entirely answering her question, but giving up enough information to keep the mysterious bathroom girl from questioning her presences again.
“What is it you wish to confess my child?” Karolina tried her own attempt at a joke, and while her deep-voiced old man impression had been spot on, Nico wasn’t in the mood for laughing, her pending doom suddenly hitting her right in the face.
“I think I’m about to lose my job.” Her response was so monotone, dead, quiet, that Karolina thought that the woman she’d been talking too had left and in her place was someone equally as miserable as her. Nico pressed on when Karolina didn’t reply. “I promised my boss something that is proving impossible to make good on.”
“I get that, I’ve spent my entire life making promises that I wish I hadn’t.” Karolina moved from her uncomfortable place on the toilet to sit with her back pressed up against the wall, in a similar position to Nico apart from the fact that she couldn’t stretch out her legs fully, so she settled to sit cross-legged instead. “What is it you’ve promised?”
“A scoop.” Karolina tensed up, her recurring nightmare playing out in front of her. The mystery woman, with a calming voice and similar worries that hung over her head, she was the exact thing that Karolina had been avoiding.
“You’re a journalist?”
“If you call fluff pieces journalisms.” Nico snorted as she began to pick at the threads of her black skirt.
“But this wasn’t a...fluff piece?” Karolina pressed, slightly calmer now that she knew she wasn’t the kind of reporter she had grown to despise.
“Nope. This was my big chance, my last chance.” The shorter woman banged her heel against the marble floor, causing a small thud to float into the space that occupied their momentary silence. “I don’t see why everyone is so hung up on celebrities lives. That’s not why I got into journalisms, but it seems that’s what I’m stuck with.” Nico spoke absentmindedly, not thinking for a second that the woman on the other side of the door could be the person she’d been looking for all night.
“Is that why you’re here tonight? You’re looking for your scoop?” Karolina bit her lip as she waited for a response, she had never heard of an empathetic journalist, but there was just something about the mystery woman that felt different.
“Yep, but I failed and all I ended up doing was getting into a huge fight with my ex-boyfriend, who’s also my roommate.” She snorted in response, before letting her head fall onto the stall door with a soft thump.
“That sucks...I came here to escape, but instead, I ended up crying in the toilet.” The blonde woman offered up, as the tail end of her panic attack withered away.
“Escape from what?” Nico asked, for once not thinking about how she could use this information to better herself. She didn’t know who was on the other side of the VIP bathroom stall door, and she didn’t care. This was the first time in a long time that she’s finally felt at ease in a conversation. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna stalk you out of the bathroom, track you down and spill your story to the world.”
“My life. That’s what I’m trying to escape from.” Karolina replied with ease, not doubting Nico’s intentions one bit. “Everyone expects so much from me, my manager, my family, my fans...and it’s just too much.”
“Fuck em’.” Karolina could practically hear the smirk creeping onto Nico’s face, filling her with an unexpected sense of giddiness “What is it that you want?” Nico slipped her hand under the door slightly, brushing against the pale fingers that had been peeking through. Karolina smiled as she looked down at their touching hands, a kind of contact she hadn’t felt in over a year.
“I just want to be me.” She whispered in response.
“Then who cares what anyone else thinks.” Nico gave their tangled fingers a small squeeze. “My Mom’s a scientist, my Dad, too. They wanted me to follow in their footsteps, but instead, I became an English major.”
“Were they mad?”
“Furious, to begin with. But they got over it, and now I’m convinced that they are the only two people that read my work.” She chuckled, ignoring the small twinge of pain in her chest because she knew that her joke would soon become a reality. “Don’t let other people run your life, write your own story.”
“That’s surprisingly the best bathroom advice I’ve received in a long time.” Karolina giggled softly, the sound comforting to Nico. After a few moments of content silence, Karolina broke the contact begrudgingly and stood. “And I think it’s about I pulled myself off of the bathroom floor.”
“You and me both.” Nico jumped to her feet and walked to sink without sparing the bathroom stall another glance. “This has been the best part of my night surprisingly.” The sound of the water gushing into the porcelain sink captivated Nico, and she failed to notice the blonde woman creeping out of the stall behind her.
Karolina had planned on sneaking out and disappearing into the crowd. But as soon as she laid eyes on the woman in front of her, she found herself unable to move. Her long flowing black hair and olive skin monopolized her attention.
