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Chapter Text

Long legs moved to the beat of an imaginary song playing in her head. Mid-thigh yellow skirt flapping with the wind, medium-size black summer heels, and soft beige short-sleeved blouse complemented her attire. Yvonne Zircon was told, ever since she was a little girl, that the way you present yourself to the world is how you get treated; she never forgot that advice, the people at Empire City Law School would soon see what she was made of.

She went to the bulletin on the front of the main entrance and checked which class she had been placed into. It was entirely annoying that her school refused to get on the digital age and post them online, but at least it gave her the chance to get accustomed to the place. Rapidly she read the student list from all four different professors, the blonde spotted her last name right at the bottom of Professor Yusem’s Civil Procedure class and was wrote it down in her smartphone. Leisurely she checked her notifications; she was in no rush, there were still ten minutes left.

Before she could head to her classroom, a small blur of green and yellow ran past her, almost knocking her off balance, to get to the announcement board.

“Hey! Watch out Speedy Gonzales” Yvonne shouted annoyed at what she now realized was a short blonde girl, wearing a green hoodie, and sweating profusely, likely from the exertion of having run for some time. Wiping the perspiration from under her glasses, the girl turned around with a sheepish look on her face.

“I’m sorry, I overslept and I’m very late” The girl spoke very fast, clearly still on a rush. Her eyes moved quickly from one side to the other, as if she were anxiously waiting for someone to appear out of nowhere and chastise her for not being in class.

Yvonne hesitated between going to her class and helping the short girl. I can spare a few minutes. “Are you a 1L?”

“Yeah, first day here!” Said the girl still full of nervous energy.

“OK, calm down a second, try not to get a heart attack here because I don’t think you would do well in court suing a school full of lawyers for damages” Zircon chuckled slightly at her own joke, and while the other girl did not looked as pleased, she did relax slightly “Now, you still have eight minutes before your class starts. What’s your name?”

“Peridot Green, nice to meet you” The shorter blonde extended her hand to be shaken. Yvonne smiled and did so, amused by the girl’s formality.

“Yvonne Zircon. Let’s look you up on the board Peridot” The taller blonde vaguely remembered having seen that name in one of the lists “There you are! You’re on Professor Berger’s class”

“Yes” The bespectacled girl whispered softly, but got embarrassed after she realized that Yvonne had heard her. She cleared her voice and said blushing “Thank you, I really wanted to be on his class”

“Me too actually, he’s supposed to be the toughest around, but I got stuck with Yusem” Zircon shrugged and got ready to start walking on the direction of her classroom “I guess I’ll see you around, Little Bud”

“God, don’t call Little Bud, I’m not a child” Peridot was comically offended, pouting unconsciously. This, on the one hand, endeared her to the tall girl, and, on the other, made her want to tease her more.

“But you’re so tiny, you don’t even reach my boob” Yvonne smirked as she compared with her hand how tall they were.

“I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly average in height” Indignation filling her voice.

“Honey, I hate to break it to you but for an average to exist somebody has to be below it” This was definitely fun for Yvonne, it felt just like teasing her little twelve-year-old cousins about their love life. “But you’re right, Little Bud doesn’t fit.” Zircon thought for a moment repeating the girl’s name in her mind “I like Dot, it’s half your name either way”

“Arggg, you’re just like my sister!” Exasperated Peridot threw her arms in the air and started marching away form Yvonne. The anxiety on her posture seemed to have been forgotten in favor of what Zircon hoped was only mock anger.

“Hey Dot! Berger’s classroom in that way” The tall girl shouted pointing to the opposite direction.

“Wow thanks” Peridot told her sarcastically while retreading her steps and stomping away from her.

Yvonne chuckled and hurried to her own class. The room was packed by then, all the new first years were chatting amongst each other, excited and very much afraid of what was coming for them. There had been innumerable seminars about how to take notes, brief cases, handle stress, and everything the school could think to avoid people from committing suicide before they can pay their student loans.

Zircon entered the class like the world belonged to her; effortlessly all eyes were on her, soon enough everybody would be at least curious about her and she could start networking for her future in big law; corporate work was very much dependent on who you knew and who owed you favors. She sat in the center of the room, two rows away from the front of the class, close enough for the professor to know her, but far enough that she wouldn’t seem like she was a kiss ass. Appearances are everything.

Just as the clock hit eight thirty, professor Yusem entered the room followed by his TAs. The academic was an old man in his late seventies, dressed with trousers that got past his bellybutton, and an old burgundy checkered shirt tucked in; he had almost no hair left and green eyes squinting behind square framed glasses, the same ones hipsters nowadays think are cool, but that looked terrible on him.

“Good morning everybody, hope you’re all feeling good. Before we start I would like to take attendance and get a chance to match names and faces” He motion for his two TAs to start the roll. It was a tedious process; in a class of seventy people, being called Zircon meant having to wait for everybody else to be named before she did. Yvonne started daydreaming until her turn was up, that’s why, when her fellow student said her name and the blonde robotically answered “Here” she didn’t noticed the moment of silence that followed, nor the confused expressions on the professor and other classmates.

“Could the two of you approach for a moment, please?” The professor motioned for her and someone else to walk all the way to the front of the class. Yvonne looked around unsure if that was actually directed at her, but stood up anyway.

She glanced behind her back to see who else was coming with her, and that was the moment she saw her. Black hair tied in a perfectly orderly ponytail, side bangs falling on her big round chocolate eyes and a prominent nose that complemented her features perfectly. She was just as tall as Yvonne was, but her rich brown skin was making her glow in comparison to the pasty surroundings. Zircon did not believe in love at first sight, but lust at first sight? Oh, hell yes.

