A lofty, broad-shouldered man with a square chin stubbled in black glared at Rain through smallish eyes. Rain was good at staring contests, she had had countless with AJ in the past and (almost...) kicked her ass, but man, this guy was good.
"Just let us in, or else..." the cocky athlete warned, cracking her knuckles and rolling up her sleeves. She had seen enough of this asshole to know she wanted his face purple with shiners.
The dude towered over her by at least two heads, but this didn't stop Rainbow from peeling her maw into a haughty sneer. He looked down at her encased injured leg and drew his gaze up to the crutches under her arms, and his observations sent him guffawing hysterically. When he finally calmed down enough to catch his breath, he chirped, "Yeah right! Like I've told you lot a thousand times over, it's reserved visitors only." He took his thick finger and jabbed it between Rain's brows.
"Okay, that's it..." Rain fumed, reeling her arm back for a blow. Fae gasped, concealing herself in Tiana's shadow. Rachel rolled her eyes to the stars and pinched her nose-bridge in irritation before stepping in front of the hostile jocky, urging, "Oh now really Rain, that will not be necessary." She cleared her throat in the most girlish grumble Dash had ever heard, and then whispered, "You have to use charm dear, charm. Now watch."
"Oh brother," Tiana shook her head and released a groan. Rachel's heels clicked aloft the pavement two steps towards the brute and she met his crabbed face with a smile.
"I'm terribly sorry about my friend darling, she can be a real pain sometimes," she spoke pitifully, but in a manner her friends knew to be theatrical in nature. She brushed off her milky satin dress before proceeding, "Now, I just know it must just be horrid having to stand here all night in the cold like this, why, I would be quite rattled myself if I were in the same position as you."
It's like seventy degrees Fahrenheit, Rain thought, exchanging critical glances with Fae and Tiana. But she kept her lips glued.
The man's shoulders seemed to relax a smidge at Rachel's sympathy. "It's not the best, no," he admitted. Rachel seemed to have taken this for a green light, as the next thing she said was, "Well, you seem like a man of compassion if I do say so myself. We are not the most fond of standing around here either, so, what do you say, you can just let us in and we can--"
"Nice try, lady, you should have thought of that before coming here. You need a reservation booked at least a week in advance and I haven't seen any of you on this list here," the man interrupted, shaking his clipboard. Rachel opened her mouth to retort, when a chipper voice sounded from behind her, "They're with meeeeee!" Piper sang, bounding up the sidewalk.
Just like that, this uptight fiend's stiff expression melted away into a mushy grin, and his entire body loosened as he chuckled, "Pie!!! No way, these screwballs are yours?!" Rainbow's jaw fell open in astonishment as Piper skipped towards them and her and the hefty gentleman engaged in a juvenile handshake routine. The groove finished with a peppy hip bump, and the two giggled in unison.
(No wonder Rachel's 'charm' hadn't worked, this guy was flamboyant as hell--)
"Yep, these guys are mine alright, aren't they a riot?" Piper gleamed as she turned to embrace her friends in a warm group-hug. She then faced back towards the lofty gent and added, "Oh, and there's another one coming too okay Bubbles? Her name's AJ, if you see her, let her in."
Bubbles? Rainbow mused to herself.
"Now come on guys, let's party!!!" Piper yipped. Bubbles stepped aside and bowed as the afro-haired lass pranced into The Crystal Empire bar and the others followed suit.
The place was just as Pie had described it to be, absolutely brimming with snobbish riches that sent Rachel's orbs twinkling in awe. The floor was lined with a scarlet-hued carpet and the countertops; a shined black-and-gold marble. Rain knew it wouldn't be some lame cheapy-joint, but man, had she underestimated it still.
Brutish laughter echoed along the lustrous spruce walls as affluent men punched pool tables and fanciful women clanged champagne glasses. Piper's fuchsia curls bounced in front of Rainbow and co. while they trailed behind her into a private karaoke studio lit by colour-changing strobe lights. There, a massive banner with the words 'WELCOME BACK RAIN' hung at the far wall, and multifarious party streamers, balloons and varicoloured decor lay scattered in every direction.
