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Regina George is not a lesbian okay? She’s not.
She’s had boyfriends. Several, in fact, and she could have more if she wanted.
Her first boyfriend, Kyle, had been missing a few braincells, sure, and he’d been held back a couple of times, but he was older and he was funny and he wore his baseball caps backwards which Regina really had a thing for. Middle school relationships were weird in the way that “going out” meant sitting together at lunch, Snap Chatting each other to build a streak, and maybe seeing each other every now and then at birthday parties. By the time they broke up in high school, she was half a virgin so that totally meant she was into boys like that.
She definitely didn’t think about kissing her best friend, Janis Imi’ike that one time at her birthday party, like, all the time.
Then, Aaron Samuels moved to North Shore and he was hot. All the girls told her that. Even her mom told her that, which…gross. Aaron had big blue eyes with long lashes and a pretty smile. He was the most coveted boy in their North Shore High grade and as their grade’s hottest blonde, Regina absolutely would be having him. Regina introduced herself to Aaron on his second day and they would solidify their position as North Shore High’s “Power Couple” by his second week.
Aaron was a nice boy, but he was also kind of…boring. He didn’t get any of her Vine references and he didn’t care about makeup, clothes, shoes, or fancy celebrity music festivals. He also didn’t care about her more niche interests - the interests she didn’t really advertise at school - like musical theater, medical dramas, or true crime podcasts. The one interest they did share was sports - him, football and her, lacrosse - but there was only so much of that she could talk about before feeling like she was going crazy.
Also he wanted to have sex, like, all the time. Sure, she’d lost the rest of her virginity to him, and he’d lost all of his to her, so it was “special” (his words), but now he thought they should be having sex every time he came over. And Regina? She was bored. Was there something wrong with her if she’d rather watch a movie than have sex with her boyfriend? If she just waited for it to be over - fifteen minutes at most - so she could go back to scrolling on her phone?
Did it feel good? Well…sometimes. Sometimes when she’d read a really spicy part of her book, and she’d really be in the mood, things would feel good for a while. Everything worked as it was supposed to, she guessed. He went in, got off, then pulled out. Then she’d get herself off later, after he went home, when she had time to focus on what she was really into - the way Karen’s shirts always fit her so tight and low cut, the accidental brush of a soft hand against her bare thigh at lunch, the subtle twist of a pink tongue around a lollipop
Or she wouldn’t. It was fine.
She cared about Aaron, at least. He was good to her. The whole student body loved them together and for two years running, they were pictured as Most Likely to Get Married After High School in the yearbook. They were Regina and Aaron. Aaron and Regina. One did not come without the other. Well, most of the time.
Then along came Shane Oman. Regina had always known about Shane, but never really paid him much attention before they started fucking. She’d seen him around at football games, dressed in the body of their school mascot, his hair sticking to his forehead with sweat from the heat of the costume head, but always figured he was just some loser in a mascot costume. He was your typical solid-bodied jock with a military family and gentle demeanor. He played the school mascot, but also running back on the football team, goalie on the soccer team, and first baseman on the baseball team. And Shane was probably the sweetest guy Regina had ever been with. He may seem like your typical masculine macho jock bro, and he was to an extent, but Regina had never met a bigger simp. Shane wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box, but he worshipped her and her body. It wasn’t like anything she’d ever experienced before…so was it really her fault if that relationship kind of…overlapped with her relationship with Aaron?
The thing with Shane Oman? He watched a lot of porn. He watched all kinds of porn, and he liked to watch it with Regina too, “to get them in the mood.” He thought it was dirty and hot to show her those kinds of filthy things. Things he’d like to do to her. Things he’d like her to do to him. Things he’d like to see her do to others.
His favorite kind of porn?
Lesbian porn.
Regina balked at it at first, crossing her arms and declaring that there was nothing for her in those kinds of videos. Why would he want to watch two women fuck each other if he had a dick and there wasn’t one in sight? “It’s two of something I like, together,” he explained. “Like two scoops of ice-cream. More is better.”
She supposed that made sense. Besides, when they watched the other videos, she always tended to focus on the woman’s pleasure anyway, being a woman herself, of course. This would just make it easier to focus.
Soon, Regina found herself searching for those videos when Shane wasn’t around too. Again, when the pleasure was more female-centric, it was easier to focus on what she liked being done to herself, imagining it happening, and not having some guy flipping through a thousand positions, wanting a random blowjob in the middle of the video, or grunting and being a distraction.
The thing is, Regina was only able to finish by herself or when she closed her eyes and really pictured what those women were doing to each other.
Then Regina George met Cady Heron.
There really shouldn’t have been any reason why Regina allowed that girl to get under her skin the way she did. But what Regina George loved most was a project and Cady Heron was just obsessed with her enough to do everything she said. She didn’t plan on actually caring about the fucking girl.
It was thrilling the way Cady looked at her, like she lit up the sky and she was scared of her at the same time. One time she even overheard her calling Regina an “apex predator” and that stuck with her for weeks. The ego boost she got from having Cady follow her around like a lost little puppy was insane. And okay, so maybe Gretchen had been doing the same thing for years but it was different this time.
So when Cady started showing interest in Aaron Samuels, suddenly Regina decided she had to have him back. Just to keep herself on Cady’s radar. Honestly, the boy was still boring as ever and Regina couldn’t resist Shane’s…whatever, but every time Cady was near, Regina would make a huge deal over Aaron as if they were the happiest couple in the world. Was it making Cady miserable? Yeah, probably, but honestly she kind of deserved it for breaking the Girl Code or whatever.
Junior year was a fucking train wreck after that.
And where did she end up? In a neck brace, high as fuck, sipping spiked punch from a glass goblet held by none other than Janis Imi’ike: Pyro Lez. People will talk. But fuck it, she’s high as fuck, sipping spiked punch while looking into the impossibly large brown eyes of a girl who definitely came with a date, trying not to let the red liquid spill down the sides of her lips like some kind of loser vampire. Regina pulls away from the lip of the cup and wipes her mouth on the back of her hand, nose twitching after it comes in contact with the corsage on her wrist, then for a moment she tries desperately not to throw up directly into Janis’ outstretched hand.
“Thanks dude,” she says, and her eyelids are heavy when she regards the other girl. “You’re a real one.”
“Jesus,” Janis’ laugh has always been pretty and Regina can’t help but think so now too as she suddenly pulls the other girl into her lap and rests her head over against her chest, earning a hesitant but polite pat on top of her hair. “Should you be drinking on those meds you’re on?”
