Siempre Hay Algo Más - Chapter 9
Title: Siempre Hay Algo Más
Rating: R
Pairing: Pepa/Silvia
A/N: I know, I know...an update in less than a week!? Color me just as surprised! This chapter obviously involves the now-famous Communion...I hope I did the scene justice.
Chapter 9
Pepa stood outside of the lab, fist poised and ready to knock. It had been two weeks since she had been injured. She had been ordered to take a few days off to rest, and when she got back to work, she found herself with a mountain of paperwork to slog through. She hadn’t seen Silvia since the other woman had stayed with her, and now that she was all caught up, she had no more excuses for putting it off. So, there she was, standing outside of the lab, trying to work up the courage to knock.
Just as her knuckles were about to make contact, she pulled back, her fist separating into fingers that she nervously ran through her hair. Tugging on the bottom of her vest, she took a deep breath and raised her fist again. Before she could second-guess herself anymore, she knocked on the door.
And waited.
A few more seconds passed, and she heard no response come from behind the door.
Great. I’ve been standing out here for ten minutes and Silvia’s not even in there.
She grabbed the door knob and slowly began nudging the door open to take a look. Before she had even poked her head inside, she heard Silvia’s voice, confirming that she actually was inside the lab.
“But, Eva, we had plans for tonight…” The redhead’s shoulders tensed. “Vale. Vale, I understand, but you’ll still be coming over tomorrow, right?” The redhead paused again as Eva replied, an unhappy sigh escaping her lips. “Right. We’ll talk about it tomorrow then. Adios.”
Silvia’s curt goodbye was followed by her bitterly ending the call and throwing the phone onto the counter in exasperation. She stood there for a while, trying to calm down, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead before flipping it around to rub her temples.
Unable to restrain the sarcastic banter that came from years of conditioning, Pepa intruded upon Silvia’s silence. “Trouble in paradise?”
The redhead spun around on her heel, noticing Pepa for the first time. As if she wasn’t upset enough, the question made her bristle even more. “Do you need something?” Her voice nearly broke on the last word, her annoyance getting the better of her. “Because if you’re only here to start an argument, I’m going to have to ask…”
Pepa held up her hands, palms out, both as a signal for Silvia to stop and as a conciliatory gesture. “Lo siento,” her earlier nervousness made a reappearance, her fingers combing through her hair again. “That’s not what I came here for.”
Silvia stared at the other woman, waiting for her to go on. When nothing was forthcoming, she limited herself to raising her eyebrows, shaking her head in silent question, hoping that would provoke a response from the brunette.
“So, you’re free tonight?” Pepa began, and Silvia’s confusion only grew. “I heard you…and Eva…” Pepa loosely pointed in the direction of the phone in way of explanation, but when Silvia’s expression didn’t change much - she only stood up straighter and crossed her arms - Pepa found herself taking another deep breath and rubbing the nape of her neck. “Look, I wanted to say thank you…for staying with me. You didn’t have to, and I would’ve had to stay in the hospital,” she paused as a shudder ran through her at the thought of being confined to a hospital bed for a night. “So, thank you.”
Silvia’s posture relaxed, the ghost of a smile flitting across her lips. “Well, you’re welcome.”
Both women then stood there looking at each other awkwardly. Pepa didn’t make a move to let herself out, so Silvia stared at her wondering if there was something more she wanted to say.
“Do you want to go out? I mean…with me?” Now Silvia was confused again, her eyebrow arching back into its position of inquiry. “For dinner! For dinner, I mean. You know…as a thank you.” The brunette’s hand found the back of her neck again and she sighed. “What I mean is…I’d like to take you out for dinner to say thank you for watching over me.”
Almost impossibly, Silvia’s eyebrow shot up even higher. “Dinner? With me? And you? Just us…having dinner…”
“Yes. Me, you, dinner.” Pepa said as she pointed to herself, then Silvia, then pantomimed eating. Seeing the redhead become flustered at her proposal actually served to compose her, as this was definitely more familiar territory. “Tonight. And don’t tell me you have other plans,” Pepa felt her patented grin slide back in place, and she pointed once again at Silvia’s phone lying on the counter, “because I know you don’t.”
Silvia’s mouth opened and closed, whatever her reply seemingly stuck in her throat as her eyes darted around uneasily.
The agent smiled widely. “I’ll take that a ‘yes’ then. Ten o’clock at Palermo?”
The redhead was blinking nervously, but she cleared her throat to answer and one of her hands anxiously smoothed at the skin of her neck. “Va…vale. I’ll see you then.”
The women stood there looking at each other again, and this time it wasn’t quite so awkward.