"Damn..." Rain gaped, and thanked Piper for the whole setup.
The girls settled in at one of the booths together, Tiana between Rachel and Piper on one bench, and Rain next to Fae on the one parallel. They gossiped jovially to one another for some hours before that stale sensation began to itch at Rainbow's noggin again.
"KARAOKE TIME!!!" Pie interrupted her thoughts with a squeal as she jumped onto the table and surfed towards the small stage. She clenched the microphone with both hands and shot a pointer finger out at the DJ, who winked and said, "Same as usual Pie?"
"You bet!" the pink-haired girl answered and as soon as the music sprung to life, she scream-sang to Heart of Glass by Blondie. Fae's lips curled into a small simper as she held her hands tucked atop her lap, and Tiana face-palmed, causing Rachel to titter.
Three or four songs later, Pie stood panting before reaching an arm out towards the group and offering, "Your turn? Cmon, I know you wanna...Who's next?" After nobody answered, she dragged Tiana on stage. At first, the nerdish woman was reluctant to come up to the front, but about two more songs in and they were practically battling for the mic.
The spectacle heaved Dashie into the fun and she sat slapping the table in an uncontrolled laughter. She had almost forgotten about the whole situation with the blonde cowgirl until--
"AJ!!!!" Piper yelled, beckoning her over with a wave.
It was then, that Rain remembered her ignored text, and grunted in amusement at her freckled friend's arrival.
Nice of you to finally show up... the young athlete remarked inwardly. She echoed her other friends and called, "AJ!" summoning her with a pat to the seat next to her. If she wanted things to go back to normal, maybe she just had to try harder.
AJ wore a maroon, v-cut, long-sleeved crop-top, and as usual, low-waisted jeans. She hesitated for a moment, and then carried out Rain's suggestion seeing as there was no other option if she didn't want to appear rude. She plunked herself next to the haughty athlete and kept her gaze locked to the table--unlike Rain, who's terra-cotta irises cemented to the taller cowgirl like gum to paper.
"Will y'all quit that?" Dash was surprised when the AJ spoke first. She blinked suddenly and turned her attention towards Rachel, who was now elegantly golf-clapping at the chaos unfolding on stage. "Sorry," the sporty lass chuckled awkwardly.
Rachel could see that, while at first Fae had been enjoying the show, she seemed to have been growing more overwhelmed at the noise, so the fanciful woman lightly touched her shoulder and brought her to the washroom with her in escape while she fixed up her makeup, leaving only Rain and AJ at the booth. Tiana was now five drinks in and carolling fortissimo at Piper, who absolutely devoured the lunacy.
Rainbow snuck a sidelong glance at AJ, trying her hardest this time to appear as though she was not. But the cowgirl must have felt it, because she cleared her throat and tapped her roper to the sheen flooring diffidently. "Welcome back," she voiced suddenly in a scrawled tone.
Rain inhaled with reserve and breathed, "Thanks..." She tucked the front polychromatic strand of her hair behind her ear and contemplated a band of different questions she could ask and actions she could take. AJ was right beside her, and the girl was finally present enough that Rain had her attention. Well, sort of anyways. Mentally, she still seemed a bit reticent, but at least this time she had no excuses to keep Dashie quiet.
"How's your work at the farm going?" Rain prompted, attempting to start subtle, though she loathed small-talk. AJ's answers continued to come out delayed, keeping Dashie on her toes, "As usual," she replied curtly, still seeming a bit stiff. Dash was determined to change that. She tossed an arm around the taller's shoulder and pulled her so close their cheeks nearly brushed. "Oh come on AJ, lighten up! I mean--when will you get to come to a place this cool again? Let's have some fun!" Her heart was racing, but she managed to keep her cool.
