blueberry yogurt #1: hey, it's the patio scene!
Author:
hi_falootin
Story: Second Chances
Blueberry Yogurt 29. the first time
Word Count: 1933
Rating: R for language
Notes: More high school Darcy/Rayn nonsense! And it's that ~patio scene~ that was alluded to in this story. Look at me, following through with something! Also I am so out of practice for writing in past-tense.also, yeah I've been swamped and not reading/posting :( but I'LL DO BETTER NOW!
"I don't know. I like to hear you say mean things." And if you kiss somebody, then both of you'll get practice.
She snapped the cell phone shut and closed it in her fist. At the other end of the lounge chair, Rayn was bent over the textbook in his lap. She watched him over her knees, as he flipped a page back and forth, knuckle pressed to his lips.
"Doesn't it bother you a little?
He looked up. "Does what bother me?"
"That he isn't here." Darcy waved a hand through the air. "That he's not coming?"
"You wanted me to teach you guys the Krebs cycle for your bio test, right?" he said. He dropped his gaze to the book again. "Maybe he already knows it."
"Oh, like Mike knows anything about the Krebs cycle." She let her head fall back against the cushion. "He's just blowing us off to be with Lonnie."
"Lonnie?"
"Yeah." She propped herself up on her elbows again, trying to read Rayn's expression. It was so hard to tell with him sometimes. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Lonnie and all but...I mean, if I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't start ditching on Mike for him. I wouldn't start ditching on you."
She wasn't sure what kind of response she'd been expecting, but Rayn just ducked his head and looked away and that was...troubling. Maybe she'd said something wrong. She rewound it in her head and okay, maybe she came off as a little jealous, just a little bit complain-y. But come on. She couldn't just look at her cell phone and grin like it didn't bother her.
Rayn was looking at the book again, but he couldn't actually be reading. Darcy frowned; she'd made him uncomfortable, should say something else. She chewed on some possibilities, but could only spit out, "It's a little weird right?"
"What's weird?"
"Mike dating someone. It's weird, yeah?"
"Um..." Rayn smoothed his hands over the book. "He hasn't officially told me..."
"Well, it's obvious, right? He won't come hang out because he wants to be with Lonnie."
"But he didn't tell me that. You told me that."
One second to parse that one and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "Oh, shit. He really didn't tell you?"
"Nope."
"But you knew, right? I mean..." She flapped a hand around. Right. Awesome. Cause that was the universal sign for gay. "You knew about the whole, er...liking guys thing?"
Rayn shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but...not officially."
"'Not officially'? What does that mean?"
"It means...I don't know, we never really talked about it."
"Oh." She paused. "Sorry, um...is this weird?"
Rayn shrugged again. Darcy watched him scratch a spot on his neck, glance down at the book again. Come on-she knew the Biology text wasn't nearly that interesting.
"So..." she said. "It does bug you a little?"
"What?" He sounded suddenly defensive. "No, of course not. Why would it bug me?"
"Not that. Just the fact that...you know. Mike keeps blowing us off."
"Are we really still talking about this?" He let the book slip from his hands; it fell to the concrete, flopped closed. "Is it bothering you that much?"
Darcy looked away this time, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "I don't know. Maybe. It's just...it's like what happened with Jill, you know? I am always getting ditched for guys. Always. It's like some kind of curse."
"Well," Rayn said. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think I'll be ditching you for a guy."
"Well, girl. Same difference."
He laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think you have to worry about that either."
"Yeah, right." Darcy snorted. She picked at some dirt under her thumbnail. "I guess...I guess if I had a boyfriend it wouldn't matter. Jill used to tell me that if I had a boyfriend I would totally understand."
"Well...Jill's kind of a bitch."
"What? I don't think I've heard you call anyone a bitch before."
Rayn held out his hands, palms up. "She kind of is though, right?"
"It's true." The chaise lounge squeaked as Darcy sat up and scooted closer to him. "Say more mean things about her."
"She...she's extremely self-centered."
"No, mean things! Like...she's a skanky ho!"
Rayn laughed. "She's a hateful troll."
"She's a dumb cooze."
"She's...a jerk."
"A jerk? She's a cunt."
There was something liberating about it, the way the word popped out of her mouth. The way his jaw dropped when she said it.
"Darcy!"
"Say it," she said. "Say she's a cunt."
