Ficlet: Gossip Girl (GH, Molly, Lana, Lanaverse)
Title: Gossip Girl
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 13 - Secrets
Pairing/Character(s): Molly, Lana
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: 1,316
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU.
Summary: “Maybe I liked it better when you were in Greece. I forgot how bossy you can be.”
Author's Notes: Written for theechochorus.
Lana was stretched out on a towel next to the pool, furtively trying to get some sun while her parents were at work and her mother couldn’t lecture her about the risks of sun cancer. The heat from the sun was making her drowsy and she was about to fall asleep, when cold water suddenly splashed down on her back.
“Matthew, I am going to kick your ass!” she shrieked, propping herself up on her elbows and turning her head expecting to see her brother standing over her.
Instead, she found Molly holding a glass of ice water and grinning down at her. “Miss me?”
“Molly!” Lana squealed, scrambling to her feet and throwing her arms around her best friend. “How are you? How was Greece? How’s Cam? When did you get home? Why didn’t you - ”
“Whoa, whoa…” Molly laughed, holding up a hand to cut off the barrage of questions. “One question at a time, please.”
Lana looked sheepish. “Sorry, it’s just been forever since we talked, since someone was off having a blissful vacation in Greece with their fiancé,” she drawled. “It was fabulous, right?”
Molly arched an eyebrow and grinned. “Three weeks on a Greek island with a staff that has standing orders to obey your every command and the man you love?”
“Right, stupid question,” Lana laughed. She eyed Molly’s tan skin enviously “And no parents standing by to tell you that you’re going to end up with skin cancer for getting a little sun. You look fabulous.”
“Thanks!” Molly beamed at her, seating herself in one of the chairs next to the pool. “Sun, relaxation, Cameron… all the perfect cure for post finals stress.”
“I can tell. So tell me everything,” Lana ordered. “Did you guys go sightseeing or did you spend all your time being the idle rich on Nikolas’s island?”
“We did some sightseeing,” Molly admitted. “Most of it, though, we were just bums.” She patted the chair next to her. “Sit down already.”
Lana sat, tugging an oversize shirt on over her bikini. “I’m so jealous of your trip. All I’ve been doing all summer is volunteering and fighting off this creepy intern in dermatology that thinks that he’s god’s gift to women.”
Molly laughed. “He does know who your father is, right? I can’t believe Patrick would stand for that.”
A devious expression appeared on Lana’s face. “Actually, no. He only started after I went off to school and I haven’t exactly mentioned my last name…”
“Lana!” Molly exclaimed as she giggled. “Are you trying to get him killed?”
Lana sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, it would serve him right. And teach him to hit on girls that are barely legal.”
Molly shook her head, and she narrowed her eyes at Lana. “So…” she started, a hint of teasing in her voice. “Any update on the Jake situation?”
Lana arched an eyebrow. “We’re calling it the Jake situation now?” Lana asked.
Molly shrugged. “It seemed appropriate. So if you don’t want to talk about Jake, do you want to talk about David?”
“We’re taking a break,” Lana mumbled, looking down at her toes for chips in the polish.
“What?” Molly demanded. “When did this happen?”
“Not long after you and Cam left.” Lana shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, we’re just going to see what happens when we get back to school in the fall.”
Molly frowned. “I thought you were crazy about David. Why isn’t it a big deal?”
“It’s just not,” Lana shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She started fanning herself with her hand. “Look, I’m over heated, do you want to head inside?”
“No,” Molly said firmly. “We are sitting right here till you tell me what’s going on.”
Lana sat back in her chair and frowned. “Maybe I liked it better when you were in Greece. I forgot how bossy you can be.”
“Guilty as charged. Now tell me what happened with David.”
Lana shrugged, and tried to look disinterested. “We just decided it was really hard to do the long distance thing, so we decided to take a break for a little while. We still want to be together, but we decided we could see other people if we wanted and we’d reassess in the fall.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Molly asked skeptically. “That doesn’t sound like you, Lan.”
“It was sort of my idea,” Lana mumbled, not able to look at Molly.
“Alanna Mackenzie Drake!” Molly gasped. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” She narrowed her eyes at Lana. “And how much does this have to do with my future brother-in-law?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Spencer, I promise,” Lana dead-panned. At Molly’s ‘I am not amused’ expression, she sighed and said, “This isn’t about Jake. Well, not mostly about Jake. It might be a little bit. Just a smidgeon, really…” she trailed off. She looked over at Molly again and gave a rueful little laugh. “I’m not very convincing, am I?”
