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Ava was nervous her first day of school she had just moved to Star City over the summer with her parents from Fresno, California and didn’t know anyone. She took a deep breath standing in front of the large high school filling with students all around her. She was ready for this she could do this, the only concern she had was if people here were like people back home. She was almost a thousand miles away from Fresno and she knew sometimes new places and new people could be so different than others. It’s not like she was popular by any means as a matter of fact she wasn’t at all. She was invisible to say the least. But “this was an opportunity” her father’s voice in her mind said. She had the chance to start over and maybe not be invisible. Ava started to walk towards the school reminding herself with every step it would be okay. It’s High School and time for her to follow that four-year plan she had mapped out in her bedroom just a few nights ago. She had a million thoughts running through her mind, would she be the smartest person in her grade something she was already quite used too. Would she be the tallest girl yet again something she was already used too, and it didn’t help she had grown a little more over the summer. Would she be made fun of because well honestly, she didn’t know anyone, and she was trying to be cool but inside she was freaking out. She stopped again and took a deep breath; “you got this Sharpe! You can do this!” She thought to herself and then started walking again. As Ava entered the building she remembered quite quickly where to head towards her homeroom class. Her father and her had come just a few days earlier to enroll her she was able to walk around with him and look for her classes, so she wasn’t completely lost that first day. She was glad that the lady in the office gave them that opportunity because now filled with students she felt like had she not known she possibly would have been very overwhelmed. She made it to her homeroom class and sat in the first available seat she saw right up front. She didn’t mind being up front she rather enjoyed it, she could maintain eye contact with the teachers and focus on the lesson this way. Step 1 on her four-year plan was become valedictorian, that meant naturally she would need straight A’s. A loud group of students started to walk in, and Ava looked up to see them. A tall young man with dark hair with a huge smile on his face came in with a shorter scrawnier looking young man with impeccable hair. She could overhear their conversation about football the shorter one trying to convince the taller one about something. “Come on Ray?” Nate said “Nate, I said I can’t.” Ray answered, “Mom said she didn’t want me to play contact sports and she is too worried something will happen to my amazing brain if I play football.” The two young men were followed in by a short young blonde woman who Ava noticed almost immediately had the bluest eyes she had ever seen. “Ray you should tell your mom to just put you in a bubble.” Sara laughed as she followed, Nate joined her in laughing as they took seats right behind Ava and continued their conversation. “Seriously football isn’t that bad. Maybe you could make a power point presentation and show her the pros and cons.”“Sara that Genius!” Nate said looking over at Ray “I mean I could help you put it together and we could even find the stats and likelihood of concussion versus not. Stuff like that.”Ray just shook his head and couldn’t believe Nate wouldn’t let this go. But Sara wasn’t helping by pushing the situation. They had been friends since they were in Elementary school and still Nate after years of trying to get Ray to play some sport, he still didn’t realize that his mother wasn’t going to budge on the subject. “Ray don’t look now but Nora just walked in.” Sara whispered but Ava heard her and looked up towards the door.Ray looked up as a dark-haired young lady appeared and he got a huge grin when he saw her walk in. She was shorter but not as short as Sara and she had a darkness about her. She looked around the room and saw Ray with his grinning face and half smirked and saw Ava sitting quietly in the front row. Ava looked up and glanced at her and smiled a shy smile. Nora made her way over to the seat next to Ava and thought about sitting down but before she did, she looked at the trio behind Ava. “I’m going to sit here, don’t make me regret it.” She pointed at all three of them and had a devious look on her face like she knew they were always up to no good. Nora then looked at Ray quickly and half smiled at him before taking her seat. Ray’s smile just got bigger, and he sunk down into his chair behind Ava and Nate reached over hitting him in the shoulder and laughing causing Ray to shoot him a look of annoyance. Sara and Nate both knew how much Ray had been crushing on Nora since the seventh grade and he always looked like an idiot when she walked into a room. Ava could feel Nora’s eyes on her trying to figure her out. She felt like Nora was trying to size her up or figure her out without words. So, she just stayed focused with her eyes up front waiting on the teacher to show up and start the class. This was already weird she doesn’t know anyone and now this girl sitting next to her was just staring at her and she wasn’t sure exactly why. Ava was so lost in her thoughts she almost jumped out of her seat when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around towards a grinning Ray behind her. “Don’t let Nora scare you.” He looks over at Nora who is still focused on Ava. “She doesn’t bite she just wants everyone to think she does.” He finishes “I’m not trying to scare her.” Nora says she looks Ava over again. “You must be new I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before?” She addresses Ava, and puts her hand out to introduce herself “I’m Nora…Nora Darhk and you are?” Ava clears her throat to answer and takes Nora’s hand to shake it. “Ava…. Ava Sharpe, it’s nice to meet you.” Ava says shyly “And yes I am new here, we just moved here over the summer from Fresno.” “Well, that explains why I couldn’t figure out who you were.” Nora chuckles at herself. “Watch out for these three and their shenanigans.” Nora points towards Ray, Nate, and Sara. All three look around shocked as if they weren’t expecting her to call them out like that. “Hey, don’t tell her that, makes us sound like jerks.” Nate says and he holds his hand out to Ava. “Hi I’m Nate Heywood nice you Ava.”