Vanilla 27, Chocolate 21, Strawberry 27: Keep the Old
Title: Keep the Old
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vanilla 27 (routines), chocolate 21 (luck), strawberry 27 (ribbon).
Word Count: 1721
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina has a stroke of luck, meets an old friend, and makes a new one. Or, Ivy and Gina actually talk this time.
Notes: Sequel to Missed Connections. Cookies if you spot the Dresden Files shoutout. As always, if you have concrit I would love it.
Gina didn't know why she kept coming back to this place.
The Varsity was a good place to dance, true, but you had to wear the right clothes and know the right people just to get in, and usually it wasn't worth it. When you combined that with the bad memories-- this had been Vanessa's favorite club-- and the slightly sick feeling she always got from the overpriced drinks, there was no reason for her to be here at all.
Still, every Saturday, here she was, like clockwork. Go figure.
She sighed. It seemed she was always lying to herself. Not as good at it as she used to be, though; this time she didn't believe it.
Fine, then. She was hoping to see that redheaded girl again. Even if it had been nearly three months since the last time she'd seen her, she was still hoping. Which was ridiculous, because for all she knew the girl didn't even live in New York. Maybe she'd just been visiting the guy she was with. Her boyfriend, maybe? Gina told herself that it wouldn't disappoint her if the girl was straight, and didn't believe that either.
She perched on a barstool and gazed disconsolately out over the crowd. No redheads dancing tonight, though there were a few-- at least one obviously out of a bottle-- swaying by the bandstand or picking up drinks. There had been a live band advertised for tonight, but they hadn't put in an appearance yet. Gina wondered if she should bother to wait around for them. The night already looked like a dud...
...she blinked, and turned back towards the dance floor, convinced she was hallucinating. Lots of women had curly brown hair, even more wore ribbons tied around their necks, and it wasn't like brown eyes were uncommon. Pale skin was coming back, too. Surely it was just an optical illusion.
Oh, no, that had to be Olivia, Gina thought, spotting her again. Nobody else could show that much cleavage and still look fifteen.
"Olivia!" she shouted, and hopped off her stool. It was immediately taken, but she wasn't coming back. "Olivia!"
Olivia, who was dancing with a tall young man with hair as brown and curly as her own, paused mid-step and twisted around, obviously looking for the madwoman yelling her name. But then she saw Gina, and the confusion on her face changed to disbelief, and then joy.
"Gina!" she yelled back, then grabbed the young man's arm and towed him off the floor, towards Gina as she fought her way through the crowd around the DJ. "Gina! Oh my God!"
Gina threw her arms around Olivia as soon as she reached her and hugged tight. "It is so good to see you!" she exclaimed, and pulled back just enough to get a good look at her friend. "What happened to you? You just dropped off the map after graduation."
Olivia laughed, and glanced back at the young man with her before saying, "Oh, nothing really serious. I moved here and got a job-- two jobs, actually-- and then I met Jake, which is the biggest thing to happen to me in, like, ever. What about you? You look amazing."
"Thanks," Gina said, absurdly flattered. She knew Olivia didn't swing that way, so it was somehow a greater compliment. "You look great yourself. Anyway, I'm good. I didn't get a job for a while but Random House hired me last year so there's that. Livvy, how have we been living in the same city since college without running into each other?"
"Magic?" Olivia asked, innocently, then laughed again. "It's so loud in here, let's go outside."
Gina nodded her agreement and they shoved their way to the door, Olivia's friend trailing puppylike after them.
Olivia, characteristically, started talking again as soon as they hit the quieter, cooler air of the streets. "I don’t usually go to this club, but Jake's boss's stepson's band is playing here tonight and he's really good, so I wanted to come by and hear them all play... oh, and this is Jake Foster, by the way, he's my boyfriend." She tugged her young man forward by the sleeve of his white dress shirt and linked her arm through his. "Jake, this is Gina Caravecchio. We were roommates for... what, the last three years of college?"
"Something like that," Gina said, and smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, Jake Foster."
"Same," Jake said, and smiled right back. He had a nice smile, warm and friendly-- she could see why Olivia liked him. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh, really," she said, and gave a laughing Olivia a mock glare. "It's all lies."
"Good things," Jake said hastily. "All good things."
"Like I'd dare say anything else about you," Olivia said, and hugged his arm tight against her side for a moment.
Jake smiled down at her, his expression utterly besotted, and Gina thought wistfully of the redheaded girl again. Oh well. "Hey, I think I’m gonna go back in," he said. "You guys catch up. When Aaron shows I'll come get you." He dropped a kiss on Olivia's unruly curls, then bobbed his head to Gina and went back towards the bouncer.