"Ya sound like Pie," AJ riposted. Rain smiled as she noticed the freckled blonde fail to stifle a grin. The server came around with another round of drinks, and the two tomboy's both reached for a glass; AJ's first and Rain's second that night.
Rainbow propped herself to a stance over her staff-sticks and held her hand out to the farmer, feeling a tad bit pluckier at AJ's slim increase in receptiveness. "Ah don't think ya should be the one helpin' me up," the blonde teased and rose on her own accord before continuing, "Now what do ya want?"
Pleased by AJ's returning sass, Rain flicked the cowgirls hat to cover her eyes in jest, and answered, "Follow me." AJ reset her cattleman with a huff and trailed behind Dashie as they passed a returning Fae and Rachel through the doorway; both of whom appeared mildly stunned at the sight of the two boyish women heading toward one of the crowded poker tables.
"I bet you fifty bucks and a barrel of cider I can win two rounds in a row against these guys," Rain snickered, nudging the farmer on the upper-arm and gesturing at the clump of drunk men. AJ raised a brow in interest and said, "Hmph. Alratt, it's a deal. But no tricks from yuh, got it?" She spat on her palm and offered it to Rain, who did the same and joined their gob in a wet handshake.
Rainbow limped cockily over to the husky old bruisers and slammed her fist to the playing surface while AJ stood close behind with her hands to her hips in amusement. The men all turned to study the hubristic athlete. "How close are you to finishing this round?" she quizzed them, "I've got a bet to win..."
___
The first game was an easy victory for Rain, further fuelling her already brimming ego. She left the moneyed bloke's goggling and fuming with stupefaction, and AJ's lips curled inward at her sporty friend's ability to rouse a crowd. Dashie reveled in the attention, thrilled to have finally found a gateway for her competitiveness while she was barred from soccer-playing. Halfway through the second round, almost the entire bar encircled the spectacle--even the other girls stood cheering on their gutsy friend.
The game finished with a "HA!" as Rainbow shook the table and then hugged the pile of chips closer to her. She smirked over her shoulder at AJ immediately, who rolled her eyes and came to stand next to the shorter woman. "Okay, hand it over," Dash turned her chin up and grinned proudly. "No way, ya cheated. Again," AJ said, "You ain't gettin' a dime for that."
"It's okay, I only really wanted the cider anyways," Rain bantered, not even bothering to deny the accusation.
Together, the girls exited the Crystal Empire in a flurry of laughter, Fae steadying a tipsy Piper under her arms, and Rachel monitoring Tiana while she babbled drunk nerd facts at a slurred pace. All were pretty much certain they wouldn't see Tiana this intoxicated again after this, they were surprised she had even managed to get to this point in the first place, as she was usually the most sober of them all.
For their own safety, the girls began to pile into a silver Uber, as other than AJ, they had all had just enough for driving themselves home to be out of the question.
AJ watched Rain, in an evident expectation for her to join the others. But the brunette remained still, blinking nervously at the sidewalk beneath her rainbow-laced Converse. The air had a subtle wind to it now, and it breezed their clothes and hair to the right, causing Dash to follow it's guidance and look up to the taller lass. Just moments ago, Rainy was razzing up the entire building with her overconfidence, but now, she stood modestly beside the flaxen-haired farmer in silence.
Finally, Rainbow hoisted her amber gaze to meet the grassy irises beside her and asked,
"AJ, will you drive me home?"
___
While the question caught AJ admittedly a bit off-guard initially, she reasoned that she had only had one drink that night, and was feeling more than sober enough to oblige to Rain's request when she asked it.
The two spent the bulk of the car ride home ragging one another humorously and flipping turns on the aux. Near the end of the ride, Rain corked the cord into her phone and selected the song Friends by Sure Sure.
AJ exhaled a deep sigh that was charged with her steepened relief from the events of tonight. It had taken her a lot of courage to try and loosen up that evening, and she was grateful that Rain was able to get her to do so finally. AJ still felt that she needed a bit more time to truly get over everything that had happened over the past couple of weeks, but this was a good start, she had to admit.