“Vale,” Pepa winked and Silvia was surprised to feel a light blush rise up to color her cheeks. “Hasta luego, pelirroja.”
“Hasta luego,” Silvia answered with a smile, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.
After a minute, Pepa finally turned around to walk out, throwing the redhead one last smile over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.
Silvia leaned her hip against the lab counter, crossing her arms as the continued to gaze at the closed door. She was smiling, widely, and it occurred to her that she could hardly remember the last time the brunette had been the cause of such a smile.
She didn’t know how or why, but things were changing between them. She turned around to face the counter and opened a case folder, needing to get back to work at some point that day.
With one final shake of the head, she let out an incredulous scoff, mindlessly flipping through the clipped papers she found inside the folder. Something was different between them…and she realized she liked it.
~*~*~*~*~
10 years before
The surly brunette was slumped in the back seat of the car, her cd player blasting music into her ears loud enough to drown out her father’s never-ending tirade. Her mother chimed in every now and then, her loyalty divided, agreeing with her husband one instant, then defending her daughter the next. Pepa turned up the volume again.
They were just leaving the church to go to the small reception hall that had been rented for Sara’s party. As soon as they had stepped outside of the church doors, her father didn’t hesitate to start right back in on his previous rant about her choice of attire.
Pepa had timed it just right earlier that afternoon. She knew that if she let her parents see her with too much time before the Mass, they’d send her right back to her room to change. So, she waited patiently, applying the last of her eyeliner and mascara in front of the mirror in the bathroom, checking her watch again. At about the fifth time her mother yelled at her to get out and she heard her father threaten to break down the door, she decided it was finally time. She readjusted her skirt again, looking down at the holes in her fishnets and her dirty boots.
Perfect.
She grabbed the cd player she had left on the closed toilet seat, looped the earphones around her neck, and walked out into the living room.
She only wished she had had a camera to capture her father’s expression. He looked like he was almost having a coronary, and she knew that picture would’ve provided endless amusement…but she’d just have to make-do with the memory. Her mother, on the other hand, just sighed tiredly, forced to diffuse yet another fight. She quickly pointed out that they were going to be late for Mass and ushered her husband to the door, turning around to make sure her daughter was following, frowning and sighing in disappointment.
And though her father barely stopped berating her long enough for the Mass to conclude, Pepa didn’t really care. When the three of them hurried into the church a few minutes late, she had scanned across the aisles until her eyes finally zoned in on the unmistakable hair. Silvia turned around to see who had just come in, and her eyes, still a little red from crying before, bugged out of her head when she saw Pepa. After her initial shock work off, she merely shook her head, smiled, and let out a small giggle before turning back around.
Pepa’s father could yell at her all he wanted as long as Silvia smiled.
And while she didn’t care that her father was angry - when wasn’t he? - she was still eager to get the hell away from him. So, as the car pulled into a parking spot outside the hall, Pepa flung open the door before the car had even completely stopped and stomped off.
She walked into the hall, pulling off her headphones and leaving them hanging around her neck again. Before she had the chance to look around, she felt someone tug at her elbow sharply.
“Pepa! What are you wearing?” The redhead asked. She was much more appropriately attired, wearing a light-grey dress with a pleated skirt and cap sleeves.
“New outfit. Like it?”
“But to church, Pepa?”
The brunette rolled her eyes, “I can repent later.”
“How did you even make it out of the house with that on?” The redhead waved her hand around wildly, indicating that “that” referred to just about everything - the heavy makeup, the low-cut top, the short skirt, ripped tights, half-laced boots…
Pepa pointed at her head and winked. “I’m smarter than the average bear, pelirroja.”
The redhead smiled, but shook her head again. “Just wait ‘til my father gets a look at you…”
“Dios, I don’t need to hear anymore, I’m getting enough from my own old man as it is.” Pepa spied a door towards the back of the hall. “Let’s go hide!” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the other girl’s hand and began to pull her towards the door.
The brunette pushed open the door and found a small courtyard beyond it. She spotted a shaded corner with a bench and tugged the redhead to take a seat there next to her. When she looked over, she saw her friend rub her red-rimmed eyes, so she asked how she was doing, lifting one of her booted feet onto the bench as she did so.
The redhead sighed and shrugged her shoulders, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. “Alright, I guess. It just kinda sucks,” she said, her head bowed as she stared at her fingers plucking at the fabric of her dress.
The brunette suddenly leaned across and kissed the redhead on the cheek. “It’ll be okay, princesa, you’ll see. In no time at all, you won’t even remember the name of that gilipollas.” Pepa winked again and began to dig into the side of her boot, her tongue sticking out between her teeth in her effort.