“Ray Palmer.” Ray holds out his hand to Ava and then looks back to Sara who was just watching everything in front of her unfold out of amusement. “Sara Lance.” Sara leans from behind Nate and puts her hand out for Ava. “And you should be worried the legends are a crazy bunch.” She smiles and leans back once Ava has shaken her hand. “Legends?” Ava asks.“That’s what they call themselves.” Nora laughs “Some nickname for their little group.” Nora looks around and see’s its only those three in the class “There are more of them, but I don’t think they are in our homeroom.” She looks at Ray for an answer. “Oh yeah, Mick is over in Coach Hunter’s class with Zari, Charlie, and Amaya. And Wally and Jax are in Mr. Bennett’s homeroom.”“Why do you call yourself the Legends?” Ava asks because she really wanted to know why a group of what she now knows is 9 people strong or maybe 10 because she wasn’t sure is Nora was a legend or not? But what kind of name is legend. “Oh, that’s easy.” Nate proudly explains “the definition is a person or thing that inspires and when we were in the seventh grade Sara inspired the principal to give us all detention for organizing a walkout over a rule that the school board changed.” “Well, they basically said bullying was okay.” Sara added. “And it pissed me off.”“Anyways,” Nate continued. “We did this huge walkout and word got to the principal who organized it and we all got detention, but even the older kids in High School were impressed and told us it was legendary, so we started to call ourselves the legends from that point on.” Ava was taking all this information in and was really shocked to hear about it. Was this school one where student fought for their rights and were willing to get detention and basically said “Fuck You” to the adults because if so, she could get on board with that. She knew too many kids in the past who were bullied and treated like crap in her years. Hell, the few friends she did have were all bullied at some point including herself. “That’s really cool.” Ava said still on the quiet side she turned back around as the teacher entered the room and started to talk about expectation for the school year. Ava’s first class was P.E. and she was actually kind of happy to go ahead and get that out of the way early in the day. She headed to English second and found herself again with Sara and Ray in her class, but they were on the opposite side of the room. Her next class was Math third period and there again was Sara and this time someone was with her she didn’t know so maybe one of the other legends as they sat together quietly talking. The young woman was shoving a donut in her mouth while Sara spoke to her, and she was laughing. She had dark hair and dark complexion, but she looked very invested in the donut she was eating which made Ava laugh inside. By fourth period which was Science Ava was beginning to think that Sara was in all her classes and maybe she had just missed her in P.E.? This time Ava was already in her class when Sara walked in and looked around the room not seeing anyone, she knew she walked over to Ava and sat down by her. “Hi, Ava.” Sara smiled “How’s your first day going?”“Good.” Ava said shyly. Sara watched her to see if she was going to say anything else.“Not a big talker, are you?” Sara asks Ava turns to her not sure what to say.“Well, nothing much has happened honestly.” Ava turns back to the front of the class to make sure the teacher isn’t in there yet and then back to Sara. “I’ve noticed your in all my core classes though.”“Yeah, I noticed that too. Zari was in last period though and she is having a meltdown, so I was talking her through it.” Sara chuckles. “Is she okay?” “Oh yeah she’s fine, well now that she has had a donut or four, she just saw her crush kissing someone else and she got a little upset.” Sara says waving her hand to imply it was really nothing. “Oh, well I’m glad she is ok.” Ava added and turned back to the front of the class as the teacher walked in. Lunch was next and she was hungry and couldn’t wait for this class to be over. She was too nervous to eat this morning and she was feeling it now. “What are your classes after Lunch?” Sara asked because now she was wondering maybe they have the rest of the day together as well. Ava looked down and grabbed a slip out of her bag and handed over to Sara and smiled. “Oh well we have Geography together next period and oh hey we have Spanish last period together. Wait were you in P.E. this morning I didn’t see you there?”“I was but I stayed in the back it’s the only class I really try to be invisible in.” Ava says.“Why?” “I’m not exactly sure guess I’m just nervous is all.” Ava whispered she could tell that the teacher was ready to take role. Sara handed her the slip of paper back and Ava tucked it back into her bag and they both focused on the class. Once the bell rung Ava was glad to be on her way to the cafeteria. Once she got there, she amazed by how big it was and how many people were there. She got in line to get a tray of food and by the time she was done was shocked to find the food actually smelled and looked quite good. Tacos with rice and salad with some ranch on the side and a fruit cup. She wasn’t at all upset about this as she could literally feel her mouthwatering. Okay don’t skip breakfast again. She thought to herself. Ava stood and looked around looking for a quiet table to sit at. At her old school she usually just sat by herself but she was trying to not go to her corner she didn’t want to be invisible so she looked around to see if she could notice anyone. When her eyes caught those blue eyes, she had seen all day, there was Sara Lance sitting with a bunch of people and she smiled at Ava and waved her over. So, Ava walked over towards the table, and everyone looked up at Ava as she