“Nope,” Regina answers with a pleased smile, looping her arms tightly around Janis’ waist, caring fuck all about the girl’s other date…or about Shane, for that matter, her Spring Fling King. Who cares? She has always been a clingy drunk and right now, she has a lap full of warm, beautiful, girl. She’s happier than she’s been in years. Everything that happened this past year feels inconsequential and she feels like she could forgive Janis for everything if it just means she gets to stay in this moment a bit longer.
“Uhmm…” Janis’ voice is awkward and her position in Regina’s lap is even more so. “Should I call your mom?”
“Oh my godddd, you two !” Another voice, cloyingly sweet, coos from the dance floor. It’s Gretchen and she’s obviously had a few glasses of punch already. She snaps their photo on her phone and then waves over Cady, Karen, Damian, and a few others to fawn over Janis and Regina’s adorable, compromising position as well. They’re being filmed and all Regina can do is smile and tighten her arms around Janis’ waist, high on the moment and painkillers.
“Janis?” There’s a voice Regina doesn’t recognize and she turns her head to blink slowly at the source of it, her nose scrunching at the glare of the lights behind the silhouette of the person who is standing there between Cady and Damian, staring at the two of them with a crinkle in their brow and a frown on their face.
Janis quickly scrambles out of Regina’s lap and straightens her jacket which makes Regina pout, but ultimately take to picking through a bowl of Chex mix for bread pieces. “Sorry, she…it’s not-“
The other girl - Janis’ date’s - eyes move to Regina as Janis moves back to her side. “How are you feeling Regina?”
Regina pauses with a bread piece halfway to her lips and blinks slowly at her. “Me? Oh shit, no, I’m- I’m good. I mean I’m in a neck brace and I have to constantly be on OxyContin to get out of bed but I’m-“ she gives her the OK hand signal and a wink and then a smirk with perfectly glossed lips, “golden.”
The girl - she has a name, surely. Regina wishes she remembered what it was - slides her hand into Janis’ and squeezes. “I’m glad you’re out of bed now. We were all really worried…about you.”
“You’re a sweetheart, thanks.” Regina sighs and eats a pretzel, struggling slightly to get it into her mouth around her brace. She doesn’t remember this girl being one of the ones making fun of her for her blunder on stage so that’s something. “Jan is lucky.”
She notices the girl and even Janis smile slightly and it makes her feel good inside. Maybe she actually can make up for how shitty she’s made people feel all these years a little bit at a time.
“How long have you been dating?” Regina asks, and notices how they both grow a little awkward.
“Actually, tonight is kind of our first date.” The girl says and looks over at Janis. “But I’ve been noticing her for a while.”
“Violette is in my art class,” Janis says. “She’s incredible.”
The girl - Violette - ducks her head and blushes pink and Regina can see just how smitten she is for Janis Imi’ike. It’s cute. It makes Regina burn inside. “Stop, you’re the real artist here.”
“She’s really good,” Regina finds herself agreeing with Violette, and can’t help but smirk when Janis’ brows raise then crinkle in surprise. “I’ve seen her work. It’s beautiful.”
Janis doesn’t say anything. She just watches as Regina continues to eat the Chex mix bread pieces and pretzels as Violette waxes poetic about some of Janis’ other art pieces and Cady and Damian chime in to agree with her.
Regina notices her staring and licks the crumbs from her gloss, blinking slowly at her as if she didn’t stop Janis’ world on its axis. “What? Do I have shit on my face?”
“Your face is beautiful, ‘Gina.” Gretchen thankfully interrupts, sliding up behind Regina to pet her golden hair and pull it free of her neck brace. “Do you want a bowl? Here, you have…” She takes great care to brush crumbs from Regina’s brace, but the blonde still winces.
Janis steps forward to help before she can stop herself, carefully and gently picking the crumbs off of her brace and then her dress, one by one with her fingertips. Regina’s piercing blue eyes follow her face the whole time, made even more striking by the smudge of kohl black she’s chosen to line them with.
She’s only distracted away from Janis’ face when Gretchen gently bumps her arm with a paper bowl filled meticulously with only bread pieces and pretzels. “Oh, thanks Gretch. That’s uh…super fetch of you.” Regina gives her a little wink and returns her gaze to Janis, completely missing the way Gretchen’s whole face lights up.
Regina offers a bread piece to the brunette who cautiously takes it, an amused smile slowly spreading across her face, “You’re so high.”
Regina blinks slowly and then shrugs as much as she can in the restricting neck brace, nibbling on a pretzel, “Maybe.”
“Do you feel okay?” Cady asks, stepping forward to scoot the train of Regina’s dress closer to her so it doesn’t get stepped on. “Are you in any pain?”
Regina moves her entire upper half to look at her and smile dopily, “I just saw you in the bathroom.”
Cady smiles sweetly at her and picks a strand of blonde hair from her eyelashes, making her eyes flutter, “Yes you did. How are you feeling?”
“I’m good. I’m…I’m great .” Regina eats another bread piece, “Do I look okay?”
“Baby, you look fantastic.” Damian tells her and that makes Regina relax a bit more.
She continues to eat, surrounded by people who care about her, and for that she can’t help but feel incredibly lucky…and a bit undeserving. Over the years, and the past year especially, she has made these people’s lives hell for no reason other than her own inflated need for attention and control. And yet here they stand, picking her favorite pieces from the Chex mix, tipping spiked punch into her mouth, brushing crumbs from her dress, keeping her hair from her eyes, worrying over her pain, and telling her she looks pretty when she feels like an aluminum monster.
Suddenly, she’s tearing up and she can’t stop it.
“Oh! Oh no, oh no, G, your mascara!” Karen quickly grabs a napkin and begins dabbing at the bubbling tears under Regina’s eyes while Gretchen cradles her blonde head and helps her tilt her body backward to avoid the tears rolling down her face and messing up any more of her makeup. It’s a team effort and after Karen pulls Regina’s favorite brand of waterproof mascara from her bag and fixes her up once more, Regina looks as if nothing ever happened.
“Wow,” Janis breathes in unison with Damian, “Plastic Magic.”
Regina finishes her bowl of Chex bread and then pulls her lipgloss out of her handbag, expertly applying a fresh coat of shiny, sparkling product over her lips that Janis can’t resist following with her eyes, especially when Regina presses her lips together and then puckers them to spread the gloss evenly.
