Not Friends Who: Avery and Darcy When: late afternoon Where: Home
Darcy was busy putting together what she needed for her date with Liam. Yes, the weather was crap and not looking like it was getting better, but Darcy had a plan and a hurricane wouldn’t stop it. She was determined. It meant her hair was mostly straightened with a round brush, but she was also pinning it back to get it off her shoulders in the the bathroom she shared with Avery.
Avery wasn't actively seeking out Darcy, but that didn't stop her from slowing down as she left her bedroom and passed the bathroom, spotting her cousin in front of the mirror. Leaning against the door frame, Avery watched Darcy for a moment before speaking. "Your hair looks pretty," she said, a rare compliment for Darcy making it's way past her lips. "Are you going out with Liam again?"
The the goal was to look nice, but hearing it from Avery was unexpected. It sounded more like something Aiden would say, but not entirely mean it. She pinned another loose lock of red and smirked up at Avery. “Thanks. And yes.” She stood up straighter, nodding at herself. She wasn’t done yet, but she was close.
"What are you two going to do?" Hey, see? Avery was making an effort to be nice. Maybe she felt bad after the last time they had talked and Avery had implied her cousin had been a slut. It was hard for Avery to say she was sorry outright, so this was sort of her way of doing it. Plus, she was genuinely curious about Darcy going out with Liam.
Darcy worked on the next piece of her hair. “Hang out a little.” She didn’t want to go into the breaking into the brewery part. Her luck Avery would go and rat her out instantly and Aiden or worse would be waiting. “How was the redo date with Finn?”
Avery had no idea what hang out a little would entail, but if Darcy didn't want to tell her, then Avery wasn't going to push for details. Slipping her hand into the back pocket of her jeans casually, Avery shrugged softly, though it was near impossible to keep her lips from twitching into a smile at the question. "It was great. Definitely a lot better than the first one. We had lunch in the park together yesterday."
After pinning another piece of her hair up, Darcy glanced at Avery. She was relieved she’d waited on putting her dress on, because it hinted at far more than just talking, which was possibly part of Darcy’s goal. She wanted to get through that kiss she’d missed her chance at when they were in the hospital. “What’s ‘definitely a lot better’ mean?”
"Well, it wasn't raining as bad, no power outages to worry about, and we actually got to talk," Avery explained. "I think maybe it was less awkward than the first date." The dimple in her cheek deepened as her smile widened. "And Finn's a really good kisser."
“Less rain is good. Especially considering,” she nodded towards the window and the rain. The last part had her stopping, bobby pin not all the way to her hair. “How good a kisser? Like peck on the cheek or something a little hotter and heavier?”
Avery shook her head. "I got a kiss on the cheek toward the end of the date... I got to sit on his lap for most of the rest." She grinned, unable to keep from saying so, though Avery knew she ought to keep her mouth shut. It would be just her luck for Darcy to spill the beans to Lochlan or something. But she wanted to talk to someone about it, and Darcy was available and a girl and... not her friend, but that didn’t matter. "But yeah. Really good kisser, for sure."
That really had Darcy stopping, hip against the counter, looking at Avery. “So little miss innocent finally got some...what would you call it, lap grinding action?” Good for Avery. Maybe she’d relax a little. As for who Darcy would tell, maybe Aiden first. She’d only tell Lochlan if she needed to distract him. Or Avery pissed her off again.
Rolling her eyes, Avery shook her head. "Don't call me that. And I wouldn't say it was lap grinding action. There was no grinding. We just kissed." Although, Avery recalled how nice it felt on his lap. And the little noise he made when she had shifted on him. Would grinding make it feel better? Maybe she would find out.
“Lap grinding it not a bad thing,” Darcy pointed out. “You’re probably thinking about it now and curious, trust me, it’s a good thing. Makes the boy go a little nuts. And it doesn’t feel bad for you either.” She shook her head then went back to fixing her hair. “You are miss innocent, though it sounds like you’re well on your way to not being that.”
Avery wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or huff, so she released a mixture of both as she watched Darcy go back to fixing her hair. "I'm not looking to lose my so called innocence so fast," she pointed out. "I like Finn. I'd like to get to know him before I start thinking about grinding." That was mostly true. Avery couldn't help but think about it s little.
“I say you stop putting so much pressure on the whole thing. It’ll make it less of a big deal in case it sucks.” Darcy made a small face and shrugged her shoulders. “You’ll still be thinking about grinding.”
"In case it sucks? You mean sex?" Avery really wasn't thinking about having sex with Finn. She barely knew him. It wasn't even that she was was putting pressure on herself. She just wanted to make sure her first time was with someone she liked. But what Darcy said had her curious. "Did it suck for you?"