“What are your names?” A ginger TA asked.

“Yvonne Zircon” The blonde had to make a conscious effort to take her eyes away from her classmate.

“Elisabeth B. Zircon” The beautiful woman spoke and Yvonne started to realize why were the two of them summoned. Apparently, while she was still daydreaming, both had responded the attendance call at the same time, but only one was counted.

“I knew I should have brought the full list” Yusem murmured under his breath, he looked tiredly at his TAs and got back to address the girls “Where did you check in which class you were?”

“There’s a bulletin board on the Tucker Hall entrance, my full name was under your class, professor” Her voice was very professional, meticulously collected, but underneath of it all, the tall girl could spot the thinly veiled anxiety.

“I checked it on the Main Entrance bulletin”

“This school is going downhill fast” Again the professor murmured, making everyone around him uncomfortable “You two should go to the Registrars Office and sort everything out, you’re excused for this class”

Great, just what I needed on my first day. Elisabeth did not seem too pleased at the turn of events either, but graciously thanked the professor and headed to the door, accompanied by Yvonne. The blonde, although annoyed, was at least happy that the girl she got confused with looked the way she did.

“Hey, so there is no chance we’re related, right?” The blonde tried to break the ice, while they walked to the other side of the school “I don’t remember any Elisabeth on my family gatherings, and I’m pretty sure I would have remembered you”

“It’s Beth, I hate my name” Beth looked at her sideways, ignoring the blatant attempt at flirting “I think it is very unlikely that we’re related, you don’t seem like the farm girl type”

“No, my only experience with flora and fauna was chasing my neighbor’s cat out of my mom’s tomato pots” Remembering her old neighborhood was pretty jarring to Yvonne, her mother had made everything she could to hide where she came from; she made her lose the ‘urban’ accent, carefully saved every penny she had for good classy clothing, and busted her ass to get every scholarship available. To be well regarded by the tightly closed legal community you had to make a few changes.

When Beth only made a sound of acknowledgment and didn’t continue the conversation, Yvonne tried again. “So, do you miss the country side?”

“I do miss it quite a lot, but I got used to being away when I was an undergrad” Her eyes glazed over momentarily, nostalgia evident on her face.

“At least the university part of the city must be a lot more fun than partying with the cows”

“You would be surprised of the things we did back home that didn’t necessarily involve cows” Yvonne swallowed hard at the cheeky smile Beth sent her way, for a moment the she forgot that she was supposed to be suave and blushed lightly at the smirk.

As soon as she got her wits back Zircon continued with the banter “All those farm boys must have been lining up outside your door for a chance at the Southern belle”

“I’m not your ‘Gone With the Wind” Southern belle” The brunette waived her hand, a mix of amusement and annoyance in her voice, not sparing a glance at the girl walking beside her. Sarcastically, putting on a thick southern accent, she said, “I kept my suitors outside of the watchful eyes of my Papa”

Before Yvonne could respond, they had arrived at the Registrars Office where there was a bored looking young man, filing folders on drawers. He groaned softly when he saw them come and walked as slowly as he could towards them. “What can I help you with?”

“There was a mix up with our names on the bulletin boards” Beth answered, hidden anxiety coating her voice once again. “We were on Professor Yusem’s Civil Procedure class?”

The young man sighted and massaged his temples “What are your names?”

“Elisabeth and Yvonne Zircon” The blonde was already annoyed at the ‘lively’ attitude of the clerk.

“Let me check” He opened his computer and typed their names in. Beth started fidgeting with the string of her backpack in the meantime “Here you are, sorry for the inconvenience, Ms. Elisabeth is assigned to Professor Yusem’s class while Ms. Yvonne is on Professor Berger’s class”

“Thank you very much” The brunette told him giving a sigh of relief. By then, they both had missed more than half the class and it was not worth it to go back. They walked together until they reached the exit of the school, where they both stood awkwardly in front of each other.

“Well, I’m glad I had to endure this odyssey with you” The blonde spoke, mockingly bowing her head “It’s a shame we won’t be classmates anymore”

“Good luck with Berger though, I heard he’s nasty”

“I don’t need luck, I’m kind of awesome” Beth only raised an eyebrow and shook her head chuckling. Yvonne took this as a good sign, and continued before she could chicken out “Would you like to grab a drink sometime? Get to know each other better?”

“I’m flattered really, but I know your type so, sadly, I’m going to have to pass on that one” The brunette gave her a half smile and turned around to go to the cafeteria section “It really was nice meeting you though, see you around”

Yvonne watched her go with a confused expression on her face; what the hell did ‘your type’ meant? Whatever, it’s only the first day of law school, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. While Beth was witty and funny and pretty, and her rejection was a blow to her, admittedly huge, ego, Zircon decided not to let it get her down, she still had a lot of work to do. And at least she had the professor she wanted now.

Chapter Text

It had been a whole month of classes, where the new 1Ls had discovered the ancient form of torture known as being ‘cold called’. The details of each torment session varied from professor to professor, but essentially it boiled down to a randomly selected victim was questioned in front of the class about anything and everything the instructor wanted; whether that was to make a point, question about that day’s readings, or just because they were angry, it didn’t matter. The ultimate goal was teaching the younglings how to survive public humiliation; it didn’t always succeed.