approached. Ava knew she looked like a deer caught in headlights she froze thinking wait being invisible isn’t that bad this is awful. “Everyone this is Ava Sharpe.” Sara motioned for Ava to sit opposite her; Ava did with a shy smile on her face everyone still looking at her. “How is your first day going Ava?” She looked up to see Ray and that goofy smile and smiled back. “Really good Ray, thanks for asking.” She smiled and looked at her food and started to pour ranch on her salad. Everyone went back to their conversation. And Ava was able to work on getting some food in her system. She looked around and saw all the faces and noticed Nora sitting next to Ray and she started to wonder if they were a couple or what. She saw Zari and she looked better than she did earlier, so she at least thought well that’s good. And then she saw faces of people she didn’t recognize. Two faces she saw looked exactly the same but honestly couldn’t look more different at the same time. Both beautiful dark-skinned woman with kind eyes but one seemed to be much louder than the other. “That’s Charlie with her hair up, and that’s Amaya with her hair down.” Sara leaned over and whispered. And pointed everyone out. “That’s Jax in the jersey, Wally in the white shirt and Mick in the black shirt.” Sara sat back down and worked on her food again. “I may not remember everyone’s name.” Ava said almost embarrassed “No worries, you’ll learn them.” Sara’s smile beamed and Ava felt better knowing it wasn’t a big deal. Ava went to her next class and to her surprise there was Ray, she had known she would see Sara but was happy Ray was there too. Something about that dopey smile he always had on made her want to be friends with him. By the time they got to their last class Spanish it seemed to be a Legends reunion almost everyone was in the class except for Amaya and Charlie who were apparently both taking French instead of Spanish. So, Ava was surrounded by Legends, and as far as first days go, she was actually really happy. She had possibly not only made one friend but ten. So maybe Star City was going to be awesome after all and way better than Fresno. Ava made her way over to the pickup line where the parents were in their cars lined up waiting for the kids. She easily saw her dad in his SUV and made her way over. She threw her bag in the back seat and jumped in the passenger seat next to him. He was an older man and had a smile on his face, his hair grey but not balding. “How was your first day sweetie?” Randy asked as he watched her sink into the passenger seat“Actually, it was kind of awesome.” She smiled at him, and the smile reached her eyes. “That’s good right?” He asked.“Yes, very good.” She smiled and motioned towards the car in front of them moving and he looked up and nodded and started to drive forward. The first few weeks of Freshman year flew by, and Ava was finding her place amongst her new friends at school. She was shocked to find that Wally like her liked to run he convinced her to try out for the indoor track team and she made the team for long jump and high jump. She had never thought of herself as an athlete, but Wally had seen her running in the morning. Something she had started to do in Jr. High School back in Fresno that she realized was a good stress release for her, so she just maintained a regular schedule and made sure to go for runs daily during the week first thing in the morning when she woke up. Once Wally saw how she could keep pace he started running with her for a few days and convinced her to tryout. And he said she should totally go for the cross-country team once it starts but for now, she made the team, and she couldn’t believe it. Walking into the lunchroom and heading towards the usual table where all the legends sat Ava was just amazed at how well the year was going and it was only a few weeks in. “Did you guys here the news?” Wally asked as Ava sat down rolling her eyes. “What news?” Sara asked with her mouth half full of pizza. “Ava made the track team.” He yelled and everyone immediately started patting Ava on the shoulder and telling her good job which she just shyly sunk into her seat. “I knew she could do it. She made the long Jump and the high jump. Coach said she is going to be great once she learns some fundamentals.”“That’s awesome doesn’t shock me at all.” Sara says looking over at Ava who is just rolling her eyes. “I mean seriously your taller than most of us except Ray over there. So being in the long jump and high jump not shocking at all.” She snickered.“Well, I’m glad you think it’s funny because I’m nervous as hell.” Ava said towards Sara and then looks over at Wally. “I didn’t even tryout for the High Jump?” “Coach Hunter knows talent when he see’s it.” Wally shot her a knowing look. “Just trust him and let him teach you. You’re going to be great!” He said going back to his food.“And we will come to every meet and support both our legends.” Sara yelled and the whole table agreed and started chanting Wally and Ava’s names. Sara looked over at Ava who was shrinking down in her seat, and she gave her a smirk. Ava quickly found herself paired with Sara for a science project that was worth half their grade, so she was headed to her house for the first time. As Ava walked into, the neighborhood she looked around and saw quite a few kids out and about playing, her neighborhood barely had any kids outside if ever, it was a nice change of pace to see other kids some her age and quite a bit younger than herself. She made her way to the front door of the address Sara had given her and took notice of the police car in the driveway. She knocked and waited until the door flew open and a taller man opened the door with a smile on his face in his police uniform. “You must be Ava?” He asked and she nodded “Come on in I’m Quentin Lance, Sara’s dad.” He ushered in the door and quickly shut it behind her. She looked around the hallway and noticed to her right a living room with a large couch in the center of the room. And directly in front of her were some stairs which she heard footsteps running from above her and then down the stairs came Sara. “Hey sweetie, I am about to head