“You’re staring,” Damian’s voice in her ear makes her jump slightly and Janis feels a hot wave of embarrassment and anger (at herself) and…something else rush over her entire body.
“What? No I’m not.” Janis denies, shaking her head. She immediately looks over at Violette, who is thankfully unaware and talking to Cady and Gretchen.
“Mhm,” Damian hums in disbelief. “And I’m not going to go talk to that cute theater boy, bye!”
“No, Damian-“ Janis tries to hold onto his sleeve but he slips through her fingers like silk and is gone, floating over to the theater kids who are all dancing together in one conglomerate to the side of the dance floor.
Janis’ eyes slide back over to Regina, who has actually started to nod off, still sitting upright in her neck brace, but looking perilously like she is about to fall out of her chair at any moment. “How the fuck…” Well, she is on several painkillers and now, alcohol, helpfully supplied by the school’s Mathletes. Janis looks around at their friends and no one else seems to notice Regina slipping away, all of them chatting away with one another, so Janis takes it upon herself to squat in front of the blonde, bringing herself to her level, and snap her fingers in front of her face. “Hey, you still with us?”
“Mmm?” Regina responds slowly, too slowly for Janis’ liking.
Janis looks around and that’s when she sees the goblet on the ground at Regina’s feet. She picks it up and gestures with it in front of Regina’s eyes, “Did you have more punch?”
“Yeah’lil,” Regina slurs, “S’good.” Then she sways and Janis catches her head with her shoulder.
“Shit,” Janis mumbles, feeling guilty for giving her any of the punch in the first place, “when did you even get more punch?” She tosses the goblet with the lipgloss stain onto the table and pets the back of Regina’s stupidly soft head, making the other girl mumble something unintelligible. “I got you. Just…shit. Does anyone know what the fuck pain meds she’s on?” Janis shouts out to the others, over the music.
Everyone looks over at them at once and Gretchen seems to come alive, gasping and kneeling on the dirty gym floor in her dress beside Regina. “Yeah, I have a list. Hold on. It’s…” She digs in her handbag for a couple seconds and then, with tears in her eyes, looks up at Janis, “It’s in my other purse. Oh my god, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think I’d need it tonight but I usually always have it on me. I should have known. Is-is she gonna die?”
“She’s not gonna die, okay?” Janis feels her heart ache for Gretchen who obviously cares very deeply for Regina. How deeply, she can only guess, and she doesn’t really want to guess, otherwise it may break her heart even more. “Just call her mom.”
Gretchen nods and pulls out her phone, immediately dialing Regina’s mom’s number and holding a hand over her free ear.
Janis moves Regina carefully so as not to hurt her neck but so that she can check her over, frowning when the blonde does. “She’s still conscious, which is good. But her breathing is slow. I really think we need to take her to the hospital.”
“No!” It’s the first clear thing Regina has said in a while and she groans after she does, pushing at Janis slightly. “Take me to th’ospital I’ll hate you f’rever. No hospital. I’m ser’ous.”
“Regina-“ Janis starts.
“Fuck you, I mean it. No hospital.” Regina says firmly, her head lifting from where it’s cradled in Janis’ hand with a wince before she sets it back down. “Ho’e.”
“Regina, that’s- you can’t call people that now-“ Karen begins but Cady interrupts.
“I think she said ‘home’. I think she wants to go home.”
“Guys, her mom isn’t answering.” Gretchen says, holding out her phone. “I’ve left three voicemails and sent her five texts and two SnapChats. She’s not reading anything either.”
“Shit,” Janis curses and moves Regina’s head back to her shoulder. “Let’s get her out of here at least. Hopefully without drawing attention. Help me. I don’t wanna hurt her.”
Gretchen and Cady and even Violette rush to help Janis lift Regina’s dead weight, adjusting her so that they can essentially walk her out of the gym together without looking too odd or suspicious. Regina groans as she rests her head back against the neck brace, her eyebrows scrunching up as they move her. “Sorry, ‘Gina,” Gretchen whines as they move toward the doors. They get a few looks on their way out,but thankfully they’re able to pass through virtually unnoticed. Regina would kill them all if she ended up named North Shore’s Most Likely to Be A Future Alcoholics Anonymous Member.
As the group stands in the hall just inside the main entrance to North Shore High, Regina’s arms draped around Janis’ shoulders as if they’re in the middle of some kind of fucked up slow dance with Cady and Violette holding her up from behind, Gretchen tries Mrs. George’s number again. Nothing. She shakes her head and pockets her phone.
“Shit,” Janis curses again, “What do we do?”
“Well…we have Regina’s Jeep?” Karen offers from the side. “If someone can drive it.”
“Regina drove here?” Janis asks, surprised. “Or did Shane-“
“Are you kidding, she’d never let Shane Oman drive her Jeep.” Gretchen shakes her head. “Regina drives, even with a broken neck. Here, I have her keys.” She reaches into her handbag and pulls out a keychain with a gold a diamond rhinestone ‘R’, a wristband made of pink rose quartz, her Jeep’s key fob, and her house key. “I took them when I saw she was under the influence.”
Janis smiles softly at her. Gretchen Weiners is a Mom Friend.
“Well? Who wants to drive?” Gretchen asks.
No one steps forward.
“Regina would kill me if something happened to her car.” Cady grimaces. “Even a scratch. And I’m pretty sure she parallel parked out there so…no thanks.”
Karen shakes her head, “I don’t have my license.”
Violette wrings her hands, “I don’t feel like I know her well enough to drive her car. Actually I should probably stay here.”
Janis frowns over at her over Regina’s head, feeling guilty, “Are you sure?”
Violette nods, “It’s okay, this is all a little crazy for me. You take care of your friends. And yourself.”
Janis sighs, but nods in understanding. “You too. Thanks for helping us move her out here. Will you send Damian out here though?”
“Oh, yeah, of course.” Violette gives her a small smile. “See you on Monday?”
“Yep,” Janis nods and then briefly takes a hand off of Regina’s waist to give Violette a small side hug. “See you Monday. Thanks again for your help and…sorry it turned out like this.”
“It’s okay,” Violette gives a small laugh. “I enjoyed the time we had together. Maybe next time we can have dinner or something.”
Janis’ smile grows warmly into a grin. “Yeah! Yeah, I’d like that a lot.”
“Cool, me too,” Violette bites slightly down on her bottom lip and then leans in to kiss Janis on the cheek. “See ya.” With a blush, she hurries off down the hall and back into the gym.