Every student had different methods to survive this form of agony; some read everything they could, not having any guarantee that the questions would be about that, other made themselves as small as they could to avoid drawing attention to them, even when knowing it was inevitable; there were also the people who didn’t care and just let things happen usually with horrible consequences, and finally, there were those who thrived under it, practically begging the professors to pick them. Yvonne Zircon had to restraint herself from answering the questions that her professor would make every single time.

She was sitting right next to Peridot, who had just let out a sigh of relief at not being cold called. The tall girl knew that her friend was just as prepared as her, they had the habit of discussing the questions among themselves after the professor had to go through eight different students to get the right answer. “You gotta get over that stage fright, Dot” Zircon smiled at the glare she got from the girl beside her “What are you going to do when you have to present a case in a courtroom?”

“I’ll probably forget everything I have to say” Said the short girl with false cheeriness. She then toyed with the pen in her hand, ashen expression on her face “I’ll probably go into transactional law, contracts can’t laugh at you or hold you in contempt because they ask you three times to speak and you couldn’t find your voice”

“But transactional law is no fun!” Yvonne heard a soft thud when Dot’s head hit the desk. “Do you really want to be stuck in an office, every day, from nine to five?” The tall girl didn’t even have to fake the shudder that run down her spine.

“I can’t see anything else but suffering in my dark, dark future” Peridot’s voice responded, muffled from her head still being on the table.

“Alright emo chick, I’m going to let you in on a secret if you promise not to sing My Chemical Romance” Yvonne took the raised middle finger as a sign that they had a deal “Back where I grew up, there was this girl who had the same problem as you, because she was insecure for… a bunch of different reasons. One day she realized that she could shut the world out if she took a few moments to breath, concentrate, and get into ‘The Zone’ where nothing matters but your task.”

“How does that even work?”

“I don’t know, it’s kind of like meditation?” To be honest Zircon had no idea how it works, she was only sure it did. “You get concentrated enough that nothing around you matters, but getting your task done”

“Do you think it would work for me?” Dot asked not at all convinced.

“You would have to get your own routine, but you could try it”

“I guess I don’t have anything to lose” The short blonde got quiet for a minute and hesitantly looked at her friend beside her “Were you the girl you were talking about?”

“No, I was born confident” Swiftly lied Yvonne.

The class continued just like any other time and soon enough, both students were walking towards the cafeteria to grab their lunch.

“Dot, do you know what day is tomorrow?” Zircon asked pointedly while deliberately opening her bowl of salad and throwing away the dressing.

“The day you finally learn that my full name is Peridot?” The short girl said sarcastically while eating her pizza bagel. The truth was that Yvonne could have stopped calling her Dot at any time, but it had become one of those inside teases that make people feel closer together, even Peridot didn’t really seem annoyed anymore. And to be fair, her friend deserved teasing as punishment for putting pineapple on her pizza bagel.

“Is that your real name? Sounds fake” The girl dismissed it with a wave, between mouthfuls “No, tomorrow is our fifth week anniversary of being in this hellhole!”

“Why do you celebrate fifth week anniversaries?”

“Because I wanted to celebrate our first month but we had to hand in that memo and I don’t think either of us had more than two hours of sleep that day. That’s not the mood for a party” Yvonne took out her phone and showed her short friend all the different possibilities of clubs around the campus. “And bags under our eyes are not the best seduction strategy to meet ladies out there… or guys, whatever you prefer”

“I don’t know Yvonne” Peridot said uncomfortably at the last suggestion, not looking for more than a second at the list in front of her “I have a lot to read and, to be honest, I’m not really a party animal”

“We don’t have anything due next week, you can totally catch up later” Convincing her friend was starting to look harder than pretending to be polite with the IRS guys. “And you wouldn’t have to worry about anything, we would be the queens of any place we go”

“Not my idea of fun, actually. Why don’t we celebrate our fifth week anniversary watching Legally Blonde in my dorm while we eat that greasy pizza that makes you want to hire a heart-attack life insurance policy on the spot?” The short girl suggested but quickly shut up at the expression on her partner’s face.

“While I won’t deny that Legally Blonde is a master piece of modern cinema, a personal role model, and that we should definitely do that on our sixth week anniversary” Yvonne stopped for dramatic effect. “We have to go out tomorrow, this is the only time we can celebrate having spent our first five weeks in Law School, can’t you feel how monumental this moment is?”

“Not really” Peridot answered truthfully “Why don’t you ask Beth to go with you instead of me?”

“WHAT? Why would I do that?” Zircon forcefully jerked her head up looking at her friend as if she had gone mad.

“Well, I assumed she was your friend given that you talk about her a lot”

“I don’t talk about her all that much” The tall girl said defensibly, a small blush creeping on her cheeks “She’s my arch nemesis at that negotiation seminar, I only talk about her because I have to beat her”

“Isn’t a negotiation supposed to be about reaching a compromise?”

“Don’t be naïve Dot, there’s always a loser in a negotiation”

“I think you’re missing the point of that seminar, are you sure it is only about the winning?” Peridot asked as if she just had a sudden realization.

“Shut up, fine you’re off the hook for tomorrow” Yvonne conceded to end the conversation before they could delve more into her opposing party “But you are on pizza duty for Legally Blonde next week”

“OK, I also have the musical on DVD if you want to do a double feature”

“I always want it” Only half faking annoyance, Zircon dropped her trash and left to get to her next class.