out okay. I left money on the table for pizza just make sure you and Laurel agree and Ava if she is staying.” Quentin says as he heads to the foot of the stairs and gives Sara a kiss on the head. “Okay dad.” Sara says coming towards Ava and grabbing her hand. “Come on I have everything setup in my room. Bye Dad have a safe night.” Sara waves her father off and then drags Ava upstairs. As they enter Sara’s room Ava takes a quick look around and notices Sara has a pretty large room and a bathroom as well. She was impressed she really thought Sara would be kind of messy, but the room looks well kept and from what she can see mostly organized. Ava looked down and saw the book and items out for the project on the floor, so she sat down next to everything and went ahead and pulled her stuff out also. “So where do you want to start?” Ava said pulling her book out of her bag. “Well, I saw this really cool thing online about what more acidic Rain or Snow is. And since this is like a long-term thing, I figured we could do that and gather results from all kinds of stuff. Since it rains like all the time. We can take samples from the rain and then when the snow comes in November and December, we should have enough information to really get everything together.” Sara finished she had been so excited to tell Ava she found this online, and it seemed really neat. “That sounds really cool and it kind of makes things easier. We can both put some bottles out to catch rain and we can get some Ph strips so we can check the levels. We can even add if the Ph levels are different based on location. Like your house and my house. Just for little extra information.” Ava explains and then pulls out a notebook and starts to write a list and draw out a plan to make the outline for the project. After about an hour of them working on their project they had everything pretty much planned out. Ava was going to her father get the Ph strips so they could get everything started to start gathering data. Sara jumped up and threw herself onto her bed grabbing a pillow and then coming back down to the floor and laying on her stomach with the pillow under her next to Ava who was still sitting.“So, what’s Fresno like?” Sara asks and Ava looks up from her notebook.“Oh, well it’s not fancy or anything… its Fresno.” Ava snorts “Well, I have only been here or to Central City which is like an hour and half away. But I’ve never been anywhere else.” Sara looked down and played with her fingers. “Well, it’s really not that exciting honestly.” Ava says and puts her head back down and keeps writing in her notebook. “Do you miss your friends?” “Umm... not really.” Ava says without looking up, was she supposed to tell Sara she didn’t really have any. That she was a nobody that everyone just ignored her like she wasn’t there. “You don’t?” Sara rolls over onto her back and looks up at the ceiling. “I wouldn’t know what to do if I didn’t have the legends. I mean especially Nate and Ray, I’ve known them the longest. Since we were in the first grade. They are like brothers you know.” Sara looks over at Ava who still has her head down. “Hey, are you ok?” “Can I tell you something and you promise not to tell anyone else?” Ava reluctantly looked up to meet Sara’s eyes she needed to know Sara was being honest in her answer.“Of course.” Sara said concerned and shifted onto her side knowing Ava was serious and needed someone to listen to her. Once Ava could see the genuine look Sara had given, she decided it was okay to tell her the truth. “I… I didn’t really have any friends.” Ava whispered “I mean I was kind of invisible like people didn’t notice me. Literally people would walk into me in the hallways like they didn’t see me.” Ava lower lip quivered but she wasn’t going to cry she was determined not to cry. “So, when we moved here, I was scared it would be the same way you know, like people just wouldn’t see me. But then I met you, Ray, Nate, and Nora and all of the legends on the first day I was shocked and scared because honestly, I’m still a little scared. Like I’m afraid I’ll say something stupid or geeky because I know I’m kind of a nerd and that you guys won’t want to be friends with me anymore.” Ava just looks at Sara waiting on a response, but Sara is just looking at her with kind eyes and slight disbelief. Sara manages to get her thoughts back after Ava dropped this bomb on her. How could she think that if she said something nerdy that they wouldn’t be friends anymore? She found Ava to be interesting and super smart she wasn’t going to say it out loud to Ray, but she defiantly thought Ava was smarter than him. She moved into a sitting position and put a hand on one of Ava’s that was sitting on her notebook. “Ava, first off I think it’s awful you didn’t have any friends. Because since knowing you these past few weeks and stuff I think your awesome. Secondly, we would never not be friends with you for saying anything nerdy... I’d like to use Nate and Ray as examples here considering I have literally listened to them once fight over who the best Dr. Who was for over an hour, and then and even longer debate over which show was better the new one or the old one.” Sara laughs and squeezes Ava’s hand “So trust me when I say just be yourself, we all enjoy having you around, but I swear if I will stop being your friend if you get Nate and Ray started again on Dr. Who I was seriously traumatized by that conversation.” Sara started to laugh, and Ava relaxed a little and kept her eyes on Sara. “Your sure?” Ava asked quietly, Sara looks at Ava and pulls her hand away holding her hand up with her pinky out towards Ava. “Pinky Swear.” Sara says and Ava looks at her like she is insane, and she doesn’t understand it. “Oh my god do you not know what a pinky swear is?” Sara asks“No is that bad?” Ava looks down again, Sara immediate grabs her chin and pulls her head back up so they can look at each other in the eyes. “Okay put your hand out like mine.” Sara shows her and Ava mirrors her. “Okay then you wrap your pinky’s together like this. A pink swear is a promise and oath really. So, I promise to always be your friend no matter what.” Sara wraps her pinky around Ava’s and then pulls her towards her shocking Ava. “In Japan if you break a pinky promise you have to cut off your pinky, so I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain here too.” Ava’s breath catches and she gets a smile on her face and pulls back away from Sara. “Ok, I promise to be your best friend no matter what.” Ava smiles and pulls Sara towards her “I added best friend because well I guess that’s what you are.” Sara nods and agrees she tightens her pinky and moves their hands in an up down motion and let’s go.