“Th’was l’ke s’gay,” Regina slurs into Janis’ neck, “I might throw up.”
“Are you kidding or…” Regina makes a noise and Janis panics, carefully moving her away, “Nope, not kidding, oh god.”
When Regina is finished vomiting in the middle of their school crest, her hair being held back lovingly by Gretchen, Damian is there to offer his pocket handkerchief.
“Oh bitch, that’s nasty, ” he says, covering his nose with his sleeve which earns him a glare from Gretchen as she takes the handkerchief anyway and wipes gently at Regina’s lips.
Regina is still dizzy, leaning against Janis as she sways on her feet. Janis just wraps an arm around her shoulders and allows her to rest there.
“Here, G, I know what’ll help,” Karen says and drops to her knees, lifting Regina’s feet one by one to slip her heels off. The girl audibly sighs in relief and curls her toes inward on the tile floor.
“Smart thinking, K, thanks,” Regina says softly as Karen stands again, dangling her $1500 shoes by two fingers.
Karen’s smile is vacant, but bright.
“Okay, so who is driving the Jeep?” Gretchen asks again.
“I nominate Janis,” Damian offers.
“What, why?” Janis asks.
“Because you just got a perfect score on your driver’s test and you know where everybody lives.” Damian shrugs. “And you’re not scared of her.”
Janis peeks down at Regina’s face. Her eyes are closed, liner and mascara smudged irreparably, and there are sparkles everywhere, but she’s still ridiculously beautiful. “I guess if I scratch her shit, she can’t hate me any more than she already does.”
Regina mumbles something and frowns, but Janis doesn’t hear it.
“Alright, well how are we getting her to the car?” Cady asks.
“Damian!” Janis grins, and then smirks when everyone looks at him. “You’ll carry her, right?”
“ Girl …”
“C’mon, Damian. She’s not that heavy. And you’re strong. You carried me before!” Janis reasons.
“That was at art camp, once , and my back was sore for a week.” Damian complains.
Janis furrows her brow in disbelief.
“A weekend.” Damian amends and then pouts as he thinks about it.
“Damian -“
“Fine but you go with me to every musical theater performance and after party as my wingwoman that I want this summer, without complaint and…buy me a fancy sandwich from that cute deli on Main.” Damian says, pointing at her.
“ With a cookie ,” Janis promises, leaning forward with a smile.
Damian seems sated, crossing his arms as he decides. “Alright then.”
Janis nods once and then situates Regina out for the taking, “So how do you wanna do this? Piggyback or…?”
“I don’t think she can hold on to a piggyback,” Gretchen says with a frown, pushing hair out of Regina’s eyes.
“Either way, I gotta get outta here with that smell,” Damian grimaces. “Just gimme her,” He steps forward and leans down, scooping the blonde up into his arms, bridal-style, as easily as if she was a child, “Those Kälteen bars didn’t really do anything to you at all, girl, you light as hell.”
Regina smiles and rests her hand on her stomach as he carries her out of the school and into the cool night air, following the others to where Regina’s Jeep is parked in her designated spot. And as Cady predicted, it is expertly parallel parked.
“How does she do it?” Cady asks herself as they approach the vehicle.
Gretchen unlocks the Jeep with her key fob and people begin to pile in the back seat, Gretchen, Cady, and Karen across the back so that Regina can ride shotgun for the most comfortability and Janis can drive them all home. Damian gently sets Regina in her seat and Gretchen leans over the front to buckle her in securely and help her lean against the window when the door is closed. Damian walks around to the driver’s side to help Janis climb into her seat as she curses Regina for having such a complicated vehicle to get into. Once she’s inside the car, she begins adjusting the mirrors and the seat, much to Gretchen’s protests that Regina will be very mad about that. “Listen, she can be as pissy as she wants. She ruined my first date and nearly threw up on me. Consider this ka mea i hoʻokae. Actions and consequences. ”
Gretchen only frowns and sits back as Janis starts the Jeep with the push of a button.
Janis looks over at Damian with a guilty little smile, “I’m sorry to leave you like this. Will you be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll take Ricky home on the jazzy!” He smirks, and she lightly hits him on the arm.
“Go have fun without me then. Show me pictures!”
“Only if you do,” Damian says, then shuts her door.
Janis rolls down the window as Damian is walking away and shouts, “Love you!”
Damian turns back around and waves the ASL sign for the same as Janis inches out of the parking spot and pulls away.
Janis glances over at Regina as she drives, feeling uncomfortable enough in the cabin of the Jeep to roll down the driver’s side window and let in some night air. It’s probably good for Regina anyway.
Regina groans and rolls her head against the window.
Gretchen leans over the passenger seat from the back to feel at Regina’s forehead. “You should probably take her home first.”
Janis nods and quickly takes a right, making Cady hold onto the door handle and Karen hold onto her friends’ legs.
“Preferably alive!” Gretchen shouts and then apologizes as Regina moans again.
“Yeah, please don’t roll us.” Cady whines and Janis grimaces.
“Sorry, sorry…this thing isn’t the easiest to drive.”
“It’s okay, Regina runs over curbs all the time.” Karen helpfully supplies.
“Of course she does,” Janis mumbles, then glances down at her dashboard, “what’s with all the rubber ducks?”
“It’s a Jeep thing,” Gretchen shrugs as she pulls Regina’s hair off of her neck and into a messy bun.
Janis glances up at the Polaroid photo of Regina, Gretchen, and Karen pinned to Regina’s sunshade and tries not to feel the hot swirl of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. In another lifetime, that would have been her and Regina.
As they pull up outside of Regina’s mansion of a home, Regina seems to be getting sick again and Gretchen is quick to climb out and open her door before she throws up all over the driveway, holding her up with a grimace, “Oh god…”
“The drive must have made her sick,” Cady says, covering her mouth and looking green as Gretchen uses the end of her dress to wipe Regina’s mouth.
Janis steps up and maneuvers around the puddle of vomit, reaching up for the blonde “Alright, let’s get her inside before she does it again. Someone hold up her dress.”
“I got it,” Karen says and grabs the silky material, holding it as the other three help Regina out of her seat and past the mess on the drive, holding her up between them.
Together, they manage to get her inside and up to her room, laying her on her side on the bed with a pink trash bin close by, each of them breathing heavily as they watch her curl herself into a ball as much as she can, whimpering softly as she holds her knees.