********

The Flannel was supposed to be the best gay place in town, or at least in walking distance to campus. Head held high, Yvonne walked the same way she entered every place; making sure all eyes were on her. It wasn’t an easy feat, after years of meticulously studying each situation in which she could find herself, a bar was definitely harder than a classroom. Considering she would have to compete against a variety of stimuli, she picked a golden strap blouse that would shine for a moment if the lighting hit her just right and a skirt that was only long enough to avoid anyone calling her a slut.

The blonde sat at the bar by herself, ordered a gin tonic, and looked at the dance floor for somebody to pick her interest. She started playing a game with a brunette with side bangs on the other side of the dance floor, where they would both sneak glances at each other every once in while; the woman would bashfully look aside and Yvonne would only smile and continue to drink her cocktail. She was really pretty; maybe she would be even prettier if she pulled her hair in a ponytail. Since when do I like ponytails?

She didn’t have time to ponder about it because the dark haired woman approached her with a coy smile and sweetly shy eyes. “Is this sit taken?” Her voice was slightly too high pitched for Yvonne’s taste, but she could get over it.

“I would personally drive anyone who’d sit there if it were” Said the law student gesturing for her to take a sit beside her. “What’s your name?”

“Kelly”

“Well Kelly, can I get you something to drink?”

“A shot would be nice” The blonde only looked at her briefly to make sure she wasn’t kidding and ordered the liquor frowning. “Thank you!” Said Kelly once her drink came, she downed it in one go and scooted closer to the girl on her left “So, what your name?”

“Yvonne, it’s a pleasure to meet you” Zircon had to consciously force her charming smile out, usually it just came naturally but now the stench of tequila, combined with the smudged eyeliner on her companions eyes made her want to get away. She stayed nevertheless. Everyone deserves a chance. She thought more than a little bitter about it. “Kelly, tell me about yourself, what do you do?”

“I’m a business major, I’ll graduate this year”

“That’s nice, do you have anything planned after that?”

“I’ll probably apply for an internship at a company, hopefully work my way up to a cozy office before long” The brunette said with a proud face, while Yvonne took another sip of her drink “What about you?”

“I’m a first year law student at ECU” There was nothing that would change the pretentious smile the blonde had every time she said what she was studying.

“You have some brains girl” The brunette said, signaling to the bartender for another shot. As soon as she had it, she shook her head and continued talking “I always hated law”

“Why?” Yvonne was now personally offended

“To much fighting, why do you argue so much?” The smallest hint of slurring in her words was starting to show.

“We don’t have to argue necessarily, you can always do contracts” Zircon responded distractedly, part of her wanted to take out her phone and check her messages “Although I do love the arguing in court part of the job, it’s why I chose law in the first place”

“You have a very pretty mouth, I’m sure people like to see it in action” All the shyness had been gone, whether that was an act from the beginning or if it was a product of her alcohol consumption, Yvonne couldn’t tell. The law student was taken aback by the sudden straightforwardness of the brunette.

“Sorry, I…” She couldn’t finish her sentence before a pair of lips clashed sloppily against her own, and while she was surprised at the beginning, soon she responded to them. It wasn’t a good kiss, it was rushed, it tasted like cigarettes and tequila, and Kelly’s teeth were a little too rough on the tender skin of her mouth for her taste. After a few seconds of the most unexciting kiss she had since she had tried to smooch boys during high school, she ended it by gently pushing the girl’s shoulders back.

It took the brunette a second too long to open her eyes, apparently caught up on the moment, not happy that Yvonne had ended it “Kelly, I think you’re a beautiful woman and very pleasant to be around but I just don’t think we… click”

“What the hell does that even mean?”

“It means that I’m going to go home now. You should probably do the same, goodnight” Zircon walked out to the street leaving behind a very confused woman.

If she was honest, Yvonne had no idea why she had rejected her. Kelly was incredibly attractive, the blonde would be lying if she said that at any other point she would have continued dancing around each other until they figured out where the night would take them. She had been nice too, perfectly nice conversation about safe topics. But there was something missing, a Je ne sais quoi that simply wasn’t there, a way of challenging her with words that escaped the business major completely.

Yvonne walked home alone, wondering when she had developed standards.

Chapter Text

The last class before the evaluation was always the hardest, everybody wanted to make a good impression on the professor so that they would forget all the times they skipped classes during the semester. For a short seminar on negotiation, the last class was the opportunity to polish the opposing parties positions before the big show down. Yvonne looked at the girl sitting in front of her with a smirk excited for the next week.

“Stop that” Beth whispered low enough for the professor to miss it.

“Stop what?” Asked Yvonne faking innocence, equally low.

“Looking at me like you’ll win this thing”

“I wasn’t thinking that, but I’m very thankful for your belief in me”

“Please, as if you could measure up against me” Despite her best efforts, Beth couldn’t suppress the budding smile on her face.

“Don’t underestimate me, people did the same with Elle Woods and she manage to win the case in the end”

“You did not just compare yourself to that silly movie” The brunette chuckled while shaking her head.

“Legally Blonde is an amazing movie that shows the prejudices against beautiful people in a society that considers all blonde women to be dumb” Yvonne pouted, comically offended at that slight against her favorite movie. Where’s Dot to back me up when I need her? “Those are serious problems that I know first hand, even more because I’m hotter than Reese Witherspoon”

“And have an ego bigger than your average Hollywood star, apparently”

“You’re not denying that I’m hotter”

“Just shut up for a minute” The tanned girl looked aside with what the blonde thought was a small blush on her cheeks, but could have been mistaken. Yvonne just smiled at her victory.

