1/22 Instance: Right Amount of Wrong

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after Just Give Me a Reason


Paige: Paige had the first 'bad' date ever with Phil. Her mind was stuck on what had happened with Rachel, unable to move past it. What would have happened if Phil hadn't texted? She slowly made her way up the stairs, heavy with her thoughts. Something didn't add up. It felt like the answer was right there, just barely out of her grasp. She pushed open the door to her room, still trying to piece it together.

Rachel: Having given up on music or drawing, Rachel had curled up in the spot in the window again, though without a cigarette or actually having the window open this time. Despite staring out over the grounds, forehead pressed to the cool glass, her gaze wasn't focused on anything in particular. With how things had gone earlier, she was almost dreading Paige coming back.

Paige: The door closed softly behind her, and Paige moved to hang her coat up. She held her head a bit as the pieces fell into place like a series of dominos knocked over. Of course! It wasn't Mayday... it was... her? But what if she was wrong? Paige pressed herself against the closet wall. What if she had spent an evening worrying over something that didn't exist?

Paige: Paige slowly moved to the closet doorway and peeked out to see Rachel.

Rachel: Rachel heard Paige shuffling around, but she didn't move from her spot, actually looking for something to focus on outside the glass now that she was likely expected to say something. After a few moments of trying to work out words, she realized she was overlooking the most obvious question ever. "How was your date?"

Paige: Well that was a subject Paige didn't want to discuss. She licked her lips and moved across the room, standing awkwardly near Rachel. She looked over at her, sorting through the obvious in her own mind. Something always felt off with Phil, but it never did with Rachel. Was it ok to think that? Or act on it? She shifted a bit. "Why did you pick that song?" She surprised herself with that question, but figured it was the best place to start.

Rachel: That wasn't exactly the answer she'd been expecting and caused her brow to furrow, mouth working to form an answer, "Because... I-I'd like to think I'm not broken. Plus, the piano's nice... simple..."

Paige: That about melted Paige's heart. She moved to Rachel, leaning down to hug her. "No. You aren't broken," she agreed.

Rachel: Unmoving in the hug at first, Rachel wasn't entirely sure what to do with it after earlier, but she gave up trying to resist and leaned into it. She shook her head and mumbled in reply, "I don't know about that sometimes."

Paige: "Well I know enough for the both of us,' Paige assured her. And Paige was sure of that because in that moment she knew something important. She knew that it had always been Rachel that she wanted to be with. Her face turned a brilliant shade of red as she was unable to hide that emotion.

Rachel: "Guess it's good that one of us does." And, here she was. So close. Again. With a sigh, Rachel pulled away and moved to uncurl instead, stretching as she stood.

Paige: Paige backed up, retreating to a seat on the bed. She couldn't have feelings for Rachel. Not like that. It was wrong. Paige glanced up at the red head, blushing again. But she did. She just didn't know what to do about it.. or Phil. What if Rachel didn't feel the same way? Paige paused. What had they been talking about? "How was um, your night?"

Rachel: Rachel took a seat on the couch, slumping into the cushions as she propped her feet on the coffee table. She shook her head again, "I didn't do anything..."

Paige: "Why not?" Paige looked over at her. Her mind went back to their almost kiss, inducing more blushing.

Rachel: "I just... didn't..." she shrugged.

Paige: Everything was so awkward. Why was it so awkward? "Oh." She looked down at her hands, not sure where to go from there. She got up and moved to sit down next to Rachel on the couch, butterflies invading her stomach.

Rachel: Rachel risked glancing over to her as she sat down next to her, gently reminding, "You didn't tell me how your date went..." Which was really weird because Paige always jumped on the chance to gush about those things.

Paige: That was just cruel. She didn't want to talk about her date or tell Rachel why it had gone so poorly. "It um.. I um..." What was the correct answer? "I was distracted."

Rachel: She blinked and properly looked over to Paige, "...By how cute he is, right?"

Paige: "Not... exactly?" Paige shifted uncomfortably.

Rachel: "Not exactly?" Rachel repeated, eyebrow going up.

Paige: "No." Paige repeated, squirming in her seat.

Rachel: Biting down on her lip, she glanced away and remained silent for a few moments before asking, "Distracted by what?"

Paige: "By... other... stuff? She tried. That wasn't going to work, but it bought her a few more seconds. She just couldn't say it.

Rachel: Rachel slowly nodded. She'd gathered that much.

Paige: "We should sing again sometime."

Rachel: It took her a few moments to process that. "Yeah... It was nice..."

Paige: "We um... harmonized really... um... well." Paige tucked a bit of her blonde hair behind her ear. Oh this was horrible.

Rachel: "Yeah," Rachel nodded again as she eyed Paige, giving a soft smile, despite how awful she was also finding this, "You actually didn't sound too bad."