Molly shook her head. “Maybe if the person didn’t know you as well as I do, you would be, but nope, I can see right through you.” She reached over to squeeze Lana’s hand. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Lana said miserably. “I really care about David, but you and Cam were needling me about Jake back before you left and then at your engagement party things got weird, and since then he’s been coming to see me a lot.” At Molly’s questioning look, she rushed to explain, “Just to talk and stuff, but it’s so strange. He brings coffee to me at the hospital and he bought me tickets to go see this experimental dance troupe that was at PCU and he’s just been really sweet. And it started confusing me.”
Molly looked sympathetic. “So you put things with David on hold, because you didn’t know what was going on with Jake?”
“Does that make me a horrible person?” Lana bit her lip. “I really thought I was over Jake, I wanted to be over Jake, and now I’m all confused and can’t figure out what it is I feel, and that’s not fair to David, right?” She got up and started pacing. “Why did he have to do this? Why did he have to start being the boy that I fell in love with a million years ago again?”
At that, Molly laughed. “Sweetie, Jake was many things when you fell in love with him, oh at the age of twelve, but sweet and attentive was not one of them.”
Lana laughed a little. “True, but it’s like he wants us to be friends again. Real friends, the way we were before everything changed.” She shook her head. “Maybe that’s all this is. Maybe it’s just about us being friends.”
“You don’t really think that do you?” Molly questioned, a skeptical look on her face.
Lana groaned and sank back into her chair. “No.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Molly asked.
“Wait till he tells me what’s really going on, I guess,” Lana shrugged. “What else can I do?”
Molly stood. “Well for one, you can go throw on some clothes and then we’re heading straight to Kelly’s for some ice cream. Nothing like it to wipe the stupidity of boys off your mind like a banana split.”
Lana grinned. “On that, we can agree.” She bent down to grab her towel, sun screen, and ipod. “Give me five minutes, and then we’re out of here.”
Molly nodded. “I’ll just wait out here, okay?”
“Okay,” Lana called back over her shoulder as she rushed into the house.
Molly collapsed back into the chair and looked out over the water in the pool.
She had a feeling the long, hot summer had only just begun.
Author: empressearwig
Prompt: 13 - Secrets
Pairing/Character(s): Molly, Lana
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Word Count: 1,316
Spoilers/Warnings: Part of the Lana!AU.
Summary: “Maybe I liked it better when you were in Greece. I forgot how bossy you can be.”
Author's Notes: Written for theechochorus.
Lana was stretched out on a towel next to the pool, furtively trying to get some sun while her parents were at work and her mother couldn’t lecture her about the risks of sun cancer. The heat from the sun was making her drowsy and she was about to fall asleep, when cold water suddenly splashed down on her back.
“Matthew, I am going to kick your ass!” she shrieked, propping herself up on her elbows and turning her head expecting to see her brother standing over her.
Instead, she found Molly holding a glass of ice water and grinning down at her. “Miss me?”
“Molly!” Lana squealed, scrambling to her feet and throwing her arms around her best friend. “How are you? How was Greece? How’s Cam? When did you get home? Why didn’t you - ”
“Whoa, whoa…” Molly laughed, holding up a hand to cut off the barrage of questions. “One question at a time, please.”
Lana looked sheepish. “Sorry, it’s just been forever since we talked, since someone was off having a blissful vacation in Greece with their fiancé,” she drawled. “It was fabulous, right?”
Molly arched an eyebrow and grinned. “Three weeks on a Greek island with a staff that has standing orders to obey your every command and the man you love?”
“Right, stupid question,” Lana laughed. She eyed Molly’s tan skin enviously “And no parents standing by to tell you that you’re going to end up with skin cancer for getting a little sun. You look fabulous.”
“Thanks!” Molly beamed at her, seating herself in one of the chairs next to the pool. “Sun, relaxation, Cameron… all the perfect cure for post finals stress.”
“I can tell. So tell me everything,” Lana ordered. “Did you guys go sightseeing or did you spend all your time being the idle rich on Nikolas’s island?”
“We did some sightseeing,” Molly admitted. “Most of it, though, we were just bums.” She patted the chair next to her. “Sit down already.”
Lana sat, tugging an oversize shirt on over her bikini. “I’m so jealous of your trip. All I’ve been doing all summer is volunteering and fighting off this creepy intern in dermatology that thinks that he’s god’s gift to women.”
Molly laughed. “He does know who your father is, right? I can’t believe Patrick would stand for that.”