“You two, this must be fortieth time in the semester that I’ve asked you to pay attention, the final negotiation is next week” Professor Ranieri was an old woman who had long ago retired, but found herself so bored with the everyday life that she decided to start teaching to keep her mind busy. She bitterly regretted her life choices whenever she encountered students like Yvonne and Beth who didn’t pay attention. “If you don’t listen you may fail this course”

“She started it!” Yvonne shouted doing her best impression of a five year old.

“Did you ever graduate kindergarten? I don’t think you ever matured out of that” Beth tried her best to look annoyed but the corners of her mouth were betraying her amusement. None of them were actually worried about failing the class; it was a well-known fact that Professor Ranieri had never failed a student during the whole time she had been teaching.

“I did, first kid to learn how to read even before…”

“Girls, please, no more interruptions” The old lady was about to pull her hair out with her bare hands when the law students finally took pity on her and let the professor continue.

The minutes passed by even slower when Yvonne tried to restrain herself form teasing her opponent, she would still wonder to that day why she didn’t just drop such insufferable course when she had the chance.

The blonde briefly glanced at Beth who looked as if she was making the same efforts to keep her eyes to the front of the class; Yvonne was amazed by how easily they had entered the back and forth their professor hated so much. It only took one joke specifically targeted to wound the pride of the brunette and she couldn’t let it go, all the awkwardness remaining after that first day rejection was gone, and their war began. They never spoke outside of class, Yvonne always maintaining her distance, respecting the firm ‘no’ she was given, but they weren’t strangers either; their jabs were never mean spirited and amused them both equally.

When the clock finally announced the class had ended, everybody gathered up their things and hurried to get out of the door; easy credits could only hold the student’s attention for so long. Beth approached her with a folder on her hands, removing her bangs from above her eyes.

“Don’t think this is over yet Yvonne, I’m not going to go easy on you”

“I would never expect that from you, Beth. But you have to admit my copyright infringement claim is quite strong”

“I don’t know about that, is your client’s work even original?”

“It is, you will have to advise your clients to pay a large settlement, when I’m done with you” The professor who had overheard their conversation shook her head and exited the classroom muttering about the kids these days, never knowing what compromising meant. Both students ignored her in favor of maintaining the eye contact, and trying to appear confident.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, see next week”

“See you next week” The blonde smiled broadly watching her opponent walk away, with a cheeky smile of her own. Yvonne walked towards the cafeteria to get her fix of coffee, her expression never changing.

“What are you so happy about?” Asked a grumpy Peridot passing next to her, picking her usual morning order of tea and milk.

“Nothing, I’m just thinking about how fucking great will be beating Beth next week” Nothing could wipe the smile of her face.

“Are you sure about that?” The short girl coyly suggested while going to seat down in one of the tables nearby, she wasn’t looking at her friend’s eyes, and seemed more than a little bit anxious; Yvonne’s alarm bells started ringing.

“Sure about what?” Asked Zircon with caution.

“Are you sure that’s the reason you’re so happy every Wednesday morning?”

“I don’t see where you’re going with this, Dot, that’s the reason I’m happy now” The tall girl was genuinely confused with where her friend was going with the conversation. Peridot was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, debating whether or not she should continue on. “I don’t think I’m particularly happy on Wednesdays, everybody knows that they are the worst days of the week.”

“Look, I know that we’ve only known each other for four and a half months now, and if I’m overstepping my boundaries, please just let me know it’s non of my business and I’ll back off”

Yvonne frowned and for a moment, she felt very protective of the evidently scared girl in front of her; she needed to let her know that they were close enough that she was allowed to ask her personal questions, but because she lacked anything resembling emotional intelligence, Zircon decided to crack one of her normal jokes to try and lift the mood “Jeez Dot, I hardly think that asking me what’s my favorite day of the week is delicate information”

“No, it’s not that, obviously” Peridot hesitated for a minute and then decided to go ahead with it anyways “Have you ever considered that you may have deeper feeling for Beth than you realize?”

Yvonne froze for a more than a few seconds in place, her mind having a short circuit refusing to fully understand the question. An incontrollable feeling of fear took over her without even realizing it, her body responding automatically with laughter, her first line of defense. “Where did you get that impression? I don’t have feelings for Beth” Her chuckles were spaced out, heavy breathing in between.

“There are a few things that make me think that” The short blonde almost regretted bringing up the topic, but Zircon, still laughing, motion for her to continue “For starters you never dropped the negotiation seminar, despite always complaining about how boring it is. You’re not one to just want easy credits, which means there is only one other thing that could possibly made you want to stay”

“Well, yes I like bantering with Beth and it may be the reason why I stayed, but that doesn’t mean anything” Yvonne was desperately pushing a single intrusive thought away from her head, only focusing on maintaining her pleasant smile and reaffirming what she thought was the truth.

“There’s also the fact that every week you say you go out to pick up girls at the bar, but then you show up at my dorm two hours later, wanting to watch a movie, saying that everyone you meet is boring”

“That’s nothing, people here are boring”

“And finally, every time she walks by you get this dumb expression on your face and can’t shut up about her” Dot, having regained her confidence, chuckled at how oblivious her friend was “You’re really far gone”

“OK, let’s clear this up. Yes, I think Beth is beyond pretty, she’s beautiful, she’s very smart, she knows how to follow my banter, and the way she laughs with my stupid jokes is adorable as if she doesn’t want to laugh but does anyway despite herself, but I…” She couldn’t deny it; the short girl only raised an eyebrow daring her to do it, but Yvonne couldn’t “I’m fucked”

Peridot moved her hands as if she didn’t know how to console her friend “Not yet, isn’t that your whole problem?”