Regina’s room is full of flowers, most of them either dead or on their way to dead. There are stacks of get well cards, deflated balloons, and an entire corner devoted to baskets. Her room has lost the sweet vanilla smell of a teenage girl and instead smells like a funeral home, and it’s starting to make Janis’ nose itch. “Jesus Christ, how does she stand it in here?”
Gretchen and Cady also look concerned, looking around at all of the decaying and abandoned gifts left to rot in Regina’s room, “This isn’t like her…” Gretchen says, “She’d never have all this stuff lying around.”
“Unless she can’t pick it up,” Cady says helpfully. “Maybe we should help her?”
Janis, who is busy checking Regina’s pupils and breathing, stands up, “Okay, but then I need to g-“
She feels a hand grab onto her sleeve and looks down, blinking as she meets the drowsy eyes of the blonde on the mattress, “Don’t go.”
Janis glances up at the others who look just as shocked as she is, then back down at Regina. “Don’t go?”
“Don’t go,” Regina repeats, grabbing her wrist now, “stay with me.”
Janis sits back at her side and Regina’s grip loosens, her hand sliding into Janis’ palm instead and her sleepy blue eyes closing again.
Gretchen watches them the entire time with a small frown on her face, but then snaps out of it with a smile at Cady and Karen, “Let’s go get the trash bags.” The three girls file out of the room, still in their dresses, leaving Janis and Regina alone in her bedroom.
Regina groans again and her brow furrows, “I feel like shit.”
“I can imagine why,” Janis sighs. “You can’t drink on those pills you’re taking.”
“Ugh,” Regina squints up at her. “Is my mom here?”
“No,” Janis sighs, “We haven’t been able to reach her.”
“Good,” Regina closes her eyes again as she relaxes, “Good…I just can’t deal with her right now.”
Janis understands. She knows that the former Mrs. George can be a bit…overbearing when it comes to her eldest daughter. Not in the worried way that mothers should be, but in a way that insisted upon keeping up appearances. She’d want to know everything that happened at the dance, why Regina didn’t win Spring Fling Queen, and why she’d embarrassed herself in front of everyone by getting drunk and having to be carried out.
“Are you okay?” Janis asks, “Are you in pain?”
“Fuck yeah, everything hurts,” Regina answers, “all the fucking time. Sometimes it hurts so bad I think I can’t take it anymore and I wish I had just stayed…” she trails off and Janis knows what she means. It’s sad to hear that from a seventeen year old girl. “The doctors say I’m probably gonna live with it for the rest of my life.”
“Shit…” Janis says. “I’m sorry, that’s-that’s not fair.”
Regina sighs deeply, “Isn’t it?”
Before Janis can answer, the others walk back in carrying trash bags and wearing gloves. They all kick off their heels by the door and then take a look around.
Gretchen kneels beside Regina’s bedside and gently rubs at her arm, “We’re gonna clean up for you, Gina. Is there anything you wanna keep?”
“Just throw it all away, recycle, donate, whatever…I don’t want any of it,” Regina answers, pulling her arm away from Gretchen’s touch. The other girl notices she’s still holding Janis’ hand though.
“Alright,” Gretchen nods, trying not to let it get to her, “You just rest. We’ll take care of it. Janis, I forgot to bring you some gloves, I’m sorry.” She grimaces but she doesn’t exactly look very sorry.
Janis shrugs and begins to stand, but she’s pulled back down by Regina. Gretchen’s eyes follow the entire movement.
“Regina, I’ll be right here, but I want to-,” Janis tells her.
“No, don’t leave,” Regina whines and Janis is taken back to their middle school days when Regina would get sick and whiny and would complain until Janis skipped school with her so they could watch Project Runway marathons and eat rainbow sherbet for breakfast and lunch.
“Fine, we’ll do it. It’s okay,” Gretchen says in her fake cheery voice. “Just make sure she doesn’t choke on her own vomit, okay?”
Janis genuinely feels bad for her. It’s clear that she feels some type of way about Regina. And it’s clear that those feelings are not reciprocated. Janis understands Gretchen more than she thought she ever would, remembers being in the very same shoes when she was younger. She remembers how desperately she would do anything for the other girl’s attention and affection…for just a crumb of her approval.
And then it backfired.
As Gretchen, Karen, and Cady slowly clean the rotting flowers, gifts, baskets, opened and unopened candy, plushies, deflated balloons, and cards from Regina’s room, Janis sits at her bedside and holds her hand. She seems content enough to slip into a light sleep, her breathing evening out and slowing down in a way that has Janis less concerned than before. Everyone is trying their best to work quietly, separating things that can be recycled and donated into different bags. Gretchen opens Regina’s windows to air out the smell of the flowers and Cady lights a few of Regina’s favorite palo santo scented candles. Soon, the room smells and feels warm, clean, and homely.
“There,” Gretchen says, satisfied after returning from taking the recycle out to the road, “Now this feels like Regina.”
Janis looks around her room and she can’t help but disagree. While the room is certainly clean and smells nice and screams rich and popular teenage girl , the room does not feel like the Regina George she knows. Where are her Wicked and West Side Story posters? Where is her bookshelf and beloved, dorky Twilight series in hardback? Where is her collection of old CDs and her Hello Kitty CD boombox? Where is her collection of food-themed Squishmallows precariously shoved into a net hammock hanging in the corner of her room? Where is her nail-polish decorated starlight projector? Where are the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling?
Though those things are gone, Janis supposes she can’t blame the girl for growing up and enjoying other things too, but it does make her sad that Regina’s room looks more like something out of a catalogue or a television show than somewhere she’d call home.
Gretchen is the first to walk over and sit at Regina’s side, combing her fingers back through blonde hair as much as she can in Regina’s bun. “I can stay with her tonight if you wanna go home,” she offers to Janis, but unable to look at her. “I know you never signed up for any of this and you practically hate her so-“
“I don’t.” Janis says firmly. “I don’t hate her.”
Gretchen looks up at her with a disbelieving look, and then looks around at Cady and Karen.
“She’s been holding her hand for like an hour,” Karen helpfully supplies.
Cady shrugs and gestures to the two of them, “I don’t think she’d be here if she hated Regina.”
Gretchen frowns down at her best friend again and then at Janis, “Sorry, but…I can’t just forget why she’s like this in the first place. Maybe-maybe she was awful to you too but what you-“
“Oh my god, just stop,” Regina groans from the mattress below, “ Stop, Gretchen, okay? She didn’t push me in front of that bus, I-“
“I didn’t say-“
“Ugh, seriously? I don’t need you to make excuses for me,” Regina mumbles, eyes still closed and hand still clasped around Janis’ palm, “Just stop talking about it.”
