steam - a supercorp au

chapter three

"Kara, you're screwed."
Her head was propped up on the table, held up by only her left hand. She stared out the window of her apartment, distracted by everything shuffling in her head. She watched the stars mingle, and the full moon shone through the panels.
"Kara?"
James Olsen's voice awoke her from her thoughts, and she scrambled to recollect herself. She scanned her letters, running through all the words in her mind.
Winn Schott playfully nudged her, and teased, "Do you even speak English?"
Kara snorted, glancing down at the Scrabble game she was in the middle of. "Very funny, but you won't have any jokes left when I crush you two."
Clacking the letters onto the wooden board, she effortlessly spelled out infatuation. "Ha! 42 points because I landed on a triple world square. My English DOMINATES your English, Schott!"
James laughed at Winn's pouty face, then turned to Kara. "What has you so distracted tonight?"
The room fell silent, and Kara's laughter died down quick. She pushed a gentle strand of blonde hair behind her ear, then lied, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on, Kara," Winn interjected, "look at all the words you've been spelling."
The three looked at the scrap paper listing the game history, specifically Kara's column. Infatuation, love, flirts, beauty, and randomly, taxes.
"Pfft!" Kara shouted, wringing her hands in nervousness. "T-that's a coincidence, I just, I-"
"Save it, Danvers," Winn accused, poking her (strangely muscular) bicep, "you've been staring out the window, spelling romantic words, sighing every now and again. You've got a crush."
She laughed again, and shoved Winn away softly. "You guys just want drama because your own love lives are lacking. I do not have a-"
Her phone chimed, but before she could grab it off the table, James reached it first.
"James, don't!" She shouted, nearly knocking over the table attempting to take it back. She stepped over the game and nearly bear-tackled him, striving for her phone that he held over her head. James playfully tossed it to Winn, who began reading in a sultry voice.
"Kara," he dramatically threw his hand over his head, "I had an amazing time this morning, I can't wait to see you again soon, love LL?" His voice had gotten more and more incredulous as he read. "Who is LL, sweet Kara?"
She snatched it out of his hands. "Thankfully, I didn't save the number," she grumbled. "Stay out of my business, troublemakers!"
"Wait," James muttered, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "will LL count as a Scrabble word? How many points is that?"
"Uh, only two, if you don't land on a special square," Winn joined in, his eyes twinkling at Kara's embarrassment.
Kara groaned and elbowed Winn in the gut. Furiously typing out a message, rewriting a couple thousand times, she wondered what Lena would want to hear.
i had an amazing time too - who knew that kombucha could be so romantic
Kara caught her breath, and quickly backspaced.
i had an amazing time too - who knew that kombucha could be so fun
But will Lena think that by repeating what she said - an amazing time - she's mocking her? How do normal people do this everyday?
"Don't overthink it," James advised her, having noticed the crinkle in between her eyebrows. "This mysterious LL will love whatever you say."
Kara nodded, swallowing, and beginning to type.
i had a lot of fun too!! i had no idea kombucha was such a gr8 d8 idea <3
She whispered, "but what if-"
"Send it," Winn muttered, intensely focused on the game.
"But-"
"Send it!" James and Winn demanded in unison, and James looked expectantly at Kara.
"Okay!" She gave in, and hit send. Her heart dropped into her stomach with the bloop sound saying the message was sent, and she played with her thumbs as she watched Winn spell out new.
"I literally have a PhD," he groaned, "I should be better at this stupid game."
The stars slowly disintegrated into blue sky as the night droned on into morning. By three am, every person in Kara's apartment was asleep. Winn's head was resting on the Scrabble board, James was passed out on the couch, and Kara was still tightly gripping her phone, snoring gently on the hardwood floors.