Rayn looked around, like someone might be listening. "I don't really say-"
"Cunt?" Darcy supplied. She gave his arm a tug, hand sliding into the crook of his elbow. "Come on! Say it!"
"Why do you want me to say it?"
"I don't know. I like to hear you say mean things."
Rayn laughed. "Why?"
"I don't know! Because you never do?"
"I guess...I don't like to talk about people behind their backs."
"You're the one who said Jill was a bitch." Her thumb was rubbing a circle into his skin; she hadn't noticed til now.
"Jill is a bitch." Rayn paused, looking down at her hand. He raised his other arm and let his fingers hover over hers for a second. "I was kind of talking about Mike."
"Oh," she said. Her hand slipped away, leaving Rayn to scratch an imaginary itch on his own arm. "What about Mike?"
"I just mean...I know you weren't saying anything bad, but you know...he'll tell me stuff when he tells me stuff. I don't want him to feel like we've just been gossiping about it behind his back."
Darcy picked at a corner of the sun-bleached lounge cushion.
"Wow," she said finally. "You're a really good person, you know. Like, freaky good. I'm just saying."
Laughing, Rayn ducked his head. "Nah, not really."
"You totally are," she said, reaching over to tuck a piece of his hair back behind his ear. He looked at her and smiled.
"Thanks."
"Can I ask you something?" She dropped her hand to his knee. "Why don't you have a girlfriend?"
He looked surprised for a second. Then thoughtful. "Oh, um...I don't know. I had a girlfriend once."
"What happened? Did she die?"
"Darcy!"
"What? Just the way you said it, all serious like that...I had a girlfriend." She made a face, tracing a circle over his kneecap with her finger.
"She didn't die. It just...didn't work out."
"Well...her loss."
He laughed, bringing a hand up to cover his face. She could just see his mouth; he was biting down on his bottom lip.
"What?" she asked, laughing a little too though she wasn't sure why. She tugged his wrist. "Whaaat?"
"Nothing!" Their eyes met; he was trying to keep a straight face. "Sorry. I mean...thanks. I was just thinking..."
"Thinking what?"
He was going to say something. She could tell by the way he opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and shook his head. "Nothing. I don't know."
Darcy punched him in the shoulder. "Weirdo."
"You are," he said.
He stuck out his tongue and on impulse, she reached out to grab it. Too slow though, her fingers wound up stuck in the corner of his mouth and he looked at her, too surprised to laugh.
For a moment, she stared back. Her fingers dragged across his bottom lip, skimmed his cheek. Then she leaned forward, very slowly, and touched her lips to his.
It was barely a kiss, really-more like a clumsy lip-bump-but then she felt his fingers around her arm, up by the shoulder and suddenly they were kissing, and she wasn't thinking because, dude, this was fucking awesome but-
hell-o, this was also Rayn and what the hell was she doing? Her eyes flew open and she pulled away. He looked equally shocked.
"Um, wow," he said.
She could feel the blood rushing to her face. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know."
"It...uh...doesn't mean anything, right?"
He shook his head just a little. "No."
"It's just..."
"Experimental?"
"Yeah. Just for fun."
Silence.
"You look kind of horrified," he said finally.
She forced a laugh. "So do you."
"I'm not, really."
"Good, me neither."
It was silent between them again. She was sure she could hear her own pulse, could feel it in her thumbs pressed into her legs. She could taste the vaguest trace of tobacco on her tongue, or maybe that was in her head.
She needed to stop looking at his mouth.
Or maybe it was actually easier just to kiss him again.
He laughed a little when their lips connected, but she pressed her hands to his shoulders and shut him up with the tip of her tongue. Amazing. Almost like she knew what she was doing. His hand moved to the small of her back and she tried it again-
The patio door clicked behind them, and Darcy pulled away, faster than the thing could slide open. Shit! Mom!
Except-wait-
Darcy rolled away so she was sitting on the concrete patio.
It wasn't her mother. It was Levee.
"Hi!" Darcy chirped, flashing a stupid smile. "What's up?"
Levee was standing the doorway with her arms crossed. Darcy scrutinized her friend's face; there was nothing there that would suggest Levee had seen anything.
Actually, she looked kind of bored.
"I came over to borrow that movie we talked about," Levee said. "You know, the one about the animated dog that wants to be a comedian. Hi, Rayn."