Gretchen is quiet, jaw clenched as tears well in her eyes. Janis can’t help but feel bad for her.
“Just go home, okay?” Regina’s voice is softer, almost apologetic. “I’m fine.”
“But-“ Gretchen starts, but Regina huffs.
“Gretchen, go home.” And then quieter, “I’ll call you in the morning.”
Gretchen stands up and straightens her dress, looking around at the others, “Cady, do you need a ride?”
“Oh, yeah, I mean if you don’t mind?”
“Janis,” Gretchen asks, somewhat reluctantly, “do you need a ride?”
“Uh…sure, thanks.”
“No,” Regina protests, “you’re staying.”
Janis blinks down at Regina in surprise, as does everyone else.
Regina remains relaxed with her eyes closed and her hand clasped around Janis’ as if she didn’t say anything at all.
“Regina,“ Gretchen begins, “That’s Janis Im-“
“I know who she is,” Regina peeks one brilliant blue eye open to look up at Janis, then closes it again, “And I said what I said. You’re staying. If you want…”
“Uhhh…” Janis is at a loss for words, and slightly embarrassed. She doesn’t know how to deal with being the chosen one out of Regina’s friends again, just like she didn’t know how to deal with it back then. “Sure.”
“Awww,” Cady is smiling at them genuinely, happy to see her friends bonding…or whatever, “have a good night you two. Take care of our girl, Janis!” She grabs Gretchen’s hand and pulls her out of the room before she can protest anymore, closing the door behind them and leaving Janis alone with her ex-best friend and nemesis.
Regina makes a soft noise in the back of her throat and then opens her eyes, “Are they gone?”
“I mean they’re probably downstairs,” Janis answers, pulling her hand away from the other girl’s grasp as she unsteadily sits up in bed and tugs down on her neck brace.
“Can’t wait to get this fucking thing off,” Regina sighs and then blinks slowly as she looks around at her newly cleaned room, “Well now I feel like a bitch.”
“They did a good job,” Janis neither agrees nor disagrees.
“I’ll pay them back,” Regina decides, standing and then freezing suddenly with an aborted little noise and a hand on her lower back. Janis stands to offer her help but then Regina is on the move, slowly but surely, shuffling toward her dresser with her spine curved more like an old woman than a seventeen year old girl. She stops at her wall for a breath, and then finishes the journey with a huff of frustration. “Time is it?”
“Uh…” Janis checks her phone, “11:20.”
“Shit,” Regina breathes, white-knuckling the edge of her dresser, “I still have forty fucking minutes.”
“Until?” Janis asks, cautiously walking over to her
“Until I can knock myself out with pain meds,” Regina answers, “This is the worst, when they’ve worn off but I still have to wait. Usually, it’s only about 20 minutes though…”
“Maybe because you threw up the other ones-“
“That was pretty stupid, huh?” Regina smiles over at her, but it’s a tight, painful thing. Still beautiful, though. She’s still so beautiful, like a butterfly with a broken wing.
“We all do stupid things sometimes, Reg. We’re young.” Janis’ voice is almost a whisper, their eyes holding each other for a while, and it’s clear they’re not just talking about the meds and spiked punch.
Regina’s eyes drop to Janis’ mouth, lingering there, “I regret it…”
“I bet you do,” Janis says as she finds herself leaning in, her eyes counting the freckles on Regina’s cheeks.
Regina leans in too and then…
bump.
She can’t fucking reach.
The little collision of Janis’ chest against her neck brace seems to bring Janis back to reality and she steps back awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that was.”
Her brow is furrowed and she looks confused and worried that she overstepped or that Regina might berate her again and Regina wishes she could tell her no no please come back, Janis, come back and kiss me but there’s fire crawling up her neck from the bump and…
and she’s not a lesbian, remember?
Regina is…she’s…
“Shit, Reg, don’t cry,” Janis is really worried now, panicked hands searching for anything, any way to help. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t know you…”
“It’s not because of the-“ she can’t say kiss, “my neck just really fucking hurts,” Regina sniffles, “and I want out of this stupid dress.”
“Oh,” Janis pauses, “Okay. Uhm…how do you wanna do that?”
“There’s a zipper in the back,” Regina turns her back to her, “Just take it off.”
“You’re okay with that? I mean since I’m…” Janis trails off.
“Holy shit, I don’t actually care that you’re gay,” Regina huffs, “And you’ve seen me naked. We used to go skinny dipping in my pool.”
“We were like six,” Janis mutters and unzips Regina’s dress for her, trying her best to avert her eyes from the skin revealed by the fabric as the other girl steps out of it and turns around.
Regina can’t help but laugh through her tears, watching Janis respectfully look everywhere but at her. It’s cute. Funny that Janis is attracted to women but Regina doesn’t feel threatened or objectified like she would undressing in front of a boy. Janis knows Regina is in pain, Janis knows that this isn’t a sexual moment, and Regina knows she won’t look unless she’s given permission. It makes her relax significantly.
“Will you toss over a t-shirt and a pair of shorts?” Regina asks, “Feel free to grab something for yourself too.”
“We haven’t shared clothes since-“
“I know, but you’re not getting in my bed wearing that so it’s either my clothes or your underwear so…”
Janis scoffs, “Who says I want to sleep in your bed?”
“Shut up, you’re not sleeping on the floor, don’t be a martyr.” Regina rolls her eyes, arms still crossed over her breasts.
Janis throws her hands up in defeat, eyes still averted, and then turns around to Regina’s dresser, digging out two oversized t-shirts and two pairs of soft shorts. She blindly throws an outfit to Regina who completely misses catching them.
“You realize you’re going to have to help me get dressed, right?” Regina asks and Janis feels herself flush all the way down to her toes.
“Uhh yeah, if you want,” Janis turns around, hiding her eyes.
“Oh my god seriously, just look at me. It’s fine.” Regina laughs, “You’re fine. Just help me get dressed.”
Janis peeks through her fingers and then removes the hand from her eyes, taking in all of Regina at once. And what did she expect? She’s gorgeous. She’s hot. She’s curvy and pretty and beautiful and exactly what Janis has always wanted. There’s a reason all the boys in their school are obsessed with her. There’s a reason all the girls seem to want to be her.
“Yeah?” Regina seems amused, standing before her proudly.
“Wow,” Janis breathes, taking her in for a moment, then steps forward with a t-shirt, “Arms up.”