“Now, if only you could help me find my golden goose or an equally as exciting scoop.” Nico frowned at herself in the mirror, Karolina just her out of her line of sight. The blonde pop princess felt her stomach drop, she knew that a few minutes of her time could save her career and after how nice she’d been to a complete stranger, Karolina was more than willing to give her a break, even if it meant breaking her golden rule.
“Maybe I can help…” Karolina muttered sweetly.
“No offense, but unless you’re Karolina De-” Nico froze as their eyes met for the first time. “Oh my god, you’re Karolina Dean...my golden goose.” Gaped mouth, Nico couldn’t believe her eyes. She was actually standing in front of Karolina Dean, after hours and hours of searching.
“Five questions. That’s all I’m willing to offer.” Karolina smiled tightly, her perfected smile that hid any and all emotions just the way she liked it. She didn’t know why she was putting herself out there, why she was trusting someone she’d just met on the bathroom floor, she knew it could backfire, that it could ruin what’s left of her career…but that was a risk she was willing to take, if it meant a few more moments with her.
“That’s all I need...and don’t worry, whatever was said in the bathroom, stays in the bathroom.”
“I appreciate that…” Karolina hesitated, a faint blush creeping onto her face when she realized that she still didn’t know the mystery woman’s name.
“Nico.”
“Nico, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the woman behind the door.” She forced out a small chuckle to fill the suddenly awkward silence. Neither woman knew what to say next, Nico didn’t know if Karolina wanted to get started or if she should just leave her card and meet up with the blonde in the morning. But one thing she knew was that the pictures she’d seen over the last forty-eight hours, were nothing compared to the real thing. Karolina was possibly the most beautiful woman, Nico had ever laid her eyes on and it made her feel troll-like in comparison.
It was the thunderous thud on the bathroom door that finally broke through the never-ending staring contest. “Karolina! Let me in.” Gert shouted in a stage whisper, prompting the blonde to jump to action and rush to the door. The purple haired girl looked absolutely exhausted, but that was too be expected after trying to hold off a large group of fan-girls.
“Got the mob under control?” Karolina smiled as she pulled her best friend into her arms for a near bone-crushing embrace.
“Yeah, Chase is dealing with them now.” Gert let out a shaky sigh, truly happy that Karolina was safe. The embrace was quickly cut short when her eyes landed on an extremely uncomfortable looking Nico, who had been watching the encounter from her place at the sink. “Who is this? Is she bothering you? I know karate.” Gert quickly jumped into her defensive mode, even going as far as too karate chop the air a few times in an attempt to scare Nico.
“Relax Gert, she’s actually been super nice to me.” Karolina placed a warning hand on her overprotective best friend’s shoulder, silently pleading with her to lay of the pending attack on Nico. Gert always went a little overboard when it came to new people in Karolina’s life, taking on the role of a lioness guarding her helpless cub, and while Karolina was grateful of this most times, she felt that it wasn’t necessary with Nico.
“Nico.” The unusually quiet woman extended her hand out to Gert, unsure if she was going to take it or karate chop it away.
“Gert.” She muttered, completely ignoring Nico and focusing her full attention on Karolina. “Look, we need to get out of here. Chase can only hold people off for so long, and the press has gotten word that you’re here.”
“Which means the back exit will be swarming as well.” Nico jumped in, wanting to contribute to the obviously tense situation. “Everyone knows the real exit is through the back, journalisms 101.”
“Which is my I have keys for the manager's exit, I’ve already called the driver.” Gert took great pleasure in jiggling the large set of keys in the black-haired woman’s face, in her mind effectively one-upping the stranger. “Let’s make like a tree.” Karolina’s hand was firmly gripped and pulled towards the exit of the bathroom, the music from the other side vibrating through the white doors.
A wave of relief washed over Karolina, knowing that she would soon be safe once again. But there was something else there as well, a little voice in her head reminding her of the one person who really got her through the looming panic attack, and who sat by her side without a second thought, not knowing who she was and what talking to her could do for her career. “You coming? I know a place where we can talk.” Karolina threw one last glance in Nico’s direction, prepared to make good on her promise to Nico, and finally break her year-long silence.
“Right behind you.” A small smirk played on her lips as she followed swiftly, ignoring the daggers being shot her way the entire walk back to the car.