"He's cute," Gina said. "Objectively speaking."
Olivia beamed, and fiddled with the charm she wore strung on her ribbon-choker. "Isn't he? And he's all mine, too, for the last eight months. I can't believe I got so lucky."
"What was that you said about his father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Spaceballs, very funny," she said, and Gina grinned.
"You've kept up on your Mel Brooks. I'm proud of you. But the question stands."
"Jake works for Gail Hirschfeld," Olivia said, and at Gina's blank look, elaborated. "She works in the Department of Education. Very high up, apparently, so she gets to have minions of her own. Anyway, she has a stepson named Aaron, and he has a band, and they're playing here tonight."
Gina waited a moment to be sure that Olivia was done, but that indeed seemed to be all she would get. "Okay. And Jake knows this because..."
"Oh, he's very close to Ms. Hirschfeld," Olivia said, happily. "Her kids... all of them, I mean, counting the stepson... her kids are about his age and he doesn't have any family, so she sort of adopted him. Or that's what he says, anyway. This was before I met him."
Oh, yes, that was why she loved Olivia, that chatterbox tendency to say anything and everything she happened to think. Unless it was about her family-- Gina had yet to hear anything about them except that Olivia was an only child and didn't talk to her parents anymore. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. "Do you know them, then? The Hirschfelds."
"Kendalls," Olivia corrected. "Hirschfeld is her maiden name. And yeah, I do, but only a little bit. They're really nice, though, except for the occasional threats but Jake says that's how Ivy says she likes you, so whatever. Do you want to meet them? Aaron's obviously going to be here tonight, and I think Ivy will be too, and I know Jake will introduce you if I ask."
"That's okay," Gina said. "If we run into them, sure, if not, no worries. Now, what have you..." She glanced over Olivia's shoulder and faltered, because the redheaded girl was standing there, staring at her.
"What have I what?" Olivia asked, and glanced back. "Oh. Hi, Ivy!"
"Hi, Livvy," the redheaded girl said, still staring at Gina. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Gina," Olivia said, brightly. "We went to school together. Olivia, this is Jake's boss's older daughter, Ivy. We're friends."
Ivy. That was her name, then. Ivy.
She still wasn't dressed for clubbing; she might even have been wearing the same black dress, with leggings this time, and short heels. And she still carried herself like the queen of the world, confidence spilling from every gesture. Gina felt that stab of envy again, underwritten with lust.
"We're only friends because you're good to Jake," Ivy said, still looking at Gina. "That could change at any time."
The words were perfunctory, almost ritualistic, and Olivia only smiled. "It could, but it won't. How've you been lately?"
Ivy finally blinked and looked at Olivia. "Oh. I've been okay. Kicked Aaron's ass at basketball."
"I never had a doubt," Olivia said, solemnly.
The other girl grinned. "Yeah, you'd really think he'd know better by now. Especially since I'm old enough to drink."
Gina, who had been more or less stunned into silence, had to get an explanation for that one. "What's that got to do with basketball?" she asked, and then bit her tongue. Stupid question, of course it was a stupid question, she always asked stupid questions when she met people she liked...
"I make him buy me drinks when he loses," Ivy said, as if there was nothing remotely odd about the question. "Alcohol costs more."
"Oh," Gina said, and scrambled for something more to say. Something that wasn't stupid, she amended, after several less-than-clever things came to mind.
Ivy was studying her again with those extraordinary eyes, her head tilted to one side as if she contemplated a particularly difficult puzzle. "Oh," she said, suddenly. "That's where I've seen you before."
"You remembered?" Gina asked, almost simultaneously with Olivia's mildly annoyed "You've met?"
"Yes," Ivy said. "Only not really."
Gina started to say something; she wasn't really sure what, because Olivia cut her off before she was half a syllable into it. "Who were you talking to?"
"Either," Ivy said, and got a very enigmatic expression on her face. "Both. Shall we? Aaron and Lars are on in like five minutes, and I promised Lars I'd cheer for him." She stepped back, gestured at the door.
"Sure," Olivia said, and smoothed down her skirt. She glanced at Gina, her expression unusually uncertain, then ducked past the bouncer and back into the club.
Gina watched Olivia go, then looked at Ivy, who was watching her again with that enigmatic expression firmly in place. Then she smiled, sudden and bright, like a switch had been flipped somewhere in her mind.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Gina," she said. "After you."