"Hi," Rayn said.
"We're studying for the biology test," Darcy said. "Well, I'm studying and Rayn is helping. Because he's already taken bio. I mean, duh! We're using my book"-she pointed-"See!"
Levee raised an eyebrow. "Uh, that sounds really interesting, but I only have a few minutes before my parents leave. Can I please have that movie? I need something to distract my brother with tonight so I can study." She nodded to Rayn. "I'm baby-sitting. Just in case you thought I was into cartoon dogs or something."
"Oh yeah," Rayn said. "Of course."
"It's not just any cartoon dog," Darcy said. "It's Rover Dangerfield, okay."
Levee looked unimpressed. "So can you-"
"Yeah, yeah," Darcy said. She hopped to her feet and moved to usher Levee back towards the sliding glass door. "Come on, let's go find it."
"I better go anyway," Rayn said, standing up behind her. "Should go catch my bus before it gets too late."
Darcy turned around. "Wait, are you sure? My mom'll drive you home if you want."
"Nah, I'll just...I'll be fine. Thanks." He jerked a thumb towards the fence. "I can just leave out the gate, right?"
"Uh, yeah." Darcy nodded. "If that's what you want."
"It's cool." He held up a hand. "Well, bye! Thanks for having me over."
Darcy fumbled for something better than, "Um, yeah!", as she stood there watching him leave. But that was about what she ended up with.
Fingers were snapping in her face.
"Earth to Darcy!"
Darcy blinked at Levee's chipped black nail-polish and tried to clear her head. "Oh, right. Sorry. In here."
"Awesome," Levee said. "I owe you."
"Yeah," Darcy said. "No problem." She closed the patio door behind them and turned to take one last look at the lounge chair. "Hey, um...actually...could you do me a really big favor?"
"Depends."
Darcy turned to her with a sheepish grin. "If I come over later, do you think you could teach me the Krebs cycle?"
* * *
Uh, I think this is the part where I go OHH, HIGH SCHOOL D:
Summary line from Regina Spektor's "Ghost of Corporate Future."
and ETA: Rover Dangerfield
hi_falootin
Story: Second Chances
Blueberry Yogurt 29. the first time
Word Count: 1933
Rating: R for language
Notes: More high school Darcy/Rayn nonsense! And it's that ~patio scene~ that was alluded to in this story. Look at me, following through with something! Also I am so out of practice for writing in past-tense.also, yeah I've been swamped and not reading/posting :( but I'LL DO BETTER NOW!
"I don't know. I like to hear you say mean things." And if you kiss somebody, then both of you'll get practice.
She snapped the cell phone shut and closed it in her fist. At the other end of the lounge chair, Rayn was bent over the textbook in his lap. She watched him over her knees, as he flipped a page back and forth, knuckle pressed to his lips.
"Doesn't it bother you a little?
He looked up. "Does what bother me?"
"That he isn't here." Darcy waved a hand through the air. "That he's not coming?"
"You wanted me to teach you guys the Krebs cycle for your bio test, right?" he said. He dropped his gaze to the book again. "Maybe he already knows it."
"Oh, like Mike knows anything about the Krebs cycle." She let her head fall back against the cushion. "He's just blowing us off to be with Lonnie."
"Lonnie?"
"Yeah." She propped herself up on her elbows again, trying to read Rayn's expression. It was so hard to tell with him sometimes. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I like Lonnie and all but...I mean, if I had a boyfriend, I wouldn't start ditching on Mike for him. I wouldn't start ditching on you."
She wasn't sure what kind of response she'd been expecting, but Rayn just ducked his head and looked away and that was...troubling. Maybe she'd said something wrong. She rewound it in her head and okay, maybe she came off as a little jealous, just a little bit complain-y. But come on. She couldn't just look at her cell phone and grin like it didn't bother her.
Rayn was looking at the book again, but he couldn't actually be reading. Darcy frowned; she'd made him uncomfortable, should say something else. She chewed on some possibilities, but could only spit out, "It's a little weird right?"
"What's weird?"
"Mike dating someone. It's weird, yeah?"
"Um..." Rayn smoothed his hands over the book. "He hasn't officially told me..."
"Well, it's obvious, right? He won't come hang out because he wants to be with Lonnie."
