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The door to her room opened, too slowly to be her mom or dad. Still, she–very badly–hid the joint she was smoking behind her back, just in case. The sight she was met with was a very clearly distressed Alice. Her girlfriend’s eyes were red-rimmed and stubbornly focussed on the floor, and she was clutching onto her pink cardigan tightly, her knuckles white from the death grip she had on the fabric. Deb got up from her window, weed long forgotten as she crossed her room in just a few big steps. As soon as her hands found their spot on Alice’s cheeks, gently tilting her head up to make eye contact, her big brown eyes welled up with tears, her lip trembling as they started rolling down her cheeks in quick succession. Deb–though half stoned now–wasted no time in wrapping her arms around her girlfriend tightly, feeling her hands let go of the cardigan and fisting into Deb’s flannel instead.
‘‘I just wished he’d like you…’’
She didn’t need to clarify more–this wasn’t a rare occurrence. Deb tightened her arms around Alice–whether out of annoyance or reassurance, she didn’t even know. Bill Woodward had made it very clear in the past that he didn’t exactly approve of her, and while she tried, she knew that he’d never fully grow to like her, too stuck in his mindset that she was a rude, sleazy, cheating stoner. Which–sure, she smoked weed, and she was slacking off more often than not. And maybe she could come across as rude a lot, but she was no cheater. Not when her entire world fit so neatly in her palms.
She gently guided her over to the bed, sitting down and letting Alice cry into her chest as she leaned against the headboard. The position was far from comfortable, but she couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. All that mattered was her girlfriend, her hand gently threading through her soft brown locks, lightly scratching over her scalp in the way she knew Alice loved. Today was no exception, a content mumble escaping her as her sobs slowly subsided, leaving her hiccuping with the aftershocks of her crying. She pressed a kiss to the top of her head, murmuring soft reassurances to help calm down the trembling femme in her arms.
‘‘How’s that play that you’ve been writing going?’’
Talking about her plays was always something that managed to cheer Alice right up, a small smile forming against the skin of her girlfriend’s neck as she adjusted her head to talk better, closing her eyes for a moment to just take in their closeness before she spoke.
‘‘I got it. I got the scholarship’’
Her mouth split into a bright grin as she nearly glowed with the fact that she’d gotten into her college of choice–with something that she'd created herself. Taking Deb’s hand in her own, she gently toyed with her fingers as she started talking about the story she had in mind for the play–characters, plot twists, everything. Another genuine smile appeared on her face as she felt her girlfriend’s arms around her tighten for just a fraction of a second, relishing in the fluttery feeling that settled in her stomach. The bliss was short lived, though, as a buzz from her phone cut through the room. She reluctantly pulled it out, the notification reading as a text from her dad. She didn’t even bother to open it, flinging her phone further onto Deb's bed, out of her reach. Her brows furrowed, cheeks puffing out in the way they always did when she was annoyed at something. Deb grinned, lopsided, as she poked at her cheek, laughing at the air that escaped from Alice’s mouth, causing the other girl to eventually laugh along as well.
‘‘What’s the matter, gorgeous?’’
‘‘I just- I don’t get why he doesn’t like you. I know I do, shouldn’t that be reason enough for him to at least attempt to get to know you? I want him to like you. It’s important. He’s… he’s my dad, after all. It’s not like I can really talk about this sorta stuff with mom..’’
‘‘Listen, Al. Who gives a shit what other people think about us– about you?’’
‘‘Me.’’
That managed to pull a chuckle out of Deb, although just barely, as she moved sideways to face Alice, her hands once more cupping her cheeks, those brown eyes looking at her full of love and worry. With a soft sigh, she gently rubbed her cheek with her thumb in a–what she hoped was a–reassuring way.
‘‘Look– All that matters is.. Are you happy?’’
‘‘More than ever...’’
‘‘Well then who cares what other people think? The only person who has to like me is you. You do like me, right?’’
Alice just rolled her eyes, playfully elbowing her in her side as she wrapped her arms back around her girlfriend’s waist, leaning her chin against her shoulder. As she looked up at her, she whispered a soft, but heartfelt ‘I love you’ into her ear, followed by her leaning up to gently capture Deb’s lips with her own, smiling against the familiar feeling.
Somewhere behind her, she could hear her phone buzz again, but she ignored it. Her dad could wait. Right now, she was content just laying in the arms of her ‘rude, sleazy, cheating stoner girlfriend.’