“Are you sure you can reach?” Regina quips with a smirk and Janis gives her frown. But…she is right. And Janis can’t exactly ask her to lean down either.
“Shit,” Janis huffs, swallowing her pride and dragging over a chair to stand on. That makes Regina laugh out loud, leaning against Janis’ chest as she does. “Shut up,” Janis mutters, “and put your arms up.”
Regina does as she’s told and Janis slides the fabric over her body, carefully stretching the neck over her brace and covering her skin in soft cotton. She also unclasps the necklace from around her brace and drapes it over the necklace mannequin on her dresser before dropping to her knees before Regina to help her into her shorts.
Regina steadies herself on Janis’ shoulders, wincing and holding her breath as she steps into the fabric, “Who would have thought I’d end the night with Janis Imi’ike on her knees for me?”
Janis glares up at her, pausing with Regina’s shorts halfway on, “I mean I can leave…”
“No,” Regina’s smile fades, “I was just- it was a joke.”
“Well, after this year, and everything else, I don’t think really think it was funny,” Janis continues helping her step into her shorts and pulls them up around her waist.
“Sorry,” Regina mutters and tugs at a strand of her blonde hair that’s come loose of her bun.
Janis meets her eyes as she stands up. Regina looks…sincere. Her eyes are clear blue and even a bit watery, brows furrowed as she searches Janis’ face.
“I’m sorry,” she says again, “for everything. I don’t even know where to start because it’s all shit. But I’m mostly sorry for what I did at my birthday party in 8th grade and what happened after…all that shit I said at school. The way I made everyone think you were obsessed with me, and then made everyone think you were crazy. It was stupid but…but it hurt you. You were my best friend and I hurt you.”
Janis is stunned, floored by Regina’s words and the fact that she’s actually saying them right now. She never actually thought she’d get an apology from the other girl.
“And I’m sorry for how I treated you until now…like you were gross or something for being who you are. I could say a thousand things about why I did it all but it’s not about me and I don’t have an excuse for it.” Regina chews at her thumbnail, “I was a bitch. But I’m working on it, okay?”
“Okay,” Janis says softly, because that’s all she can say, “Okay.”
“Okay,” Regina agrees, “Wanna see something?”
“Uhh…” Janis doesn’t have the chance to answer before Regina is inching her way into her closet, rummaging around, and then walking back out with a tiny music box. She pulls Janis over to her bed and together, they sit while Regina opens it and reveals…
The button.
The tiny rainbow button that Janis had given her in 6th grade when she came out to her best friend and Regina had enthusiastically expressed her support.
Regina cradles the button in her palm and holds it out to Janis with a soft flush over her cheeks, “I didn’t…I mean the doll was crispy so mom made me throw it away but this survived. I was never able to get rid of it.”
Janis finds herself getting choked up when she stares at the button with its slightly burned and bubbled edges, “Regina…”
“I think maybe part of me…wanted you to be obsessed with me…or at least like me.” Regina confesses, turning the button over and over in her palm, “Again, it’s not an excuse.”
For a while, the only sound in the room in the gentle chime of the music box as the tiny ballerina twirls around in front of her mirror.
“It’s the same with Gretchen…and Cady,” Regina softly realizes, “But I’m not…it’s not like I’m-“
“Gay?” Janis supplies, trying to help, “It’s okay if you are, you know.”
“I can’t be,” Regina frowns, “I mean, right? I sleep with boys, I date boys, I like…boys. I’ve never kissed a girl, I mean, except for you but that doesn’t count because I was being a bitch and I only did it to impress Kyle.” She grimaces, putting the rainbow button safely back in the music box. “What a creep…”
Janis sighs, “You might want to look this stuff up. I’m not-“
“But I trust you, ” Regina begs.
Janis blinks at her, flushing again, “Regina…”
“Seriously Janis, I’m fucked up about all this,” Regina sighs again, setting the music box to the side again. She then tugs at her neck brace and winces again, trying not to show the pain on her face, trying to be strong.
Janis searches her face, then lets out a breath, “Fine, okay so…when you look at a beautiful woman, how do you feel?”
Regina pauses to think, dangling her legs over the edge and staring at her navy blue painted toenails, “Uhm…” She then looks over at Janis, eyes roving over her hair and her face, holding her eyes, traveling down the slope of her nose, lingering on her lips, then dipping to her neck where it disappears in her shirt. “Warm.”
“Good,” Janis says in a weak voice, “what else?”
Regina blushes and immediately seems to close off, “I don’t know.”
“Reg-“
“I want their attention,” Regina admits, “I want to make them notice me…no matter what.”
“And if they don’t?” Janis asks.
“I’ll make them,” Regina says, “I’ll make it so they can’t stop thinking about me.”
“And guys?” Janis asks, “Hot guys?” She grimaces.
Regina pauses for a little longer, “It used to be like that with them too. I used to crave their attention too. I used to want them to want me like that.”
“And now?”
Regina picks at a loose thread on her pink throw, “Now I can’t find a guy who doesn’t give me the ick,” she explains, “They all give me the ick, everything about them. I just want them to leave me alone, I guess.”
Janis chews at her bottom lip, “Reg…”
“But it’s like I can’t stop myself from sleeping with them. I want to be touched. I want that closeness. I want to be wanted. By anyone.”
“Have you ever heard of compulsive heterosexuality?” Janis asks, then at Regina’s blank look, she explains, “It’s when you…act a certain way because you think that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s what you’re supposed to want. You sleep with men because you think you’re supposed to want to.”
Regina frowns, “But I don’t…I’m not a lesbian, Janis.”
“Okay, so you’re not a lesbian.” Janis shrugs, “You don’t have to be. You can be anything. Bisexual. Pansexual. Questioning. Queer. Or you don’t even have to use a label…”
Regina rubs at her eyes, “This is a lot. Especially because I don’t know if I even like women…”
Janis raises a brow, “You don’t?”
“Ugh…no, I mean, I don’t know ,” Regina whines, “How did you know?”
Janis blushes pink and averts her eyes, thinking back to when she first realized she liked girls. Blonde hair, freckles, bright blue eyes, playing mermaids in the pool at 11 under the bright light of the full moon. “ Uhm, it was just a feeling. Kristin Stewart in The Runaways . ” She lies.
“Oh,” Regina frowns, “Okay.” She then lays herself out on the mattress and stares at the ceiling, “Do you know what’ll happen to me if I come out as a lesbian after making fun of you for it all these years?”