A devious expression appeared on Lana’s face. “Actually, no. He only started after I went off to school and I haven’t exactly mentioned my last name…”
“Lana!” Molly exclaimed as she giggled. “Are you trying to get him killed?”
Lana sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, it would serve him right. And teach him to hit on girls that are barely legal.”
Molly shook her head, and she narrowed her eyes at Lana. “So…” she started, a hint of teasing in her voice. “Any update on the Jake situation?”
Lana arched an eyebrow. “We’re calling it the Jake situation now?” Lana asked.
Molly shrugged. “It seemed appropriate. So if you don’t want to talk about Jake, do you want to talk about David?”
“We’re taking a break,” Lana mumbled, looking down at her toes for chips in the polish.
“What?” Molly demanded. “When did this happen?”
“Not long after you and Cam left.” Lana shrugged. “It’s not a big deal, we’re just going to see what happens when we get back to school in the fall.”
Molly frowned. “I thought you were crazy about David. Why isn’t it a big deal?”
“It’s just not,” Lana shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She started fanning herself with her hand. “Look, I’m over heated, do you want to head inside?”
“No,” Molly said firmly. “We are sitting right here till you tell me what’s going on.”
Lana sat back in her chair and frowned. “Maybe I liked it better when you were in Greece. I forgot how bossy you can be.”
“Guilty as charged. Now tell me what happened with David.”
Lana shrugged, and tried to look disinterested. “We just decided it was really hard to do the long distance thing, so we decided to take a break for a little while. We still want to be together, but we decided we could see other people if we wanted and we’d reassess in the fall.”
“And you’re okay with that?” Molly asked skeptically. “That doesn’t sound like you, Lan.”
“It was sort of my idea,” Lana mumbled, not able to look at Molly.
“Alanna Mackenzie Drake!” Molly gasped. “Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” She narrowed her eyes at Lana. “And how much does this have to do with my future brother-in-law?”
“This doesn’t have anything to do with Spencer, I promise,” Lana dead-panned. At Molly’s ‘I am not amused’ expression, she sighed and said, “This isn’t about Jake. Well, not mostly about Jake. It might be a little bit. Just a smidgeon, really…” she trailed off. She looked over at Molly again and gave a rueful little laugh. “I’m not very convincing, am I?”
Molly shook her head. “Maybe if the person didn’t know you as well as I do, you would be, but nope, I can see right through you.” She reached over to squeeze Lana’s hand. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Lana said miserably. “I really care about David, but you and Cam were needling me about Jake back before you left and then at your engagement party things got weird, and since then he’s been coming to see me a lot.” At Molly’s questioning look, she rushed to explain, “Just to talk and stuff, but it’s so strange. He brings coffee to me at the hospital and he bought me tickets to go see this experimental dance troupe that was at PCU and he’s just been really sweet. And it started confusing me.”
Molly looked sympathetic. “So you put things with David on hold, because you didn’t know what was going on with Jake?”
“Does that make me a horrible person?” Lana bit her lip. “I really thought I was over Jake, I wanted to be over Jake, and now I’m all confused and can’t figure out what it is I feel, and that’s not fair to David, right?” She got up and started pacing. “Why did he have to do this? Why did he have to start being the boy that I fell in love with a million years ago again?”
At that, Molly laughed. “Sweetie, Jake was many things when you fell in love with him, oh at the age of twelve, but sweet and attentive was not one of them.”
Lana laughed a little. “True, but it’s like he wants us to be friends again. Real friends, the way we were before everything changed.” She shook her head. “Maybe that’s all this is. Maybe it’s just about us being friends.”
“You don’t really think that do you?” Molly questioned, a skeptical look on her face.
Lana groaned and sank back into her chair. “No.”
“So what are you going to do about it?” Molly asked.
“Wait till he tells me what’s really going on, I guess,” Lana shrugged. “What else can I do?”
Molly stood. “Well for one, you can go throw on some clothes and then we’re heading straight to Kelly’s for some ice cream. Nothing like it to wipe the stupidity of boys off your mind like a banana split.”
Lana grinned. “On that, we can agree.” She bent down to grab her towel, sun screen, and ipod. “Give me five minutes, and then we’re out of here.”
Molly nodded. “I’ll just wait out here, okay?”
“Okay,” Lana called back over her shoulder as she rushed into the house.
Molly collapsed back into the chair and looked out over the water in the pool.
She had a feeling the long, hot summer had only just begun.