From the Fan Fiction Unbound Archive,
posted by conTessaofthecastle:
“We made it happen together,” said Astoria simply.
Soph.
I know Tess has to go home and she can’t tell her family about us. But her family didn’t keep her from standing up for Orly and it didn’t keep her from kissing me. I’m so glad it didn’t keep her from kissing me.
Tess and I go back to our room to pack. When we close the door, I say, “I know I didn’t understand it before, Tess. But I think I do now, and I hope—”
She cuts me off. “No, Soph, no. I… well, I know it all from your sonnet “‘My world view is reformed.’” I smile at her. She continues, “So is mine. And telling people like that, through my writing, it scares me, but it’s exciting. Like meeting you.”
We’re quiet then, until I reach out a hand to her and she comes close to me. We hold each other, standing up first, then lying on my bed. But we don’t have much time. The shuttle bus to the airport gets here in half an hour, so we separate and pack. I can’t help but ask, “Can I text you? After we go home?”
Tess nods and smiles. “Yeah. Definitely. My parents don’t read that stuff. Joey and I text all the time.”
I gulp to suppress a sob. It makes me happy knowing we’ll stay connected. “And we’ll see each other again. I want it so much that I know I can make it happen.”
She chuckles indulgently, as my father would. “I bet you can, Soph. Although why a city girl like you wants to come to Minerva College for four years still is a mystery to me.”
I pull the black sweater she wore yesterday out of my bag and hold it out to her. She puts it in the bottom of her bag without saying a word. “I still have your socks, you know,” I remind her. “Could I take them home as a trade?”
She nods, smiling. A question passes across her face, but she hesitates.
“What, Tess?”
“Soph, would you read my leadership thing?”
“Sure, but isn’t it for an interview?”
“I know, but I wanted to write it down first, so I don’t choke when it comes up.” She hands me a piece of notebook paper.
She looks really nervous when I finish my reading. I say, “You nailed it,” and I get to hug her again.
Tess’s cell phone rings.
“Oh, hi, yes. I’ll be down in a minute.” She looks at me. “I want you to meet Joey, if you will. He wants to meet you too.”
It’s as if I’m being introduced to family. My chest feels full, but Tess is waiting for me to answer her. So I pull myself together and say, “Yeah, definitely. Let me zip up my Vera… my duffel.”
There’s no missing Joey. He’s in a big light blue truck. The truck is old, like something a tough guy would drive on TV. Tess goes to the driver’s side and asks him to get out. He doesn’t look like the gay guys I know. He’s big. Not tall, but big. I don’t mean fat. He has a big head of shaggy blonde hair, and the hand he holds out when Tess introduces us is gigantic. He’s friendly, though, and when he smiles at me I’m surprised that I feel suddenly shy.
“You must be the roommate.” I notice his jaw is lopsided, and he talks out of one side of his mouth. I look down in case he’s self-conscious.
“Nice to meet you, Joey.” I can’t think of anything else to say. I don’t have any idea what Tess might have told him or what is still a secret.
Tess stands next to me and puts an arm around my waist. “We’re due back before evening milking.”
Joey looks at me as if he already knows me. He nods and says, “Nice to meet you too, Soph. In person. I’m glad you had a good week.”
I turn to Tess, careful not to dislodge the arm which feels so good right above my hip. I don’t want to embarrass her, so I roll into her and put my head next to hers. I say into her ear, up close, “Tess, I don’t want my last kiss from you. Not yet.” I feel her squeeze me and nod.
“So, this won’t be the last one,” she says and kisses me, right there, in front of Joey and the lodge. She recites my own words back to me before she leaves, “‘She could be here, her hand extending.’”
I feel a vibration and think at first that my heart might be exploding, but it’s my phone. When I pull it out of my pocket, I find a group message from Mibs and Lally and Gordon, asking if I want to meet them tonight at our coffee place, Quirky Perks. I get an idea.
“Joey, can I have your phone number?” He’s a little surprised when I tell him, “I have some friends I want to introduce you to, if you’d like.” We exchange numbers. Then he takes Tess’s bag and holds the car door open for her, as if he were her boyfriend.
As I watch Tess drive away from me in a big old truck, sitting next to a boy, the wind picks up a little and it starts to snow.