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Ava had stayed busy for the first few months of school especially getting ready for indoor track season to start. Coach Hunter had worked with her steadily on long jump and high jump and she had quickly surpassed her own expectations in that regard and the first meet was coming up in just a week and her and Wally were pumped as were all the legends excited to see their friends compete. It was a few days before the meet when she got a phone call late one night. She was half asleep and just grabbed the phone answered.“Hello?” Ava’s voice was deep, and sleep worn and scratchy.“Ava?” Sara’s voice quietly sounded“Sara?” Ava started to open her eyes and looked at her phone to see it was nearly one in the morning. “Are you okay?” “Well not really, I just needed to talk to someone.” Sara’s voice didn’t sound like normal it was distant and Ava moved herself into a sitting position on her bed against her headboard. “What’s going on?” Ava asked a little more awake and alert now.“I just I had a nightmare, and Laurel and me we are fighting so I can’t go sleep with her right now because she would probably hit me in the face or something.” “Okay.” Ava rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. “Well do you want to talk about it?” “Well, I mean you know my dad is a cop, right?” Sara asked“Mmhmm.” “Well sometimes he does these overnight busts and its kind of scary you know and for some reason I tend to have these nightmares about him getting shot and I’m there with him, but I can’t stop the bleeding and well that’s kind of what the dreams are.” Sara sounded scared to Ava she hadn’t heard that voice before. And Sara didn’t seem like someone that scared too easily to her. “Is he out on a raid tonight?” Ava asked“Well, no he isn’t tonight but he has one coming up next week and whenever I find out I always start to have the dreams again. And well sometimes I have panic attacks.” Sara whispers “Sara that’s awful.” Ava isn’t exactly sure what she should do or say but she wants to reassure Sara that she is there. “Listen you can call me anytime okay. Remember pinky swear.” Ava waited to hear Sara say something seriously getting worried about her new friend. “Ok.” Sara’s voice seemed so far away and it worried Ava so much. “Sara, do you need me to come over? I could sneak out and run over there it would only take me like ten maybe fifteen minutes.” Ava throws her blanket off ready to go.“No of course not it’s the middle of the night Ava.” Sara’s voice is stronger now almost like she had been brought out of her deep thoughts. “Just… is okay if we talk for a little bit until I can fall asleep again?” “Of course, what do you want to talk about?” Ava asked and grabbed her covers and pulled them back up slowly moving back into the laying position. She could hear Sara moving around on the other side of the phone too and she could only hope she was doing the same. “How was practice?” Sara asked quietly. “Well Coach Hunter almost shit his pants today when I jumped 17 feet cleanly. To be fair I almost did too.” Ava laughed and Sara sat up straight in her bed out of excitement. “Jesus Ava that’s amazing!” Sara couldn’t hide her excitement “That’s seriously I looked up some stuff on long jumping because wanted to understand like what I was going to see this weekend when I went to the meet. And 17 feet that’s outstanding like really good for your age and even for High School you know.” Sara was thrilled for Ava.“Yeah, well high jump didn’t go so well. I couldn’t even clear six feet today. But I’m working on my approach so maybe with time I can get that going for me. But it’s definitely not my strong suit. I think he just picked me because I was the tallest.” Ava found that hilarious but at the same time was worried she was going to embarrass herself come Saturday during her first meet. She was not looking forward to the high jump. “Ava if I have learned anything about you its that your gonna work your ass off and get over that bar.” Sara was stern in the statement, and it made Ava feel slightly more confident. “I guess I’m just nervous. How was your day?” Ava asked trying to keep Sara talking.“oomph” Sara fell back on the bed “Well Lance Harris asked me out.” “Really?” Ava was shocked she didn’t actually hear about this today at school. “Well, what did you say?”“I told him I would think about it. I just you know he is kind of stuck up you know.” Sara sighs “Not exactly sure if I’m interested in someone who think they are better than everyone else. He treats Ray like shit because he is smart.”“I don’t think that is the only reason he treats Ray like shit.” “What do you mean?” Sara is now wondering what Ava knows that she doesn’t. “Oh well I heard him talking one day at my locker because his is only like a couple down. And I honestly think he has a thing for Nora.” “No way, well why would he treat Ray like shit then?” Sara doesn’t understand why that would cause an issue. “Sara come one Nora is totally into Ray and Ray is totally into Nora.” Ava says like everyone knows.“What no way I mean I know Ray has a crush but Nora its Nora.” Sara hasn’t seen any of the signs of Nora liking Ray.“Sara, Nora goes out of her way to sit next to Ray and or near Ray all the time and she does this weird smile thing with him too. Like she doesn’t smile at anyone else like that, she is totally into him, and I think Lance treats him like crap because of it.” Ava finishes. “Wow I was totally unaware of that, but it makes more sense now that I think about it.” Sara laughs at herself she cannot believe she didn’t see that, and Ava did. She could hear Ava laughing quietly and she wasn’t sure why. “What are you laughing at?”