Silvia stared in confusion until the other girl eventually pulled something out of her boot and held it up for inspection, grinning. Silvia’s eyes widened, but Pepa only responded by handing the rolled joint to Silvia and repeating the search in her other boot, finally pulling out a lighter.
Pepa took the joint back from the silent redhead and wasted no time in lighting the end and taking a hit. As she exhaled, she let her head fall back to rest against the brick wall behind them. “Joder, I needed that.” Without lifting her head, she swiveled it to the right to look at Silvia. The redhead was staring at her intently.
“Let me try it.”
“Sil…I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
The redhead raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me I shouldn’t?”
“No, that’s not it. I just don’t…”
“Let me have it, Pepa,” Silvia said bossily, resolutely stretching out her hand.
Pepa sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with the redhead when she had made her mind up about something. It took a minute for her to show the other girl how to light the joint and inhale, but soon enough Silvia was exhaling a huge lungful of smoke. And coughing. And coughing some more. She bent over from the exertion, pounding on her chest with a closed fist. Pepa had to make a monumental effort not to start laughing at Silvia’s red, blotchy face. She turned her head away and rapidly wiped the growing smile from her face. By the time she turned around again, Silvia was already catching her breath, so she only rubbed her back to help calm her down.
Once the redhead’s breathing was more regular, Pepa brought the joint back up to her own lips and took another long, slow drag, and held the smoke as long as she could before she exhaled.
“Why doesn’t it make you cough like it did to me?”
Pepa shrugged one of her shoulders. “It gets easier,” she explained as she handed it back to Silvia.
The redhead was more hesitant this time, thinking that maybe Pepa was right and this wasn’t such a good idea…but she refused to admit anything of the sort, so she rolled her shoulders back and girded herself for another try. The second time, she had gotten a better knack for it, exhaling more slowly and only coughing a little bit.
They spent a few more minutes passing the small joint back and forth, smoking it until there was barely any left. With one final hit, the brunette turned the end out against the edge of the bench and tossed the remainder under a nearby shrub.
Pepa pulled both of her feet onto the edge of the bench, wrapping her arms around her bent legs as she let her head fall back again and enjoyed the effects. She was just getting lost in the calm wave when Silvia spoke up.
“So, what’s it supposed to do? I don’t feel anything!”
“Just relax, pelirroja…”
“But this is stupid. I don’t feel any different. This is what everyone makes a big deal about?” The brunette rolled her eyes and she felt Silvia fidget in her seat next to her. “I don’t get what the big deal is…I’m going back inside.”
The redhead suddenly stood up, ready to march back in, but Pepa reached out to grab the back of her dress and the unexpected resistance caused Silvia to fall back a bit hard on the bench. She stared at the brunette with wide eyes.
“Just chill out, Silvia. Sit down and relax.”
Pepa sat quietly for another minute, her eyes closed, but she continued to feel Silvia move around restlessly beside her. She was just about to say something when she heard the redhead start to chuckle.
The chuckling began to increase in intensity and, with her head still back, Pepa cracked one eye open to look at her friend. The chuckling quickly grew into full-out belly laughs, so Pepa sat up straighter and turned to look at Silvia. The redhead leaned over and clutched the brunette’s forearm.
“Pepa…Pepa…” She was laughing so hard, she couldn’t get past the first word. She finally caught her breath. “Pepa…” And then she was laughing all over again, the sound proving contagious as the brunette joined in with her. Silvia wrapped her arms around the other girl’s waist and planted her face on her shoulder, her body shaking as she continued to laugh.
“Pepa!” Silvia suddenly exclaimed, startling the brunette as she pulled away and sat up straight. “I was dumped yesterday! On my birthday!” She looked at Pepa with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Who the hell does that happen to?”
The tall girl just stared at her.
“Me! That’s who!” And then she fell forward, her head landing on Pepa’s chest as she began to laugh again. The brunette just shook her head and hugged the smaller body to her.
“Pepa!” The redhead sprang up again.
“What? What is it now?” The girl in question asked, startled by Silvia’s sudden movements once again.
“I feel like dancing…”
“Silvia…no.” She watched as her friend began to pout at her. “No, no, I don’t want to dance!" She stated in annoyed disgust.
Silvia pouted harder and began to poke her friend in the side. “Por fa...?Por favor...?”
“NO!”
“Por favooor!” Silvia begged again, with even more pouting.
“Vale! Vale! Just stop poking me!”