“God Dot, didn’t know you had it in you”

“Sorry, I thought that’s what you would say if you were in my shoes”

“Probably” Yvonne grabbed her head with both hands and, while she appreciated her friend’s attempt at cheering her up, she was just coming to terms with something she might have always known. “I can’t believe I have a crush on someone who thinks Legally Blonde is a silly movie”

“Look at the bright side” Said the short girl bumping her with her shoulder “At least she didn’t say she hates Lord of the Rings”

“I’m afraid to ask her that” When she was calmed again after a few moments of silence, Yvonne looked at Peridot sipping on her now cold tea, lost in thought “Why are you asking me this now?”

“Well, I knew you were in denial and this is our last week of classes” Dot held her gaze firmly “If you don’t do something about it now, you won’t have an excuse to see her next semester”

“I’m fucked”

********

One week passed and Yvonne was nowhere near figuring out what she was going to do about her crush on her classmate. Her mind had already been through all the possible scenarios of what could happen if she said something or if she kept her mouth shut. None of that mattered at the moment though; she had to stay focused on her task.

Dressed in their best formal lawyer costumes, the whole class sat down facing a professional table with two chairs standing opposite to each other. Every pair of opposing counselors sat down and proceeded to negotiate a fictitious problem; the goal was to try and reach a compromise all the while getting the best possible deal for their clients in fifteen minutes. Most pairs had already agreed on a solution before the class, so their negotiation consisted mostly of them retelling a rehearsed script; Not the Zircons though, everybody was eagerly awaiting their showdown.

When the time came, both girls sat down in front of each other. Yvonne, still feeling conflicted with her new revelation, couldn’t quite look at her in the eyes. Beth’s cocky smile wavered for a second sensing the shift in the air.

“What? No comment about how you’re knocking my ass out of the park?” The brunette said in a friendly way, slightly concerned about her suddenly shy opposition.

“No, I just…” The blonde was still unable to look at her straight.

“You’re not going easy on me, are you? I told you, we have to give them a show for the ages” Beth cut her off firmly, which caused the tall girl to look up; there was such confidence on her face that she couldn’t help but smile too. Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts.

“I would never do that, are you ready to yield?”

“Not a chance”

They started out strong, both presenting their case confidently, soon getting into a rhythm that was very familiar to them by now. In less than two minutes they were already at each other’s throats, enjoying the sparing.

“I’m sorry, but your clients willfully infringed copyright, we could ask for actual damages for everything my clients lost when their videogame was plagiarized” Yvonne stated firmly, never losing her charming smile.

“I disagree with that assessment the similarities found in my clients videogame can be explained away by the ‘Scenes a Faire’ doctrine, all those elements are commonplace in other games of the same style” Beth countered rearranging her glasses with calculated precision.

“The characters have the same names, the rules of the game are the same, and even the setting is the same”

“Well, if you look at the power point presentation I made, you’ll see a variety of examples where those same elements are put to use”

“You made a power point!?”

The entire class was more entertained by their negotiation than they had ever been with any of the previous classes, and while the verbal combat was very interesting, the clear sexual tension in the air was more than enough to keep them hooked. Nevertheless, Yvonne and Beth were oblivious to everything outside each other.

“Ms. Zircon, I think it is on your client’s best interest to settle this matter now, the backlash from the consumers on allegations of copyright infringement is tremendous, the hit their company would take after a PR debacle would be irreparable” Yvonne countered once it was obvious that they were not going to get anywhere with arguing about law.

“Don’t have to worry about that, Ms. Zircon, they have a loyal following that can totally see that your allegations are baseless. I would worry more about your clients if you don’t settle. If the court rules on out favor, because they are newcomers to the industry, they’ll be exposed for trying to create publicity and soil a company’s good name” Beth continued never giving an inch.

“My clients would be satisfied with the whole profits from the copied game, a public apology, and that the games are taken out of the market”

“I’m afraid my clients won’t take that, we would be willing to give only five percent of the proceedings and the game stays”

“That is a joke, the game must be taken out”

“My clients won’t agree to that”

“They should have thought about that before copying the game”

“Your clients shouldn’t have made such generic game”

“LADIES” The professor had to shout to draw their attention away from the debate, she had been signaling that the time was up for more than a few seconds by then. Both girls were still charged with energy, breathing heavily, unable to take their eyes away from each other, even after been told to stop. “As you can see, not all negotiations are as amicable as the ones before, some can get… a little heated. Although I wished you would have made more advances towards a settlement, I think you did a good job. I’ll have your grades by next week, you’re free to go now”

Yvonne and Beth didn’t move from their seats, still shaken by the sudden interruption of their fight. None of them paid any attention to the whispers of their classmates when they got out, some even fanning themselves mockingly. Only once they were alone in the classroom, they started to relax.

“I totally had you” Beth said first, surprising the blonde.

“No way, you were ready to cave” Yvonne recuperated quickly.

“It was fun though, I’ll see you around” The brunette had gathered her things, and was about to walk out the door, when Yvonne caught up to her.

“Wait, I wanted to talk to you about something”

Beth stiffened and looked at her former opposition nervously “What is it?”

“Look, I had a lot of fun with you this semester, so I wanted to ask you if we could be friends” Yvonne said having made her decision only five seconds ago, when she saw her crush walking away from her, Can’t let her go like that. “Strictly platonic, you made yourself clear before and I understand that, but maybe we could hang out sometime with my friend Dot”

The blonde couldn’t read Beth’s expression, it was a weird mix of different battling emotions, relief, amusement, cheekiness, and… was that disappointment? You’re just seeing what you want to see, Zircon.