Paige: Her cheeks flushed red as she ducked her eyes, twirling a bit of her blonde hair in her fingers. "Really?"

Rachel: She bit down on her lip as she watched her, repeating, "Really."

Paige: "You sounded better." Paige spoke softly, unable to make eye contact.

Rachel: Rachel gave a small shrug, quietly admitting, "I practiced all day."

Paige: "You didn't have to do that... I think your voice is lovely as it is."

Rachel: She finally looked away, blushing. "It's... good enough."

Paige: "Rachel?" Paige glanced up at her just barely.

Rachel: Rachel took in a breath and forced herself to glance back over to Paige, "Yeah?"

Paige: "I...." She quickly looked back down at her hands, wringing them together. "I think.. maybe... I don't know." She chickened out.

Rachel: Rachel blinked, "You maybe think you don't know what?"

Paige: "Phil...." Paige shifted uncomfortably.

Rachel: Rachel removed her feet from the coffee table to sit up a bit straighter, brow furrowing, "...Do you want me to kick his ass?"

Paige: Paige quickly shook her head no. "He hasn't done anything wrong... it's... me."

Rachel: "Oh." Ass-kicking didn't really solve that one. She considered Paige for a few moments, gently asking, "What's wrong?"

Paige: "I... it's... I don't know." Paige pressed her hands against her face. It was sort of a lie... she did know. She just didn't understand it.

Rachel: After earlier, Rachel was hesitant but scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She wasn't sure what to say without sounding insensitive.

Paige: Paige hugged her back, somewhat tightly. This felt right, sending butterflies to her stomach. She blushed a brilliant shade of red, glad that she could somewhat hide against Rachel. "It's.." What was she supposed to say!?

Rachel: "Just not working?" she supplied with a sigh as she leaned back into the cushions again, simply pulling Paige with her because she didn't really want to let go.

Paige: Paige curled up on top of Rachel, snuggling into her. "I don't..." Paige couldn't get the words out of her mouth. They froze just on the tip of her tongue.

Rachel: Rachel slipped her other arm around her, gave her a small squeeze, and opted to remain silent, letting Paige spit it out in her own time. Mainly because she was content to just sit like this.

Paige: "There's... somebody else." Paige was amazed she had actually said it.

Rachel: Somebody else... Was that somebody else supposed to be her? She hoped that somebody else was her. "Somebody better than Phil? No way..." she teased.

Paige: "Y-y-yes." Paige got out, swallowing hard.

Rachel: "After all the gushing, I almost find that hard to believe," she commented.

Paige: "I... it just... I just sort of realized it."

Rachel: Rachel was pretty sure that ruled out anyone but her, though should she say something? She worried her lip for a few moments. What would she even say? Shifting slightly to catch Paige's gaze, she attempted to reassure her, "I'm sure things will sort themselves out."

Paige: Trapped in Rachel's gaze again, Paige tried to remember how to speak. "But how?"

Rachel: "Depends on what you want." It was probably a less than helpful answer, but she couldn't quite bring herself to push how opposed she was to Phil or make some kind of move. Not with how upset Paige looked. She didn't want to further upset her.

Paige: "You." The word escaped before Paige could stop it.

Rachel: Rachel stared, searching Paige's face, as she tried to work out whether she'd heard that properly. Having a good feeling it was her and actually hearing it were two completely different things. Without really thinking it through, she leaned in to catch Paige's lips for a soft kiss. As soon as she'd done it, she realized it was a bad idea and quickly broke it, offering an apology, "I-I'm sorry... I... You..."

Paige: "You." Paige repeated, emboldened. She met Rachel's lips again, more forceful than the soft one Rachel had given her.

Rachel: This was actually happening. She could hardly believe this was actually happening. Paige was kissing her. It took her a moment to respond, hands wandering down to Paige's waist to pull her into her lap as she desperately returned the kiss.

Paige: Paige went into the lap willingly, glad to be near Rachel. The moment the tongue ring touched Paige's mouth, however, she jerked back, hand over her mouth.

Rachel: Wide-eyed, Rachel breathed, "What's wrong?" Hopefully, it wasn't the fact she was straddling her lap, kissing her, while she still had a boyfriend. Anything but that would be good.

Paige: "The... it feels... the ring..." Paige shook her head a bit, trying to think, which was difficult.

Rachel: "Oh..." Right. That. She wasn't supposed to be kissing while the piercing was healing. Fuck it. She reluctantly removed her hands from Paige's waist to take it out, tossing the bar to the coffee table as she buried her fingers in Paige's hair with her free hand, pulling her into another kiss.

Paige: A sound of surprise escaped from Paige as she was pulled back. She quickly recovered, pressing herself against Rachel. One hand moved to Rachel's waist and the other went to the red head's cheek, stroking it gently.

Rachel: Rachel inhaled sharply as Paige's hand found her waist and lingered in the kiss because she really didn't want it to end.