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: Vanilla 27 (routines), chocolate 21 (luck), strawberry 27 (ribbon).
Word Count: 1721
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina has a stroke of luck, meets an old friend, and makes a new one. Or, Ivy and Gina actually talk this time.
Notes: Sequel to Missed Connections. Cookies if you spot the Dresden Files shoutout. As always, if you have concrit I would love it.
Gina didn't know why she kept coming back to this place.
The Varsity was a good place to dance, true, but you had to wear the right clothes and know the right people just to get in, and usually it wasn't worth it. When you combined that with the bad memories-- this had been Vanessa's favorite club-- and the slightly sick feeling she always got from the overpriced drinks, there was no reason for her to be here at all.
Still, every Saturday, here she was, like clockwork. Go figure.
She sighed. It seemed she was always lying to herself. Not as good at it as she used to be, though; this time she didn't believe it.
Fine, then. She was hoping to see that redheaded girl again. Even if it had been nearly three months since the last time she'd seen her, she was still hoping. Which was ridiculous, because for all she knew the girl didn't even live in New York. Maybe she'd just been visiting the guy she was with. Her boyfriend, maybe? Gina told herself that it wouldn't disappoint her if the girl was straight, and didn't believe that either.
She perched on a barstool and gazed disconsolately out over the crowd. No redheads dancing tonight, though there were a few-- at least one obviously out of a bottle-- swaying by the bandstand or picking up drinks. There had been a live band advertised for tonight, but they hadn't put in an appearance yet. Gina wondered if she should bother to wait around for them. The night already looked like a dud...
...she blinked, and turned back towards the dance floor, convinced she was hallucinating. Lots of women had curly brown hair, even more wore ribbons tied around their necks, and it wasn't like brown eyes were uncommon. Pale skin was coming back, too. Surely it was just an optical illusion.
Oh, no, that had to be Olivia, Gina thought, spotting her again. Nobody else could show that much cleavage and still look fifteen.
"Olivia!" she shouted, and hopped off her stool. It was immediately taken, but she wasn't coming back. "Olivia!"
Olivia, who was dancing with a tall young man with hair as brown and curly as her own, paused mid-step and twisted around, obviously looking for the madwoman yelling her name. But then she saw Gina, and the confusion on her face changed to disbelief, and then joy.
"Gina!" she yelled back, then grabbed the young man's arm and towed him off the floor, towards Gina as she fought her way through the crowd around the DJ. "Gina! Oh my God!"
Gina threw her arms around Olivia as soon as she reached her and hugged tight. "It is so good to see you!" she exclaimed, and pulled back just enough to get a good look at her friend. "What happened to you? You just dropped off the map after graduation."
Olivia laughed, and glanced back at the young man with her before saying, "Oh, nothing really serious. I moved here and got a job-- two jobs, actually-- and then I met Jake, which is the biggest thing to happen to me in, like, ever. What about you? You look amazing."
"Thanks," Gina said, absurdly flattered. She knew Olivia didn't swing that way, so it was somehow a greater compliment. "You look great yourself. Anyway, I'm good. I didn't get a job for a while but Random House hired me last year so there's that. Livvy, how have we been living in the same city since college without running into each other?"
"Magic?" Olivia asked, innocently, then laughed again. "It's so loud in here, let's go outside."
Gina nodded her agreement and they shoved their way to the door, Olivia's friend trailing puppylike after them.
Olivia, characteristically, started talking again as soon as they hit the quieter, cooler air of the streets. "I don’t usually go to this club, but Jake's boss's stepson's band is playing here tonight and he's really good, so I wanted to come by and hear them all play... oh, and this is Jake Foster, by the way, he's my boyfriend." She tugged her young man forward by the sleeve of his white dress shirt and linked her arm through his. "Jake, this is Gina Caravecchio. We were roommates for... what, the last three years of college?"
"Something like that," Gina said, and smiled at him. "It's nice to meet you, Jake Foster."
"Same," Jake said, and smiled right back. He had a nice smile, warm and friendly-- she could see why Olivia liked him. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Oh, really," she said, and gave a laughing Olivia a mock glare. "It's all lies."
"Good things," Jake said hastily. "All good things."
"Like I'd dare say anything else about you," Olivia said, and hugged his arm tight against her side for a moment.
Jake smiled down at her, his expression utterly besotted, and Gina thought wistfully of the redheaded girl again. Oh well. "Hey, I think I’m gonna go back in," he said. "You guys catch up. When Aaron shows I'll come get you." He dropped a kiss on Olivia's unruly curls, then bobbed his head to Gina and went back towards the bouncer.