“His name is Lance, and your last name is Lance.” She blurts out and keeps laughing causing Sara to laugh and try to talk at the same time. “Great…Now I have to turn him down because ill never be able to not think about that.” Sara keeps laughing. “If you guys got married and you made him, take your last name, he would be Lance Lance.” Ava laughs even harder turning her head into her pillow to muffle the sound. “Okay that’s it I’m hanging up because your tired and obviously delusional.” Sara chuckled. “Good night Ava.”“Sara?” Ava asked “Yeah.” Sara replied“Are you okay? Seriously I was just tying to make you laugh but if you need to stay on the phone we can.” Ava had stopped laughing she wanted Sara to know she meant it. “Honestly Ava I think that’s exactly what I needed. Thanks for that.” Sara yawned and got a smile on her face. “You’re welcome, Good night, Sara.” Ava ended the call and put her phone back on her nightstand and rolled over to fall asleep. The next two days flew by, and it was the first meet for Wally and Ava and all the legends were in the stands cheering on their friends. Wally did well for his first meet coming in third in the 200 meter and fifth in the 100 Meter. Ava was on the sideline watching Wally and was so excited when he placed, she made sure to give him a hug before heading over to her event which wasn’t starting for another thirty minutes but she didn’t want to miss Wally’s if she had the chance to see it. She was waiting over on a bench when she heard her name being called out, when she looked back all of the legends had moved over to where her event was, and they all had signs that read Once a legend always a Legend and Ava Sharpe is our Co-Captain. Ava laughed seeing the signs she didn’t understand the Co-captain one but she understood they were letting her know she was officially a legend, and it made her heart soar. If she could have told herself one year ago how different her life would be she wouldn’t have believed it. High jump was her first event and she managed to get past six feet, how she had no idea, but she cleared it. But when she got a couple more rounds, she was shocked to see she was still clearing the bar. But her timing was off on six-foot one jump and the bar fell. But of course, the Legends cheered for her all the same they were so proud she had done better than she ever had at that point. Ava focused on her long jump coming up in about thirty minutes she was able to go over and greet the legends. “Hey guys.” She looked up at all their smiling faces.“Ava that was insane you literally jumped over all of us.” Nate said shocked, causing Ava to laugh.“You were awesome.” Ray added with his big smile causing Ava to smile brightly at him. “Seriously that was a personal best wasn’t it, Ava?” Sara asked“Sure, was I’ve never been able to clear six feet and I did today so that felt good.” Ava said proudly. “Well, it was amazing, hey it looks like Coach Hunter is waving you over.” Nate pointed out and Ava looked over to the coach and then back to the legends.“I have to go but I wanted to say thanks for being here guys it really means a lot. I know my parents are here somewhere, but I haven’t seen them yet.” Ava looks around and doesn’t see them nearby. “It really means a lot.” She smiles and starts to back away looking at them. And then quickly turns and takes off towards Coach Hunter. The long jump was going well, so far no one had jumped beyond seventeen feet and Ava knew she could at least get that far. There were only four people left and Ava was one of them if she could manage to get in the top three it would be huge considering she never imagined even being able to make top three. She just needed to stay calm and make it happen. She looked back over to the Legends who were all sitting there now joined by Wally who was done for the day, and she could tell they were watching all the jumps. She figured Sara or Wally had probably told them her personal best was within reach and possibly she could even place. The first two jumps were mediocre at best only a sixteen and a half and then sixteen and half again. She knew she could do better she needed to get her mind right if she wanted to place and she was sure based on what she had seen it was possible now she was in the perfect position now and she could do it if she focused. She was the second to last person to jump which meant by the time she went to jump she would actually know what she needed to place. So, she watched each person jump. The first girl jumped at sixteen-nine which was what Coach Hunter would say Ava was averaging right now. If she could push just a little further while in the air, she would be able to hit that mark. When the next girl fouled out on her third attempt that meant she only got a sixteen-seven Ava knew she could place. She just needed to focus and do everything Coach Hunter had told her. Okay she stood there taking a breath ready to start her run, Focus Ava just take off sprint and then jump make sure to use your forward momentum and make sure you don’t foul out. She looked up waiting on the green light to go. She glanced one more time over to the stands and saw her friends and a smile came across her face as the green light turned on, she took a deep breath, stretched, and took off slowly at first increasing her speed and then once her foot hit the white board and she pushed her arms forward and kept her legs-controlled soaring through the air. And then she hit the ground and rolled onto her side jumping up and not even looking at the distance she turned and made her way back to Coach Hunter not wanting to look and see another sixteen and a half. Based on his face she didn’t think she had done much better. “Sorry Coach I really thought id hit that seventeen again.” Ava said as she approached him with her head down. At the same time, they must have posted her jump because her friends started screaming and jumping up and down. She looked over at them and then at her coach who had a big smile on his face, she turned and saw she had jumped seventeen and a half inches placing her into first place with the best jumper in the competition coming up. Ava had just secured at least second place. “Oh my god!” Ava looked at her coach and threw her arms around him. And started jumping up and down and ran over to the sidelines where her friends were, and they were all freaking out. She didn’t even want to watch the next jumper she didn’t care at this point she couldn’t believe she had just done that, and she was so excited. Wally reached down and grabbed her hand.