Even if they hadn't gotten everything out on the table, AJ was quite certain--though the athlete had never brought it up--that Dash was sorry for the whole situation, and she was willing to make an effort to meet her halfway and move on. To go back to normal. They were two tomboys in a pickup truck, how much closer to a mutual apology were they going to get? They had to work with what they got.
Rain plopped her good leg up atop the dashboard and used her arms to hoist her bad leg up with it. "Dashie..." AJ warned, smirking through her peripheral.
"What? I was careful," Rain retorted, grinning cheekily. The cowgirl reached her right arm out towards the athlete and prudently guided her shoes back to the linty floor-mat of the truck before testing, "Do ya want yer leg ta be crushed further? We're drivin' near the campus in the middle of the night, dumbass." This furthered Rain's stupid grin for reasons AJ would never understand.
A car cut AJ off at the intersection nearest Rainbow's dorms, causing the cowgirl to holler curse words out the window. Rain blushed at her feistiness, smile-frowning and scrunching her nose at the vexed cowgirl-accent.
Finally, the two pulled in to the Earthquest parking lot and the young farmer began dusting off the shoe-prints Rain had left on vehicle's fascia. She could hear the athlete shuffling beside her, but the door didn't open. AJ clicked the unlock button, assuming her friend had been struggling with the handle, but when she was met with silence even then, she lifted her quizzical gaze to see Rain fidgeting with her sleeve, staring at the floor.
"This was really dope," Rain uttered and then in a quieter voice added, "...nice, I mean...it was nice..." AJ's pupils darted back and forth at the athlete in puzzlement.
Did she just say what I think she said? the cowgirl mused to herself at her friend's self-correction. "Nice?" she teased.
This seemed to rattle the athlete suddenly, as her eyes widened and her body tensed. After some stuttering, Rain blurted, "W-well, yeah, I'm glad things are back to normal now--especially after you've been all--" she stopped herself and tightened her fists, clearly struggling not to spill more than was necessary.
AJ acknowledged Rains efforts to hold back, and she desperately wanted to leave the conversation where it was as to not escalate a should-be harmless interaction, but her curiosity spoke for her as she probed, "After ah've been all what?"
Rain's eyes darted cheekily towards the cowgirl at her implied permission, "Really AJ? You know, after you've been all weird--I mean come on! You've been avoiding me for literally no good reason all week--I've never seen you be so stupid!" she exclaimed.
No good reason? AJ remarked to herself, boiling with a rapidly increasing resentment. She could have shattered the glass next to her at the thoughtless comment. Clearly, Rain was not as remorseful for her actions over the past few weeks as AJ was for hers. Clearly, this was not going to blow over as quickly as she had expected.
AJ cocked open her maw to give Rain a piece of her mind, but caught herself and clamped it shut. She sensed an abrupt change in atmosphere--a familiar bitterness that stung tears into her eyes, but she turned to the window furthest from Dash so she couldn't perceive her frustration. This argument wasn't worth it. There was no way such a lionhearted soul like Rain would understand the fear and stress she had experienced almost all month.
Rain reached her arm out toward AJ but was abruptly blocked by the ruffled cowgirls harsh almost-whisper as she said, "Rain, I think yuh'd better go."
"But--" Rain began, but AJ interrupted, "Please. It's time ah got home now."
If AJ weren't still facing the other direction, she'd have noticed the alarm in her friend's glossing amber eyes, but as a tear grazed the athlete's cheek and she exited the pickup truck to retreat to Earthquest's residence, AJ did not see Rain's sorrow.
___
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
HOLY GUACAMOLE. YEah that was a teeny tad bit of angst there...heheh.
ALSO Please actually listen to the song (and lyrics for) "Friends" by Sure Sure and tell me what you think, I totally think it suits them this chapter--I feel like AJ can relate LOL
ANYWYAS it took everything within me to pump out these two most recent chapters, so please do let me know if you enjoyed!;)) (I hope it wasn't too long... :P)