"But he didn't tell me that. You told me that."
One second to parse that one and she felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "Oh, shit. He really didn't tell you?"
"Nope."
"But you knew, right? I mean..." She flapped a hand around. Right. Awesome. Cause that was the universal sign for gay. "You knew about the whole, er...liking guys thing?"
Rayn shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but...not officially."
"'Not officially'? What does that mean?"
"It means...I don't know, we never really talked about it."
"Oh." She paused. "Sorry, um...is this weird?"
Rayn shrugged again. Darcy watched him scratch a spot on his neck, glance down at the book again. Come on-she knew the Biology text wasn't nearly that interesting.
"So..." she said. "It does bug you a little?"
"What?" He sounded suddenly defensive. "No, of course not. Why would it bug me?"
"Not that. Just the fact that...you know. Mike keeps blowing us off."
"Are we really still talking about this?" He let the book slip from his hands; it fell to the concrete, flopped closed. "Is it bothering you that much?"
Darcy looked away this time, twisting a piece of hair around her finger. "I don't know. Maybe. It's just...it's like what happened with Jill, you know? I am always getting ditched for guys. Always. It's like some kind of curse."
"Well," Rayn said. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think I'll be ditching you for a guy."
"Well, girl. Same difference."
He laughed, shaking his head. "I don't think you have to worry about that either."
"Yeah, right." Darcy snorted. She picked at some dirt under her thumbnail. "I guess...I guess if I had a boyfriend it wouldn't matter. Jill used to tell me that if I had a boyfriend I would totally understand."
"Well...Jill's kind of a bitch."
"What? I don't think I've heard you call anyone a bitch before."
Rayn held out his hands, palms up. "She kind of is though, right?"
"It's true." The chaise lounge squeaked as Darcy sat up and scooted closer to him. "Say more mean things about her."
"She...she's extremely self-centered."
"No, mean things! Like...she's a skanky ho!"
Rayn laughed. "She's a hateful troll."
"She's a dumb cooze."
"She's...a jerk."
"A jerk? She's a cunt."
There was something liberating about it, the way the word popped out of her mouth. The way his jaw dropped when she said it.
"Darcy!"
"Say it," she said. "Say she's a cunt."
Rayn looked around, like someone might be listening. "I don't really say-"
"Cunt?" Darcy supplied. She gave his arm a tug, hand sliding into the crook of his elbow. "Come on! Say it!"
"Why do you want me to say it?"
"I don't know. I like to hear you say mean things."
Rayn laughed. "Why?"
"I don't know! Because you never do?"
"I guess...I don't like to talk about people behind their backs."
"You're the one who said Jill was a bitch." Her thumb was rubbing a circle into his skin; she hadn't noticed til now.
"Jill is a bitch." Rayn paused, looking down at her hand. He raised his other arm and let his fingers hover over hers for a second. "I was kind of talking about Mike."
"Oh," she said. Her hand slipped away, leaving Rayn to scratch an imaginary itch on his own arm. "What about Mike?"
"I just mean...I know you weren't saying anything bad, but you know...he'll tell me stuff when he tells me stuff. I don't want him to feel like we've just been gossiping about it behind his back."
Darcy picked at a corner of the sun-bleached lounge cushion.
"Wow," she said finally. "You're a really good person, you know. Like, freaky good. I'm just saying."
Laughing, Rayn ducked his head. "Nah, not really."
"You totally are," she said, reaching over to tuck a piece of his hair back behind his ear. He looked at her and smiled.
"Thanks."
"Can I ask you something?" She dropped her hand to his knee. "Why don't you have a girlfriend?"
He looked surprised for a second. Then thoughtful. "Oh, um...I don't know. I had a girlfriend once."
"What happened? Did she die?"
"Darcy!"
"What? Just the way you said it, all serious like that...I had a girlfriend." She made a face, tracing a circle over his kneecap with her finger.
"She didn't die. It just...didn't work out."
"Well...her loss."
He laughed, bringing a hand up to cover his face. She could just see his mouth; he was biting down on his bottom lip.
"What?" she asked, laughing a little too though she wasn't sure why. She tugged his wrist. "Whaaat?"
"Nothing!" Their eyes met; he was trying to keep a straight face. "Sorry. I mean...thanks. I was just thinking..."
"Thinking what?"