Not wanting to give the other girl any time to change her mind, Silvia grabbed Pepa’s hand and pulled her back inside the hall. The redhead made her way in with a giant smile, listening to the music and seeing a few people already dancing in the middle of the room. She waved at her young niece who seemed to be the only one who spotted them both come through the door. They were just a few steps inside when another song began to play.
“I love this song!” Silvia dropped Pepa’s hand to clap her own excitedly, and then she started to jump around to the overly-upbeat song.
Pepa shook her head. She hated this song. But, she watched the redhead as she danced around, loudly singing the lyrics, and started to laugh again. At least Silvia didn’t seem to be sad about Javier now. So, Pepa shrugged her shoulders, figured ‘what the hell?’, and started to dance along with the redhead.
Silvia smiled, glad that her friend was having a good time with her. She was happy, and she could hardly believe that not too long ago, she had been crying her eyes out. She could hardly believe that, just the night before, her birthday was ruined as she was kicked out of her boyfriend’s - make that ex-boyfriend’s - car. Because now, none of that seemed to matter. What did it matter if some boy she couldn’t even bring herself to kiss had broken up with her? What did anything matter as long as she had Pepa around? The only person who could make her feel like this? And, no, she was sure it wasn’t just the weed. The other girl always managed to make her feel better. Always made her laugh when she was down. Was always there to wipe away her tears, hold her hand, make her smile. She was always just…there.
Silvia started to slow down, standing in place as she watched her friend continue to twirl like a lunatic, dancing only because she had asked her to. She watched as if in a trance as Pepa’s hair lifted and fell as she continued to move.
She was always there…and Silvia didn’t know what she would ever do without her.
I don’t ever want to be without her.
And just like that, everything finally made sense. Just like that, everything clicked into place. The way Pepa looked at her, the way that made her feel…the butterflies in her stomach whenever she was near.
Just how long had she been madly in love with her best friend? How could she have been so blind?
Pepa slowed her steps as she noticed that her friend was now standing still and staring at her. She was confused for a second, but then she saw how Silvia was looking at her…Silvia had never quite looked at her that way before. So she froze, afraid to move and shatter the moment, afraid to move and find out it was just a mirage. Pepa stood there, rooted to the spot as the redhead only smiled, amused at the panic-stricken look on her face.
Then Silvia took a step closer, smiling even more to try and assure the brunette. She took another step until her body was nearly flush with that of the taller girl’s, finally lifting both of her hands to cup each side of the brunette’s face. Smiling at how beautiful she was, even if she was hiding behind a mask of dark makeup.
Pepa stared in stunned shock as the redhead tilted her head back just slightly and began to lean forward. She wanted to pinch herself to check if this was another one of her dreams…maybe a quick, hard slap would wake her up…but as Silvia’s face moved in closer, she found her eyes naturally drift closed in response.
She was sure she was going to wake up at any moment. It had to be a dream. She’d be crazy to think it wasn’t. But then a pair of lips pressed gently against her own, the feel too soft and too real to be any dream.
She felt Silvia’s hands slide back into her hair as the redhead pulled away, letting just a sliver of air pass between their lips. Then the smaller girl sighed softly, her warm breath making Pepa’s moistened lips tingle and her hands rose to grasp the slender hips in front of her.
Their lips met again, more firmly this time. And Pepa found herself irresistibly drawn to Silvia’s lower lip, sucking on it gently. The redhead whimpered in the back of her throat at the sensation, the hands she had tangled in smooth locks pulled the other girl’s head into her, increasing the pressure of their mouths. And when she felt Pepa’s tongue swipe across her lip, her hands clenched, silky strands trapped between each of her fingers. She parted her lips to allow Pepa entrance, glad that the brunette had tightened her hold around her waist because she was sure her legs were going to give out.
Everything else had faded away. There was no more music, no more people, the world altogether disappeared. The only thing that existed were the arms around her waist, the sharp hips, flat stomach, and small breasts pressing against her body...the lips and tongue that expertly moved over her own.
Both girls could’ve happily spent the rest of their lives right there in that spot, right in that moment…but all too soon, they both felt their arms tightly grasped, and they were jerked apart. Suddenly, their little universe was invaded by the sights and sounds around them. They heard the music still playing, their heard their fathers shouting at them, they heard Lola and Concha trying to calm the situation, to no avail. They were roughly pulled away from each other, but neither girl was really giving much thought to what was happening. They continued to stare at each other, even as they got farther and farther apart. Both their hearts were still racing, their eyes shining, their lips slightly swollen.
Their fathers dragged them out of doors on opposite sides of the room, but they looked at each other until the very last second, smiling, knowing that things would be different between them now…and they both realized they were happy about what that could mean.