“Yes, sex.” Jesus, Avery was a little nun. Darcy finished with her hair and reached for the sparse bits of makeup they had, going through it while she tried to decide on something. “First time yeah,” she said with a nod. “It hurts a little and if he doesn’t know what he’s doing it lasts like two minutes.”
She didn't think there was anything wrong with being a virgin, though she felt like she needed to have sex just to catch up to Darcy. That wasn't the healthiest view on sex, but Avery wasn't always thinking rationally when it came to competition with Darcy. Avery just wished she didn't feel competitive with her cousin. But things were how they were. "Two minutes." Avery smirked softly. "Who was it?"
“Yeah that only relief is that it doesn’t last long,” Darcy said with a little huff of her voice. She glanced up when Avery asked who it was, smiling something slightly more wicked as she added eyeshadow in a deep green. “One of the refugees at the house.” Avery would know which one, the one they’d been in with the family before the dome. “They both were.”
Both blonde eyebrows lifted in surprise, and Avery studied Darcy in the mirror. "Two?" How had none of those boys looked at her? That didn't seem fair. But that was childish to think too. She wasn't looking to have sex now, she definitely wasn't ready then. "How'd you get away with that with our family around?"
“Two. The second one was better, but he was also older.” He’d been closer to Aiden’s age at the time. Darcy found a mascara and went about putting that on. “I was sneaky. And I kept my mouth shut about it.” Which she guessed that Avery wouldn’t be as good at. And yes, her cousin did know about what Darcy had been up to at the time, but Aiden kept her secrets, just like she kept his.
Sneaky. Avery had no idea if she could be sneaky. Not that she needed to be, because she wasn't doing anything wrong. Or anything at all, actually. She was just spending time with a boy she liked. "Well, whatever works." She shrugged, because she wasn't going to judge Darcy this time around. Avery wondered if Darcy liked the boys at all, or if it was just for fun. She wasn't going to ask that either. "Were they the only two? Or have you done it since we got here?"
That made Darcy laugh, shaking her head. “I’m not answering that,” she said glancing at Avery. “Secrets from out there, maybe, the ones in here, not so much.” In reality, there hadn’t been anyone. Not that had gotten that far. She’d kissed a few boys at school, but her family was still there, and inside the dome they weren’t distracted by zombies.
Unable to help herself, Avery rolled her eyes again. "You know, we should be able to talk to one another, Darcy. It's not like I'm going to go around and tell everyone everything you tell me." Sometimes Avery wished they could stop fighting and be friends, at least, but so far that hadn't happened. Not that it was entirely Darcy's fault. "I haven't told anyone else about kissing Finn but for you."
Darcy finished with the mascara then looked over at Avery. “We don’t have to be best friends just because we’re related and we live together,” she said. “Not to mention, I have no idea if you’ll rat me out or not. Just like you don’t know that I won’t go right from here and tell Lochlan.” Which Darcy wouldn’t. She didn’t like her cousin much, but she wouldn’t do the exact thing to Avery as they’d done to Darcy.
"I never said we had to be best friends," Avery pointed out. "But it wouldn't be the end of the world if we tried to be friends. I'm not going to rat you out to anyone. Just like I don't think you'll run off and tell Lochlan." At least, she hoped Darcy wouldn't. If Avery really thought Darcy would, she wouldn't have said anything in the first place.
“Maybe,” Darcy said, but not giving in just yet. She didn’t trust Avery. They were too different. “You know it’s okay not to like them. Not to like me.”
They were different, yes, but did that mean they had to hate one another? Avery considered what Darcy said before answering. "There's parts of them I don't like. There are parts of you I don't like. But there are parts I like too. It doesn't always have to be bad." Avery paused briefly. "Do you really hate me that much?"
Darcy touched up her hair again then looked over at her cousin with a sigh. “No. I don’t hate you that much, I just don’t see why we have to be forced to be friends.” She nodded at the final touches of her look.
"We don't." And that was that, really. At least Avery had tried. There was a part of her that wanted someone to be close to. Someone she could laugh and talk about boys with. It was superficial, but Delphi was lonely sometimes. Darcy just wasn't going to be that person. "Have fun tonight." Pushing away from the door frame, Avery started back down the hall to her room.
Darcy didn’t want to be nice, not like that, but damnit if Avery didn’t get under her skin. She watched the empty doorway for a moment before leaning out it and down the hall towards her cousin. “Go out with him again,” she called. “Finn. It’ll be worth it.” That was all Darcy was doing, giving a little bit of advice before heading to her own room to finish getting ready.
Avery heard Darcy as she entered her bedroom, and she called back, "I already planned on it, thanks." With that, she shut the door and went over to flop on her bed, snagging her school bag from the floor. She thought briefly about texting Finn and inviting him over, but she wasn't entirely sure that would be a good idea just yet, so she decided to focus on homework instead.