“Yeah, I would like to be your friend” She then lowered her gaze and said embarrassedly “I’m sorry I said that I knew your type when we first met, that was really rude”

“At least now you now I’m not replicable”

“That I know now” The brunette said laughing, it may have stopped Yvonne’s heart for a second “Shoot me a text next time you guys go out”

“See you then” They were walking away on different directions when Yvonne stopped on her tracks and shouted at her new friend “Hey Beth!”

“Yeah?”

“What do you think about Lord of the Rings?”

The dark skinned girl looked very confused for a moment, but then resigned herself to the antics of the weird girl “I love it, both books and movies” She then continued walking, leaving behind a very pleased Yvonne.

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Peridot asked her friend, doubt plain on her face. They were both sitting on the cafeteria; Yvonne had just recently told her everything that had transpired with Beth the day before.

“Yeah, of course. This is the best possible scenario; I get to be friends with an amazing person, and at the same time, I get to work on getting rid of this pesky crush. It shouldn’t be hard, have you seen all the cute chicks around?” The tall blonde said with a hand motion showing the rest of the students at the cafeteria, her eyes wandering around but not really seeing anyone.

“Have you seen anybody else? I’m pretty sure your eyes have been glued to Beth from moment one” The little nerd said, not unkindly, eyes full of worry.

“I… I’ll admit that when I was oblivious about everything, I may have been hopeless, but now I know and I can actively work against it” Her confidence broke for just a second, hands picking on her nail polish like she used to do when she was little before her mom swatted at them, reminding her how expensive manicure was.

“Are you sure you’re going to be fine?” Peridot asked for the last time, hoping against hope to knock some sense into her friend.

“Don’t worry Dot, I’ll be just fine”

********

Yvonne Zircon was not fine.

It had been two years of agonizing closeness. Endless movie nights, study sessions, shared holydays, sometimes the three of them, but most of the time just her and Beth, bantering, being annoyed by each other but never able to stay away for more than a day.

Shared coffees at the start of every morning became a tradition only broken in extreme circumstances. Even after the brunette would leave, Yvonne would just stare at the spot where she was, sighting, relishing in that exquisite pain of the fluttering of her heart that had been a staple of her emotional state for two years already; part of her wanted it gone for good; the other hoped it never went away.

They were starting their third year of law school and the plans of getting rid of that pesky crush had gone out the window pretty much after the firsts few months. Feelings only grew stronger day after day; watching her go was something Yvonne would never get tired of.

“Damn, I just missed Beth, didn’t I?” Peridot said, taking Yvonne out of her reverie.

“What? How do you know she just left?”

“Do you really have to ask me after watching you pine for her for two years now?” The short blonde asked shaking her head as her friend just huffed and looked to the side “Seriously, I wonder to this day how you haven’t got mugged yet after so many times zooning out watching her walk”

“I can be very intimidating, it keeps muggers away”

“Of course you are, Zircon” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“You’re losing respect for me, when did that happen?”

“The word losing implies I had some respect for you to begin with”

“I’m impressed, that was some quality burn there, Dot.” Yvonne said mockingly surprised, nodding at her friend. She was mostly relieved that they had dropped the Beth subject after all “I’ve taught you too well it would seem”

“You are a great teacher after all” Her friend answered very awkwardly, as if she had just remember she had to be nice, making Yvonne all the more suspicious.

“You’re flattering me, which I know it’s hard to refrain from but you are more skilled at that usually, what do you want?” The tall girl asked point blank.

“I wasn’t… fine, I wanted to ask you if you’d want to be my partner for the Moot Court Cup?” Dot was shyly picking at her fingers, her eyes twitching nervously from one side to the other, waiting for an answer.

“Dot, I don’t think it would be a fair competition if both of us were to be together in one team, we would crush them in seconds” It broke her heart a little to see the disappointed expression of HER friend’s face after saying no, but Yvonne truly didn’t have time with all the activities her last year of law school demanded.

“I know, that’s why we should do it!” Peridot tried one last time to convince her “Wouldn’t you love to get your 3L street cred from the start? Just imagine all your fans hearing about our victory, you’d be a star”

“Dot, first of all I’m already a star; second of all, my ‘fans’ as you call them are incredibly annoying people who don’t understand the meaning of not interested” Her attention grabbing tactics had been successful in the past years, as she knew they would, but what she wasn’t expecting was how unwanted it had become. At the moment though, softening her voice for the small nerd, she continued in a kinder demeanor “And lastly, I’m really swamped at the moment and I’d like to have a chill last year”

“Yeah, it’s completely understandable” The short girl sighed while pulling a piece of paper from her bag “There was a list of people who were looking for partners, maybe I’ll just ask one of them, let’s see… Kiki Pizza, Buck Dewey, Lapis Lazuli, Sadie Miller…”

“I know Kiki, she’s dedicated, I’m sure you two would make a good team” Yvonne offered as a small consolation.

“I’ll build the confidence today and probably ask her tomorrow”

“Jeez, you sound like you want to get into her pants… I could give you her number and a better excuse to talk to her, if you want” Yvonne wiggled her eyebrows in the most exaggerated suggestive way possible, while her friend blushed entirely from head to toes.

“You’re impossible”

“I think you mispronounced awesome”

“No, believe me, I didn’t”

“Still have a lot to learn, my dear padawan” The tall blonde shook her head and started to get her things inside her backpack “I have to go, have real state law now. I’ll probably go catch a movie with Beth afterwards, do you want to come?”