Rating: R
Pairing: Pepa/Silvia
A/N: I know, I know...an update in less than a week!? Color me just as surprised! This chapter obviously involves the now-famous Communion...I hope I did the scene justice.
Chapter 9
Pepa stood outside of the lab, fist poised and ready to knock. It had been two weeks since she had been injured. She had been ordered to take a few days off to rest, and when she got back to work, she found herself with a mountain of paperwork to slog through. She hadn’t seen Silvia since the other woman had stayed with her, and now that she was all caught up, she had no more excuses for putting it off. So, there she was, standing outside of the lab, trying to work up the courage to knock.
Just as her knuckles were about to make contact, she pulled back, her fist separating into fingers that she nervously ran through her hair. Tugging on the bottom of her vest, she took a deep breath and raised her fist again. Before she could second-guess herself anymore, she knocked on the door.
And waited.
A few more seconds passed, and she heard no response come from behind the door.
Great. I’ve been standing out here for ten minutes and Silvia’s not even in there.
She grabbed the door knob and slowly began nudging the door open to take a look. Before she had even poked her head inside, she heard Silvia’s voice, confirming that she actually was inside the lab.
“But, Eva, we had plans for tonight…” The redhead’s shoulders tensed. “Vale. Vale, I understand, but you’ll still be coming over tomorrow, right?” The redhead paused again as Eva replied, an unhappy sigh escaping her lips. “Right. We’ll talk about it tomorrow then. Adios.”
Silvia’s curt goodbye was followed by her bitterly ending the call and throwing the phone onto the counter in exasperation. She stood there for a while, trying to calm down, bringing the back of her hand to her forehead before flipping it around to rub her temples.
Unable to restrain the sarcastic banter that came from years of conditioning, Pepa intruded upon Silvia’s silence. “Trouble in paradise?”
The redhead spun around on her heel, noticing Pepa for the first time. As if she wasn’t upset enough, the question made her bristle even more. “Do you need something?” Her voice nearly broke on the last word, her annoyance getting the better of her. “Because if you’re only here to start an argument, I’m going to have to ask…”
Pepa held up her hands, palms out, both as a signal for Silvia to stop and as a conciliatory gesture. “Lo siento,” her earlier nervousness made a reappearance, her fingers combing through her hair again. “That’s not what I came here for.”
Silvia stared at the other woman, waiting for her to go on. When nothing was forthcoming, she limited herself to raising her eyebrows, shaking her head in silent question, hoping that would provoke a response from the brunette.
“So, you’re free tonight?” Pepa began, and Silvia’s confusion only grew. “I heard you…and Eva…” Pepa loosely pointed in the direction of the phone in way of explanation, but when Silvia’s expression didn’t change much - she only stood up straighter and crossed her arms - Pepa found herself taking another deep breath and rubbing the nape of her neck. “Look, I wanted to say thank you…for staying with me. You didn’t have to, and I would’ve had to stay in the hospital,” she paused as a shudder ran through her at the thought of being confined to a hospital bed for a night. “So, thank you.”
Silvia’s posture relaxed, the ghost of a smile flitting across her lips. “Well, you’re welcome.”
Both women then stood there looking at each other awkwardly. Pepa didn’t make a move to let herself out, so Silvia stared at her wondering if there was something more she wanted to say.
“Do you want to go out? I mean…with me?” Now Silvia was confused again, her eyebrow arching back into its position of inquiry. “For dinner! For dinner, I mean. You know…as a thank you.” The brunette’s hand found the back of her neck again and she sighed. “What I mean is…I’d like to take you out for dinner to say thank you for watching over me.”
Almost impossibly, Silvia’s eyebrow shot up even higher. “Dinner? With me? And you? Just us…having dinner…”
“Yes. Me, you, dinner.” Pepa said as she pointed to herself, then Silvia, then pantomimed eating. Seeing the redhead become flustered at her proposal actually served to compose her, as this was definitely more familiar territory. “Tonight. And don’t tell me you have other plans,” Pepa felt her patented grin slide back in place, and she pointed once again at Silvia’s phone lying on the counter, “because I know you don’t.”
Silvia’s mouth opened and closed, whatever her reply seemingly stuck in her throat as her eyes darted around uneasily.
The agent smiled widely. “I’ll take that a ‘yes’ then. Ten o’clock at Palermo?”
The redhead was blinking nervously, but she cleared her throat to answer and one of her hands anxiously smoothed at the skin of her neck. “Va…vale. I’ll see you then.”
The women stood there looking at each other again, and this time it wasn’t quite so awkward.