“Ava that was amazing!” He yelled and she grabbed his hand. “I can’t believe I did that.” She rushed out. All the legends leaned over taking turns grabbing her hand and patting her on the shoulder while leaning over the bars on the stands. Suddenly Pam and Randy were standing next to Nora, and they made there way in between the friends. And leaned over the bars. “Hey sweetie that was... I just have no words we are so proud of you.” Randy said Ava reached up and grabbed his arms with tears in her eyes. She reached over to her mother and tried to grab her arms, but she wasn’t bent as far over as her father, so she just squeezed her hands tightly. Ava knew what she was conveying. “And these friends I tell you Ava. They are an interesting bunch.” He laughed and she nodded. “They sure are I couldn’t have don’t his without them.” She smiled up at all of them and they all looked up as the last competitor went to take her jump. Ava turned right as she was in the air and Wally gasped. “I think she fouled out.” Wally said and Nate and Ray looked at him confused. “No way.” Ava breathed under her breath still holding her father hand. He squeezed as they waited for the official to post the results. And when they did Ava felt her body lift from the ground and get pulled into the stands by Nate and Ray. Her name was on top of the board in first place. She had won the Long Jump in her first meet. And she felt her mother and father’s arms wrap around her and all her friends jumping up and down cheering. And she had no idea what had happened when her parents broke the hug her friends surrounded her, and everyone came in for a group hug chanting Ava’s name as they hugged her and jumped up and down. “Okay kids everyone come to our house after this we are having a pizza pool party to celebrate!” Pam shouted and everyone went crazy again. After the awards ceremony everyone headed over to Ava’s house and most were shocked to find out she lived in a really nice neighborhood and in a huge house. They all got outside after the shock of the house wore off and quickly the boys jumped into the pool while Ava was up stairs getting changed with the girls. “Ava how could you not tell us you have a pool?” Nora asked“Nobody ever asked.” Ava said from inside her closet. “We totally could have been enjoying the pool the last two months.” Charlie laughed“Well don’t worry we definitely will make sure to have get togethers over the summer.” Ava said as she was coming out of the closet in her one-piece bathing suit. “who’s next?” “Me!” Shouted Sara and she ran into Ava’s closet. “Oh my god Ava your closet is as big as my bedroom.” She laughed“No, it’s not.” Ava said as she went over and hung her medal on her vanity. “Wait.” Nora stopped her and took the medal and put it back around Ava’s neck. “You are totally wearing this all day.” She laughed as Ava rolled her eyes. “Right, you should wear it all the time.” Charlie snorted. “No way guys.” Ava said as she took the medal off and put it back to hanging off her vanity. “That meet is over now and I did really great, and I am super proud of what I accomplished but it’s time now to look towards the next one in two weeks. And the competition is way better.” “You need to enjoy this win, Ava.” Sara said as she emerged in her two piece from the closet. “Seriously you accomplished a lot today personal best in Long jump and High Jump, and you placed first in Long Jump and that’s something to be proud of.” “Oh, I am definitely proud of myself I just don’t want to wear the medal around the pool.” Ava laughed she smacked Charlie’s hand from taking the medal down and shook her finger at her. “Come on let’s go join the guys and have some fun.” Ava said and all the girls scurried out the door and headed to the pool.The rest of the year went by quickly and the group got closer and closer as their freshman year entered its second half. Ava hadn’t placed in the last couple of meets as the competition was more experienced and she chalked it up to being in her first year. The way Coach Hunter looked at it she had improved every meet even if it was just inches at a time. Ava was still growing and learning, and he knew in the next couple years she would become a force to reckon with if she stuck with it. Cross Country was about to start, and Ava really wanted to do that because she loved to run. “I just don’t get it?” Sara said while standing by Ava at her locker as she looked through it. “Don’t get what?” Ava asked popping her head out of her locker for a second.“Cross Country? I mean its just running like all over the place?” Sara says her eyes watching down the hallway for someone. “I like to run. And that’s what Cross Country is.” Ava says and grabs what she needs out of her locker and looks to try and see what Sara is looking at. “Who are you looking at?” “Do you think Troy is good looking?” Sara asks her eye finding a taller young man standing at the end of the hallway with Charlie. His sandy blonde hair shaggy and his arms moving when he talked. Ava looked up and saw him and smirked. “I mean I guess so.” Ava said. “What do you mean you guess so?” Sara turns to her looking at her reaction. “Honestly, he doesn’t have much upstairs if you know what I mean.” Ava says as she closes her locker.“What do you mean?” Sara cocked her head“Well let’s just say he can’t multiply without a calculator.” Ava laughs and Sara quickly turns and looks back down the hallway to look at the boy.“Well, I don’t think being smart is all that important.” Sara says as they start to walk towards their class. “I think it is, I mean what are you going to talk about?” Ava looks over to Sara and then back towards the boy.“I wasn’t planning on talking to him much.” Sara smiles.