“Screw them,” Janis says firmly, standing up to undress herself so that she can put on something more comfortable. “If they make fun of you for that, it just proves how shitty they were all along.”
Regina shifts onto her side to watch Janis, her breath hitching slightly when Janis’ suit jacket falls from her shoulders and onto the floor.
Janis blushes and makes an attempt to hide herself, though she’s wearing a sports bra.
“When I see a beautiful woman,” Regina says quietly, “I feel…like heat is consuming me. Like I’ll never be cold again. My lips feel numb and my brain goes foggy. I start picturing what it would be like feel her breath against my skin…and to have my hands on every curve of her body.”
Janis feels goosebumps rise across her skin at the sound of Regina’s low voice.
“I want, ” Regina admits, “I want them. Not just in my bed but in my life too. I want to know things about them. I want to hear their stories and their laughs and I want to learn about what they want for their future. I want to be in their presence and soak in their energy.”
“Oh wow,” Janis breathes, “that’s the gayest shit I’ve ever heard.” A smile grows on her face, and then Regina’s, and then they’re laughing.
They laugh as Janis undresses and then redresses herself and plops into bed beside the blonde, face-to-face with her on her ridiculously soft, expensive pillows.
Regina sighs softly after she’s done giggling, bunching up her pillow to properly cradle her head, “I can’t believe I ever gave this up.”
Janis searches her eyes and then reaches forward to tuck a strand of blonde out of her face, “I missed you.” She admits, her heart aching with it.
“I missed you too,” Regina nearly whispers. “When you said…I hated you earlier, I don’t. I don’t hate you. I tried to say that but I couldn’t because of the pills and the alcohol but I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t hate you either,” Janis smiles. “You were a bitch to me, but I never hated you.”
Regina slides her hand closer to Janis’ and she takes it, gently squeezing as they just look at one another. Remembering .
Just then, Janis’ alarm goes off and she pulls out her phone to check the time. “It’s time for you to take your meds.”
Regina closes her eyes in relief, “ Finally. They’re uhm…in my bathroom cabinet, behind the mirror. One of each.”
Janis crawls out of Regina’s crazy soft bed and pads into her bathroom, flipping on the light to reveal a bathroom that’s been left a disaster from the efforts of three teenage girls getting ready for Spring Fling. There’s makeup, hair tools, clothing, and even underwear thrown all over the place. Janis steps around everything to get to Regina’s cabinet, opening the mirror to reveal her stash of medications. She has so many in there that it’s hard for Janis to decipher which ones Regina needs to take right now, so she carefully reads each label for which have been most recently prescribed to her and which ones have been directed to take every six hours or before bedtime. Janis settles on three and places them carefully into her palm before grabbing Regina’s makeup removing wipes as well and padding back into her room. From her mini fridge, Janis takes out a bottled water and heads back over to Regina’s side, offering her the pills and water. Regina takes them quickly, and then downs half of the water bottle as Janis pulls two wipes from the pack.
“Here, just…relax,” Janis says softly as Regina settles back against her pillows. Janis begins gently removing the makeup from Regina’s face with the makeup wipes, being sure to get every streak of mascara and every beautiful crease where foundation can hide, revealing her freckles one by one and brushing away every stray sparkle. She’s so focused on her task that she doesn’t notice Regina staring back at her, blinking slowly with those striking blue eyes. “Oh here,” Janis says, carefully lifting a stray eyelash from Regina’s cheek to hold it on the tip of her finger in front of her lips, “make a wish.”
Regina goes slightly cross-eyed as she looks at the tiny thing, thinks for a moment, smiles, and then blows it away.
She then watches as Janis removes her own makeup and tosses the used wipes in the tiny pink garbage can beside the bed.
Janis curls up beside Regina once more and stares at her bare face, thinking that somehow she’s even more beautiful now. Regina George is an anomaly. Always has been.
“Wanna know what I wished for?” Regina whispers between them.
“If you tell me, it won’t come true,” Janis warns her, sliding her hand back into the blonde’s on the pillow between them.
“I’m hoping it does anyway,” Regina argues, gently squeezing.
“Okay then,” Janis smiles, “tell me.”
“I wished that you’d kiss me again,” Regina admits in a softer whisper than before.
Janis looks for the joke. She looks for the mean spirited teasing, the homophobic prank, anything, but she doesn’t see it. She doesn’t see anything but sincerity in her eyes. Curiosity. Longing.
This time it’s just the two of them. This time there’s no one to impress, no one to laugh at her for believing it, for liking the feeling of Regina’s lips pressed against hers. There’s no one here but Regina and Janis.
So who can blame her?
She kisses her.
Janis Imi’ike leans in, cautiously maneuvering around her neck brace, and she presses her lips against Regina George’s lips for the second time in her life.
The angle is awkward and Regina freezes for a moment, but then the two of them melt into each other and it’s as if they’ve been doing this for years. Time slows to a stop and speeds up all at once. Regina’s hands are all over and Janis can’t get enough of her hair, pulling it from its bun and tangling it between her fingers. They push and pull and sigh and the room raises a whole five degrees by the time Janis pulls away.
“Oh my god …” Janis breathes.
“ Yeah,” Regina giggles, “I felt it too.”
Janis flushes pink and laughs, resting her forehead on the front on Regina’s brace, groaning, “You taste like vomit and that was still the best kiss I’ve ever had.”
Regina actually snorts and it’s a sound Janis hasn’t heard since middle school. It makes her smile harder.
“Wait,” Janis pauses, lifting her head to look at Regina, “what about Shane?”
Regina tries to shrug, “I doubt he’d even see this as cheating. He’d probably be turned on.”
“Gross,” Janis frowns.
“What about your girl though?” Regina asks softly.
Janis shifts uncomfortably, “I need…there’s probably a lot I need to think about. I need to talk to her too, before this goes anywhere else.”
Regina nods.
“It’s up to you if you want me to use your name…” Janis tells her.
Regina thinks about it and then smiles, “Go for it.”
Janis meets her eyes, searching them, “We have a lot to talk about Reg.”
“I know,” Regina whispers, and then yawns.
Janis watches her with a small smile on her lips, going back to holding her hand, “Get some sleep, we’ll worry about it all tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Regina repeats, then settles in, watching Janis’ face until her eyes grow heavy and then settle closed.
Janis watches her faces as she sleeps until her eyes grow heavy as well, and then everything goes dark.
So Regina George may or may not be a lesbian…
But she does like Janis Imi’ike.
So that’s something.