God's Lonely Man

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Laura reaches into her package of cookies and frowns when only crumbs are left. She quickly finishes off the crumbs and rises to throw out the package and to get another one when her phone buzzes. Laura grins and answers the call.

"Hey, Carmilla," Laura greets. She hadn't seen her since their little stargazing adventure on Wednesday, although they had exchanged some text messages throughout their days. Carmilla's were a bit more on the flirty side, but she wasn't sure what to make of that. "How are you this fine Saturday?"

"There's a party tonight," Carmilla begins. "And I was wondering if you would mind being the cutie on my arm?"

Laura almost drops the package of cookies on the ground. Carmilla? Inviting me to a party? She shakes her head. She's totally inviting you as a friend, Hollis. Get it together. Although, the mere thought of even being friends with Carmilla is enough to make her feel gooey inside.

"Cupcake? You still there?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry," Laura rushes out.

"Did you hear what I said?" Carmilla asks, amused.

Laura puts the pack of cookies down and runs a hand through her hair. "I heard you."

"...Is that a 'no?'" Carmilla's voice loses all playfulness and she sounds more disappointed and sad.

"No!" Laura blurts out. "It's just..." She sighs. "It's my dad," she grumbles.

Laura could swear she hears a sigh of relief on the other end. "What about him?"

"W-Well, it's just that he's pretty overprotective and parties are––" Laura cuts herself off. Hell, wasn't she living on her own? Plus, she definitely knew how to handle herself. And being at a party with Carmilla–– well, there were worse things.

"'Parties are,' what?" Carmilla presses gently.

Screw it. "Never mind," Laura replies. "I'll go!"

"Are you sure, buttercup?" Carmilla asks, the playful tone returning. "Wouldn't want to get the chief deputy on my bad side."

"I'm sure," Laura says firmly. "He'll never know what a bad influence you are on me."

Carmilla chuckles. "Okay. I'll text you the details. It's in walking distance for the both of us."

"Awesome. Yeah, cool," Laura replies, wanting to throw her phone away in horror at how lame she was being.

"You're still an odd one, Laura Hollis," Carmilla chuckles. "See you tonight," she adds sultrily before hanging up.

Laura does a little dance and flops onto the couch. She really likes the idea of being friends with Carmilla.

Laura had gone to her fair share of parties in high school, and had a surprisingly high tolerance for alcohol. But her father kept busting the parties and eventually she stopped receiving invites. She hadn't gone to any college parties. And now she was going to one with someone she had buried bodies with.

This could either be a good idea or a bad one.

~*~

"Diswuzsuchagoodideaaa," Laura slurs out as Carmilla drapes an arm over her shoulder. They're each about six shots in and who-knows-how red solo cups of beer into the evening.

Carmilla throws her head back in laughter. "Okay, cupcake, maybe we should stop."

They're currently dominating in a doubles version of beer pong.

"No way, José, we're kicking ass as a team," Laura asserts.

"I just had to see this for myself," a voice comes from behind them. Carmilla turns to see a very tall redhead smirking at Laura. "Kirsch told me he saw you at this party and I thought he must be plastered because we haven't seen you at a party in years."