“As much as I love being your third wheel excuse, nah I have to finish reading for antitrust” Dot said teasingly at the sole mention of the object of her friend’s pining.

“You’re not a third wheel!” Zircon exclaimed indignantly.

“Of course, and you’re not a coward who won’t call those outings ‘dates’” Peridot rolled her eyes so hard that Yvonne wondered how they were still attached to her face.

“I don’t have time to discuss it again right now, but all my arguments why that would be a bad idea still stand” Yvonne huffed at the rehashing of the years old conversation.

“You keep telling that to yourself if it helps you sleep”

“I knew I should have trademarked that line when I had the chance” The tall blonde lamented before walking away “I’ll talk to you later, nerd”

“Later, chicken”

Yvonne simply headed towards her class murmuring about how she preferred chicks either way. The next hour went by without a hitch, even when daydreaming Yvonne Zircon had perfected the art of taking notes when not paying attention to the professor; her ‘I’m deeply interested in what you’re saying’ face was outstanding. Leaving the building, her legs moved with a will of their own. Halfheartedly ignoring all the small talk people she didn’t care about tried to make, her blue eyes were searching for their usual spot outside, next to the entrance pillars.

She spotted her messy ponytail first, her heart skipping a beat as it liked to do when she was near. Yvonne took a moment to drink in the sight of her; the realization that she had stopped idealizing her had freaked her out about a year ago, she was now fully aware of all her flaws as a human being and yet the blonde’s feelings if anything had only grown stronger. Her sleep deprived face, her unwashed hair, the nervous tick on her hand signaling that she was stressed out were not ignore in favor of her other characteristics, but rather they complemented her in Zircon’s eyes, in a way she had never told anybody.

“What are you doing there? Your short attention span is a little worrying sometimes” Despite her exhaustion, Beth Zircon always found a way to keep the cheekiness going with her, the small arch of her eyebrow and sly smile always made Yvonne wonder if she knew more than she let on about her feelings. Too scared to think about the implication that would have, the tall girl decided to just continue on their endless game.

“I was just wondering if you were in danger of falling asleep on your feet and I would have to catch you. The things we do for friendship” Yvonne shook her head in a mockingly resigned way.

“As if you’d mind that” The brunette said offhandedly, going back to reading the piece of paper in her hands. Zircon appreciated the fact that her friend’s eyes were somewhere other than her face that had suddenly gone completely red.

“Well, no I guess I wouldn’t. You know how much I love superhero stuff; maybe I would even get to be on the front page of the local newspaper for saving you and later get hired to be the love interest that Black Widow deserves” The blonde huffed, still salty over the Bruce Banner debacle.

“I’m still surprised at your level of nerdiness, while still able to keep your whole cool shtick”

“Not a shtick, I’m always cool, nerds are in” Yvonne said, while doing finger guns at Beth. It served for the brunette to laugh, but it might have undercut her coolness argument; not a high price to pay if you asked her.

“Whatever” Beth said, teasing smile still on her face.

“So, are you ready to be blown away by whatever I can find on my DVD collection?” Yvonne excitedly suggested trying (and failing at) not to sound too eager.

“Yeah, about that…” The disappointment felt heavy on her stomach the moment she saw those guilty looking eyes; the blonde tried to mask it, but it was hard to do so. “I was thinking about participating on the Moot Court Cup? You know the mock trial one? And I wanted to talk to the list of people without partners”

“Oh yeah, Dot told me about it”

“Are you two joining as well?” The malicious glint in Beth eyes was back again, enchanting as ever. “I would love another opportunity to kick your ass again, I definitely haven’t done that enough since that time in the negotiation seminar”

“Keep dreaming, if anything your ass would be mine” Zircon responded automatically, no matter how well her schedule for the semester looked, her brain was wired to follow along the brunette’s game.

“I’ll definitely look forward to facing you and to show you who’s the one on top” While outwardly Yvonne’s face remained the same, a shock of electricity went through her spine when hearing that sentence. Her friend just smiled when she took a few seconds more than usual to respond, knowing when she was winning.

“We’ll see who’s the one on top” All the confidence she didn’t feel infiltrated itself back into her voice; the eye contact was only broken when the tension hit its high point and both girls decided to look somewhere else at the same time. “So, who are you thinking about asking to be your partner?”

The small attempt at dissipating the tension was very much appreciated by Beth “Ah, I wanted to ask Lapis Lazuli? We share Trial Advocacy together, and she’s really good”

“Isn’t she that weird girl that sits in the back of every class and never talks?”

“Yeah, the one with the blue hair”

“You sure that’s your pick?”

“I could have asked someone else, but I don’t think she’s ready for that” The way Beth said that made Yvonne’s heart beat faster, not entirely sure if she wanted to know what that was supposed to mean. “Besides, Lazuli has a knack for litigation”

“Sounds good then”

“I should probably go talk to her now, before somebody else snatches her” The brunette said, reluctantly getting her things to go. “Sorry again about ruining our movie plans”

“Don’t worry about it, I honestly should go to get a head start on all my school work, considering how tough the Moot Court will be” The blonde’s charming smile was there as always, her mind quickly rearranging all her carefully planned free time. “I’ll see you tomorrow for coffee”

“I’ll see you tomorrow”

Once her crush’s silhouette could no longer be seen, Yvonne Zircon quickly got her phone out and called the second number on her speed dial. “Dot! Are you still looking for a partner?”