"He's cute," Gina said. "Objectively speaking."
Olivia beamed, and fiddled with the charm she wore strung on her ribbon-choker. "Isn't he? And he's all mine, too, for the last eight months. I can't believe I got so lucky."
"What was that you said about his father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate?"
Olivia rolled her eyes. "Spaceballs, very funny," she said, and Gina grinned.
"You've kept up on your Mel Brooks. I'm proud of you. But the question stands."
"Jake works for Gail Hirschfeld," Olivia said, and at Gina's blank look, elaborated. "She works in the Department of Education. Very high up, apparently, so she gets to have minions of her own. Anyway, she has a stepson named Aaron, and he has a band, and they're playing here tonight."
Gina waited a moment to be sure that Olivia was done, but that indeed seemed to be all she would get. "Okay. And Jake knows this because..."
"Oh, he's very close to Ms. Hirschfeld," Olivia said, happily. "Her kids... all of them, I mean, counting the stepson... her kids are about his age and he doesn't have any family, so she sort of adopted him. Or that's what he says, anyway. This was before I met him."
Oh, yes, that was why she loved Olivia, that chatterbox tendency to say anything and everything she happened to think. Unless it was about her family-- Gina had yet to hear anything about them except that Olivia was an only child and didn't talk to her parents anymore. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. "Do you know them, then? The Hirschfelds."
"Kendalls," Olivia corrected. "Hirschfeld is her maiden name. And yeah, I do, but only a little bit. They're really nice, though, except for the occasional threats but Jake says that's how Ivy says she likes you, so whatever. Do you want to meet them? Aaron's obviously going to be here tonight, and I think Ivy will be too, and I know Jake will introduce you if I ask."
"That's okay," Gina said. "If we run into them, sure, if not, no worries. Now, what have you..." She glanced over Olivia's shoulder and faltered, because the redheaded girl was standing there, staring at her.
"What have I what?" Olivia asked, and glanced back. "Oh. Hi, Ivy!"
"Hi, Livvy," the redheaded girl said, still staring at Gina. "Who's your friend?"
"This is Gina," Olivia said, brightly. "We went to school together. Olivia, this is Jake's boss's older daughter, Ivy. We're friends."
Ivy. That was her name, then. Ivy.
She still wasn't dressed for clubbing; she might even have been wearing the same black dress, with leggings this time, and short heels. And she still carried herself like the queen of the world, confidence spilling from every gesture. Gina felt that stab of envy again, underwritten with lust.
"We're only friends because you're good to Jake," Ivy said, still looking at Gina. "That could change at any time."
The words were perfunctory, almost ritualistic, and Olivia only smiled. "It could, but it won't. How've you been lately?"
Ivy finally blinked and looked at Olivia. "Oh. I've been okay. Kicked Aaron's ass at basketball."
"I never had a doubt," Olivia said, solemnly.
The other girl grinned. "Yeah, you'd really think he'd know better by now. Especially since I'm old enough to drink."
Gina, who had been more or less stunned into silence, had to get an explanation for that one. "What's that got to do with basketball?" she asked, and then bit her tongue. Stupid question, of course it was a stupid question, she always asked stupid questions when she met people she liked...
"I make him buy me drinks when he loses," Ivy said, as if there was nothing remotely odd about the question. "Alcohol costs more."
"Oh," Gina said, and scrambled for something more to say. Something that wasn't stupid, she amended, after several less-than-clever things came to mind.
Ivy was studying her again with those extraordinary eyes, her head tilted to one side as if she contemplated a particularly difficult puzzle. "Oh," she said, suddenly. "That's where I've seen you before."
"You remembered?" Gina asked, almost simultaneously with Olivia's mildly annoyed "You've met?"
"Yes," Ivy said. "Only not really."
Gina started to say something; she wasn't really sure what, because Olivia cut her off before she was half a syllable into it. "Who were you talking to?"
"Either," Ivy said, and got a very enigmatic expression on her face. "Both. Shall we? Aaron and Lars are on in like five minutes, and I promised Lars I'd cheer for him." She stepped back, gestured at the door.
"Sure," Olivia said, and smoothed down her skirt. She glanced at Gina, her expression unusually uncertain, then ducked past the bouncer and back into the club.
Gina watched Olivia go, then looked at Ivy, who was watching her again with that enigmatic expression firmly in place. Then she smiled, sudden and bright, like a switch had been flipped somewhere in her mind.
"It's wonderful to finally meet you, Gina," she said. "After you."