“Vale,” Pepa winked and Silvia was surprised to feel a light blush rise up to color her cheeks. “Hasta luego, pelirroja.”
“Hasta luego,” Silvia answered with a smile, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear.
After a minute, Pepa finally turned around to walk out, throwing the redhead one last smile over her shoulder as she shut the door behind her.
Silvia leaned her hip against the lab counter, crossing her arms as the continued to gaze at the closed door. She was smiling, widely, and it occurred to her that she could hardly remember the last time the brunette had been the cause of such a smile.
She didn’t know how or why, but things were changing between them. She turned around to face the counter and opened a case folder, needing to get back to work at some point that day.
With one final shake of the head, she let out an incredulous scoff, mindlessly flipping through the clipped papers she found inside the folder. Something was different between them…and she realized she liked it.
~*~*~*~*~
10 years before
The surly brunette was slumped in the back seat of the car, her cd player blasting music into her ears loud enough to drown out her father’s never-ending tirade. Her mother chimed in every now and then, her loyalty divided, agreeing with her husband one instant, then defending her daughter the next. Pepa turned up the volume again.
They were just leaving the church to go to the small reception hall that had been rented for Sara’s party. As soon as they had stepped outside of the church doors, her father didn’t hesitate to start right back in on his previous rant about her choice of attire.
Pepa had timed it just right earlier that afternoon. She knew that if she let her parents see her with too much time before the Mass, they’d send her right back to her room to change. So, she waited patiently, applying the last of her eyeliner and mascara in front of the mirror in the bathroom, checking her watch again. At about the fifth time her mother yelled at her to get out and she heard her father threaten to break down the door, she decided it was finally time. She readjusted her skirt again, looking down at the holes in her fishnets and her dirty boots.
Perfect.
She grabbed the cd player she had left on the closed toilet seat, looped the earphones around her neck, and walked out into the living room.
She only wished she had had a camera to capture her father’s expression. He looked like he was almost having a coronary, and she knew that picture would’ve provided endless amusement…but she’d just have to make-do with the memory. Her mother, on the other hand, just sighed tiredly, forced to diffuse yet another fight. She quickly pointed out that they were going to be late for Mass and ushered her husband to the door, turning around to make sure her daughter was following, frowning and sighing in disappointment.
And though her father barely stopped berating her long enough for the Mass to conclude, Pepa didn’t really care. When the three of them hurried into the church a few minutes late, she had scanned across the aisles until her eyes finally zoned in on the unmistakable hair. Silvia turned around to see who had just come in, and her eyes, still a little red from crying before, bugged out of her head when she saw Pepa. After her initial shock work off, she merely shook her head, smiled, and let out a small giggle before turning back around.
Pepa’s father could yell at her all he wanted as long as Silvia smiled.
And while she didn’t care that her father was angry - when wasn’t he? - she was still eager to get the hell away from him. So, as the car pulled into a parking spot outside the hall, Pepa flung open the door before the car had even completely stopped and stomped off.
She walked into the hall, pulling off her headphones and leaving them hanging around her neck again. Before she had the chance to look around, she felt someone tug at her elbow sharply.
“Pepa! What are you wearing?” The redhead asked. She was much more appropriately attired, wearing a light-grey dress with a pleated skirt and cap sleeves.
“New outfit. Like it?”
“But to church, Pepa?”
The brunette rolled her eyes, “I can repent later.”
“How did you even make it out of the house with that on?” The redhead waved her hand around wildly, indicating that “that” referred to just about everything - the heavy makeup, the low-cut top, the short skirt, ripped tights, half-laced boots…
Pepa pointed at her head and winked. “I’m smarter than the average bear, pelirroja.”
The redhead smiled, but shook her head again. “Just wait ‘til my father gets a look at you…”
“Dios, I don’t need to hear anymore, I’m getting enough from my own old man as it is.” Pepa spied a door towards the back of the hall. “Let’s go hide!” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed the other girl’s hand and began to pull her towards the door.
The brunette pushed open the door and found a small courtyard beyond it. She spotted a shaded corner with a bench and tugged the redhead to take a seat there next to her. When she looked over, she saw her friend rub her red-rimmed eyes, so she asked how she was doing, lifting one of her booted feet onto the bench as she did so.
The redhead sighed and shrugged her shoulders, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. “Alright, I guess. It just kinda sucks,” she said, her head bowed as she stared at her fingers plucking at the fabric of her dress.
The brunette suddenly leaned across and kissed the redhead on the cheek. “It’ll be okay, princesa, you’ll see. In no time at all, you won’t even remember the name of that gilipollas.” Pepa winked again and began to dig into the side of her boot, her tongue sticking out between her teeth in her effort.