Paige: Paige finally broke it, resting her head against Rachel's, catching her breath. She nuzzled Rachel gently, fingers toying with her hair. "I'm scared," she whispered to her.

Rachel: "Me too," she breathily admitted, stealing another kiss.

Paige: She'd have to tell Phil in the morning. That terrified her more than anything else presently. The kiss distracted her though. She stopped worrying about Phil and let herself just kiss Rachel, finally actually happy. She tightened her hold on Rachel to reassure her, deepening their kiss.

Rachel: Rachel wasn't nearly as worried about Phil as she was about fucking everything up. What if she couldn't do this, and Phil had been the better choice for Paige? Well, he was likely the better choice anyway, and... Ugh, she was letting Paige ruin her life and no amount of kissing was distracting her from that, no matter how amazing it was.

Rachel: Breaking it, she pulled her hand from Paige's hair in favor of lightly running her fingers along her jaw, brow furrowed as she softly asked, "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

Paige: Paige closed her eyes, breathing in Rachel. Was she sure? No. It was scary. And there was the fact that it was a sin. And hurt Phil was going to be. She backed up slightly to look at Rachel. "It's always been you... I just didn't know it."

Rachel: Sitting back, she pulled a slight face as she caught sight of the ring on her finger. She didn't want to think about Josh or how she possibly couldn't go through with something like that again. Not now.

Rachel: Instead, she forced herself to look from her hand back up to Paige, deciding now was as good a time as any to admit, "I was jealous... Well, and I didn't want to see you hurt after everything last semester and Eve... But, mainly, jealous that it was him."

Paige: "I was jealous of May...." Paige reluctantly admitted.

Rachel: Rachel smiled slightly, reaching up to tuck some of Paige's hair behind her ear, "I keep telling you there's nothing there."

Paige: "I know that... and I feel silly. Especially now." Paige blushed, ducking her eyes to avoid eye contact.

Rachel: "It's okay. May's... figured it out..." she replied and took the avoidance as an opportunity to glance her over, also pointing out with a sigh, "We should move."

Paige: "She figured it out?" Paige glanced up again. "And move where?"

Rachel: "She questioned me about... girls and staying here. Caught me off-guard, and I sort of spilled... She's been telling me to tell you since..." Rachel answered, "And, I need to move to the bathroom for mouthwash because I have a hole in my tongue."

Paige: Paige blushed again, getting off of her lap and to her feet. "I'm just glad we're together now..... even though I'm scared to tell Phil."

Rachel: Together... It sounded strange. As she got up, she gave a shrug, "I'll tell him, if you want."

Paige: Paige giggled at her, plopping down on her bed on her stomach. "I'm sure that would go sooooo well."

Rachel: "Oh, I'm sure it would," Rachel replied just as sarcastically before dealing with the mouthwash. She also probably needed to deal with the tattoo again, which she may as well do while she was in the bathroom.

Paige: "It should come from me. I just dread the actual telling..." But it would be worth it. For her. Paige smiled and hugged a pillow to her.

Rachel: "Just tell him..." she started, pausing as she studied the phoenix in the mirror. It seemed to be healing nicely. "Tell him... I don't know. I've never broken up with anyone."

Paige: "I'll figure it out," Paige promised her softly. Then another thought caught up to her. "Am I... a bad person?"

Rachel: When she was finished with the tattoo, Rachel pulled her shirt back on and headed to the couch, plopping down. "Definitely not. It takes a lot more to be a bad person."

Paige: "Except we just made out... and I haven't told him yet..."

Rachel: This was partially why she hadn't done anything when Paige had been high. Looking over to her, she sighed, "Paige, if you didn't feel bad about it, you'd be a bad person."

Paige: "So... tomorrow... it'll be better?"

Rachel: "No," she answered honestly, "You'll probably still feel like shit about it for a while."

Paige: Paige sighed and hid her face in her pillow. This would be so much easier if she just didn't exist.

Rachel: "You'll feel better about it eventually... Just not tomorrow," Rachel amended as she dragged her own pillow over to her. What the hell had she just gotten herself into?

Paige: Paige glanced up at Rachel, realizing she was still on the couch. "You um... don't have to..." Paige just blushed. She should just shut up and go to sleep. "Nevermind."

Rachel: "I'll survive over here, like I have for the past few weeks. Save yourself from feeling worse," Rachel replied as she grabbed her blanket, rolling onto her side. She wasn't sure how much sleeping she was going to be doing, but this way she'd have a while to properly think about things.

Paige: Paige swallowed hard and crawled under her covers. Was Rachel mad at her too now. "Ok... good night, Rachie..."

Rachel: "Night," she called, mostly into her pillow, adding as an afterthought, "Wake me up if you need anything."

Paige: "You too, Rachie." Paige closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep.

[Chaos]