He was going to say something. She could tell by the way he opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and shook his head. "Nothing. I don't know."
Darcy punched him in the shoulder. "Weirdo."
"You are," he said.
He stuck out his tongue and on impulse, she reached out to grab it. Too slow though, her fingers wound up stuck in the corner of his mouth and he looked at her, too surprised to laugh.
For a moment, she stared back. Her fingers dragged across his bottom lip, skimmed his cheek. Then she leaned forward, very slowly, and touched her lips to his.
It was barely a kiss, really-more like a clumsy lip-bump-but then she felt his fingers around her arm, up by the shoulder and suddenly they were kissing, and she wasn't thinking because, dude, this was fucking awesome but-
hell-o, this was also Rayn and what the hell was she doing? Her eyes flew open and she pulled away. He looked equally shocked.
"Um, wow," he said.
She could feel the blood rushing to her face. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know."
"It...uh...doesn't mean anything, right?"
He shook his head just a little. "No."
"It's just..."
"Experimental?"
"Yeah. Just for fun."
Silence.
"You look kind of horrified," he said finally.
She forced a laugh. "So do you."
"I'm not, really."
"Good, me neither."
It was silent between them again. She was sure she could hear her own pulse, could feel it in her thumbs pressed into her legs. She could taste the vaguest trace of tobacco on her tongue, or maybe that was in her head.
She needed to stop looking at his mouth.
Or maybe it was actually easier just to kiss him again.
He laughed a little when their lips connected, but she pressed her hands to his shoulders and shut him up with the tip of her tongue. Amazing. Almost like she knew what she was doing. His hand moved to the small of her back and she tried it again-
The patio door clicked behind them, and Darcy pulled away, faster than the thing could slide open. Shit! Mom!
Except-wait-
Darcy rolled away so she was sitting on the concrete patio.
It wasn't her mother. It was Levee.
"Hi!" Darcy chirped, flashing a stupid smile. "What's up?"
Levee was standing the doorway with her arms crossed. Darcy scrutinized her friend's face; there was nothing there that would suggest Levee had seen anything.
Actually, she looked kind of bored.
"I came over to borrow that movie we talked about," Levee said. "You know, the one about the animated dog that wants to be a comedian. Hi, Rayn."
"Hi," Rayn said.
"We're studying for the biology test," Darcy said. "Well, I'm studying and Rayn is helping. Because he's already taken bio. I mean, duh! We're using my book"-she pointed-"See!"
Levee raised an eyebrow. "Uh, that sounds really interesting, but I only have a few minutes before my parents leave. Can I please have that movie? I need something to distract my brother with tonight so I can study." She nodded to Rayn. "I'm baby-sitting. Just in case you thought I was into cartoon dogs or something."
"Oh yeah," Rayn said. "Of course."
"It's not just any cartoon dog," Darcy said. "It's Rover Dangerfield, okay."
Levee looked unimpressed. "So can you-"
"Yeah, yeah," Darcy said. She hopped to her feet and moved to usher Levee back towards the sliding glass door. "Come on, let's go find it."
"I better go anyway," Rayn said, standing up behind her. "Should go catch my bus before it gets too late."
Darcy turned around. "Wait, are you sure? My mom'll drive you home if you want."
"Nah, I'll just...I'll be fine. Thanks." He jerked a thumb towards the fence. "I can just leave out the gate, right?"
"Uh, yeah." Darcy nodded. "If that's what you want."
"It's cool." He held up a hand. "Well, bye! Thanks for having me over."
Darcy fumbled for something better than, "Um, yeah!", as she stood there watching him leave. But that was about what she ended up with.
Fingers were snapping in her face.
"Earth to Darcy!"
Darcy blinked at Levee's chipped black nail-polish and tried to clear her head. "Oh, right. Sorry. In here."
"Awesome," Levee said. "I owe you."
"Yeah," Darcy said. "No problem." She closed the patio door behind them and turned to take one last look at the lounge chair. "Hey, um...actually...could you do me a really big favor?"
"Depends."
Darcy turned to her with a sheepish grin. "If I come over later, do you think you could teach me the Krebs cycle?"
* * *
Uh, I think this is the part where I go OHH, HIGH SCHOOL D:
Summary line from Regina Spektor's "Ghost of Corporate Future."
and ETA: Rover Dangerfield