Silvia stared in confusion until the other girl eventually pulled something out of her boot and held it up for inspection, grinning. Silvia’s eyes widened, but Pepa only responded by handing the rolled joint to Silvia and repeating the search in her other boot, finally pulling out a lighter.
Pepa took the joint back from the silent redhead and wasted no time in lighting the end and taking a hit. As she exhaled, she let her head fall back to rest against the brick wall behind them. “Joder, I needed that.” Without lifting her head, she swiveled it to the right to look at Silvia. The redhead was staring at her intently.
“Let me try it.”
“Sil…I don’t know if that’s a good idea…”
The redhead raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to tell me I shouldn’t?”
“No, that’s not it. I just don’t…”
“Let me have it, Pepa,” Silvia said bossily, resolutely stretching out her hand.
Pepa sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with the redhead when she had made her mind up about something. It took a minute for her to show the other girl how to light the joint and inhale, but soon enough Silvia was exhaling a huge lungful of smoke. And coughing. And coughing some more. She bent over from the exertion, pounding on her chest with a closed fist. Pepa had to make a monumental effort not to start laughing at Silvia’s red, blotchy face. She turned her head away and rapidly wiped the growing smile from her face. By the time she turned around again, Silvia was already catching her breath, so she only rubbed her back to help calm her down.
Once the redhead’s breathing was more regular, Pepa brought the joint back up to her own lips and took another long, slow drag, and held the smoke as long as she could before she exhaled.
“Why doesn’t it make you cough like it did to me?”
Pepa shrugged one of her shoulders. “It gets easier,” she explained as she handed it back to Silvia.
The redhead was more hesitant this time, thinking that maybe Pepa was right and this wasn’t such a good idea…but she refused to admit anything of the sort, so she rolled her shoulders back and girded herself for another try. The second time, she had gotten a better knack for it, exhaling more slowly and only coughing a little bit.
They spent a few more minutes passing the small joint back and forth, smoking it until there was barely any left. With one final hit, the brunette turned the end out against the edge of the bench and tossed the remainder under a nearby shrub.
Pepa pulled both of her feet onto the edge of the bench, wrapping her arms around her bent legs as she let her head fall back again and enjoyed the effects. She was just getting lost in the calm wave when Silvia spoke up.
“So, what’s it supposed to do? I don’t feel anything!”
“Just relax, pelirroja…”
“But this is stupid. I don’t feel any different. This is what everyone makes a big deal about?” The brunette rolled her eyes and she felt Silvia fidget in her seat next to her. “I don’t get what the big deal is…I’m going back inside.”
The redhead suddenly stood up, ready to march back in, but Pepa reached out to grab the back of her dress and the unexpected resistance caused Silvia to fall back a bit hard on the bench. She stared at the brunette with wide eyes.
“Just chill out, Silvia. Sit down and relax.”
Pepa sat quietly for another minute, her eyes closed, but she continued to feel Silvia move around restlessly beside her. She was just about to say something when she heard the redhead start to chuckle.
The chuckling began to increase in intensity and, with her head still back, Pepa cracked one eye open to look at her friend. The chuckling quickly grew into full-out belly laughs, so Pepa sat up straighter and turned to look at Silvia. The redhead leaned over and clutched the brunette’s forearm.
“Pepa…Pepa…” She was laughing so hard, she couldn’t get past the first word. She finally caught her breath. “Pepa…” And then she was laughing all over again, the sound proving contagious as the brunette joined in with her. Silvia wrapped her arms around the other girl’s waist and planted her face on her shoulder, her body shaking as she continued to laugh.
“Pepa!” Silvia suddenly exclaimed, startling the brunette as she pulled away and sat up straight. “I was dumped yesterday! On my birthday!” She looked at Pepa with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Who the hell does that happen to?”
The tall girl just stared at her.
“Me! That’s who!” And then she fell forward, her head landing on Pepa’s chest as she began to laugh again. The brunette just shook her head and hugged the smaller body to her.
“Pepa!” The redhead sprang up again.
“What? What is it now?” The girl in question asked, startled by Silvia’s sudden movements once again.
“I feel like dancing…”
“Silvia…no.” She watched as her friend began to pout at her. “No, no, I don’t want to dance!" She stated in annoyed disgust.
Silvia pouted harder and began to poke her friend in the side. “Por fa...?Por favor...?”
“NO!”
“Por favooor!” Silvia begged again, with even more pouting.
“Vale! Vale! Just stop poking me!”
Not wanting to give the other girl any time to change her mind, Silvia grabbed Pepa’s hand and pulled her back inside the hall. The redhead made her way in with a giant smile, listening to the music and seeing a few people already dancing in the middle of the room. She waved at her young niece who seemed to be the only one who spotted them both come through the door. They were just a few steps inside when another song began to play.
“I love this song!” Silvia dropped Pepa’s hand to clap her own excitedly, and then she started to jump around to the overly-upbeat song.
Pepa shook her head. She hated this song. But, she watched the redhead as she danced around, loudly singing the lyrics, and started to laugh again. At least Silvia didn’t seem to be sad about Javier now. So, Pepa shrugged her shoulders, figured ‘what the hell?’, and started to dance along with the redhead.
Silvia smiled, glad that her friend was having a good time with her. She was happy, and she could hardly believe that not too long ago, she had been crying her eyes out. She could hardly believe that, just the night before, her birthday was ruined as she was kicked out of her boyfriend’s - make that ex-boyfriend’s - car. Because now, none of that seemed to matter. What did it matter if some boy she couldn’t even bring herself to kiss had broken up with her? What did anything matter as long as she had Pepa around? The only person who could make her feel like this? And, no, she was sure it wasn’t just the weed. The other girl always managed to make her feel better. Always made her laugh when she was down. Was always there to wipe away her tears, hold her hand, make her smile. She was always just…there.
Silvia started to slow down, standing in place as she watched her friend continue to twirl like a lunatic, dancing only because she had asked her to. She watched as if in a trance as Pepa’s hair lifted and fell as she continued to move.
She was always there…and Silvia didn’t know what she would ever do without her.
I don’t ever want to be without her.
And just like that, everything finally made sense. Just like that, everything clicked into place. The way Pepa looked at her, the way that made her feel…the butterflies in her stomach whenever she was near.
Just how long had she been madly in love with her best friend? How could she have been so blind?
Pepa slowed her steps as she noticed that her friend was now standing still and staring at her. She was confused for a second, but then she saw how Silvia was looking at her…Silvia had never quite looked at her that way before. So she froze, afraid to move and shatter the moment, afraid to move and find out it was just a mirage. Pepa stood there, rooted to the spot as the redhead only smiled, amused at the panic-stricken look on her face.
Then Silvia took a step closer, smiling even more to try and assure the brunette. She took another step until her body was nearly flush with that of the taller girl’s, finally lifting both of her hands to cup each side of the brunette’s face. Smiling at how beautiful she was, even if she was hiding behind a mask of dark makeup.
Pepa stared in stunned shock as the redhead tilted her head back just slightly and began to lean forward. She wanted to pinch herself to check if this was another one of her dreams…maybe a quick, hard slap would wake her up…but as Silvia’s face moved in closer, she found her eyes naturally drift closed in response.
She was sure she was going to wake up at any moment. It had to be a dream. She’d be crazy to think it wasn’t. But then a pair of lips pressed gently against her own, the feel too soft and too real to be any dream.
She felt Silvia’s hands slide back into her hair as the redhead pulled away, letting just a sliver of air pass between their lips. Then the smaller girl sighed softly, her warm breath making Pepa’s moistened lips tingle and her hands rose to grasp the slender hips in front of her.
Their lips met again, more firmly this time. And Pepa found herself irresistibly drawn to Silvia’s lower lip, sucking on it gently. The redhead whimpered in the back of her throat at the sensation, the hands she had tangled in smooth locks pulled the other girl’s head into her, increasing the pressure of their mouths. And when she felt Pepa’s tongue swipe across her lip, her hands clenched, silky strands trapped between each of her fingers. She parted her lips to allow Pepa entrance, glad that the brunette had tightened her hold around her waist because she was sure her legs were going to give out.
Everything else had faded away. There was no more music, no more people, the world altogether disappeared. The only thing that existed were the arms around her waist, the sharp hips, flat stomach, and small breasts pressing against her body...the lips and tongue that expertly moved over her own.
Both girls could’ve happily spent the rest of their lives right there in that spot, right in that moment…but all too soon, they both felt their arms tightly grasped, and they were jerked apart. Suddenly, their little universe was invaded by the sights and sounds around them. They heard the music still playing, their heard their fathers shouting at them, they heard Lola and Concha trying to calm the situation, to no avail. They were roughly pulled away from each other, but neither girl was really giving much thought to what was happening. They continued to stare at each other, even as they got farther and farther apart. Both their hearts were still racing, their eyes shining, their lips slightly swollen.
Their fathers dragged them out of doors on opposite sides of the room, but they looked at each other until the very last second, smiling, knowing that things would be different between them now…and they both realized they were happy about what that could mean.