“Sara!” She shoves her and laughs, and Sara shoves her back and keeps laughing. “What about you? There must be someone you’re interested in. You always listen to me talk about boys and you never say anything to me about cute boys.” “First off I don’t have time for any boys and secondly you’re doing a great job for both of us in weeding out the crappy ones.” She laughs and knocks Sara’s shoulder with her own. “Come on let’s get to class.”The legends made sure they spread out over the cross-country race so that Ava had someone cheering for her all through out the race and every time she saw them, she would smile even if every muscle in her body was trying to quit it seemed like her friends gave her a boost. Towards the end of the year, she had really hit her stride and placed in a few of the meets she was in. taking home two third place finishes and a second-place finish right before the end of the year. Her parents had an end of the school year bash for the legends and even invited some parents of the kids so everyone could have fun. The Sharpe’s, The Lance’s, The Heywood’s, and Jax’s mother had shown up and enjoyed the festivities with their kids. They were excited about the summer and could wait to start their sophomore year. Ava made her way upstairs at one point during the party and was followed by Sara who was going to help her. They made their way into a guest bedroom where there was a closet where they kept extra towels and linens for guests. “Seriously this house is way to big for the three of you.” Sara states as they enter the spare bedroom. “Trust me I am fully aware of that.” Ava replies “But Dad says he worked really hard for his money, and we deserve nice things.” She rolls her eyes. “Well, I am gonna stay in this room this summer when my dad goes out on night raids.” Sara says jumping on the bed while Ava laughs at her. “My parents wouldn’t have an issue with that at all, you totally should.” Ava says as she falls onto the bed and Sara falls next to her. “I really thought freshman year was going to suck but it was kind of awesome and went by way to quickly.” Sara said. “It was totally awesome. I mean if you told twelve-year-old me about this year she wouldn’t believe you.” Ava murmured. “What wouldn’t she have believed?” Sara asked“All of it. I mean that we moved to Star City, I became an athlete and actually won some medals, and that you know, I have friends.” Ava shrugs saying the last part. “I would have been friends with twelve-year-old you.” Sara said confidently, Ava looks over at her and smiles. “For some reason I actually believe you.” Ava laughs, Sara glances over at Ava and smiles she looks down at Ava’s hand and links her pinky with Ava’s and raises up their hands. “Friends Forever, right?” Sara smiles“You know it, Lance.” Ava chuckles. “You’re stuck with me now Sharpe. Sophomore year here we come.” Sara jumps up and then off the bed. Ava and Sara head to the closet and grab the extra towels and head back down-stairs to the party.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
During the summer Ava found herself spending a lot of time with Sara, Nora, and Zari. The four spending most days at one another’s house talking about anything and everything. Nora had finally admitted to liking Ray but her father being dead set against her dating so she couldn’t really do anything about it. Sara had met someone names Nyssa and fallen fairly quickly for her and told the ladies she was Bi-sexual which wasn’t news to them because she had dated Alex Danvers shortly last year, she had just never said it out loud to anyone before. Zari was more concerned that her parents might be thinking about moving which consumed most of her summer. Ava spent most of time when not with the girls either working out and trying to get ready for upcoming indoor track season and reading up on the summer reading list. Ava knew this year would be different last year she had Sara in all her classes but this year Ava had managed to get into mostly AP classes so she knew she would spend a lot more time with Ray. And she was thankful because honestly from what she had heard about the new girl Nyssa that Sara was now dating she wasn’t going to be a fan. Sara spent less and less time with Zari, Nora, and Ava throughout the summer as Nyssa took front and center of Sara’s focus.Ava was able to get to know Zari on a whole new level because of Sara being absent. She found out Zari loved computers and coding and she even surprised her on her birthday with a coding book that came highly recommended by an online source. And Nora was a reader just like Ava, so they bonded over books and their love of Jane Austen. Ava also found herself at Nate’s a few times bonding with him over historical serial killers. Ava was obsessed with serial killers and came to find that Nate had a fascination with History basically meaning he knew way too much about people like Jack the Ripper and they spent all summer making a murder board trying to figure out who Jack the Ripper was. Once sophomore year started as expected Ava found herself in most classes with Ray and they both agreed to push each other academically to see who would come out on top by the end of the year. One thing Ava did notice was she didn’t have Sara in her classes, but she did have Nyssa. Sara had introduced her to the legends over the summer and honestly Ava and Zari were not impressed. A few weeks in Ava was sure Nyssa was the most stuck-up person she had ever been around. She refused to eat in the cafeteria saying the food had “no real taste” which led to Sara not eating much with them. The legends didn’t seem to understand why Sara was almost giving them the cold shoulder as she wasn’t even coming to planned family nights with the group. They had decided over the summer to make Friday nights game nights. Of course, Sara was one of the main instigators in this decision, but all of this was before Nyssa.A month into the school year Zari who happened to be in Ava’s AP science class followed Ava to her locker before lunch. Once they were at the locker and Ava was fumbling through things looking for her wallet Zari finally broke down and told Ava how she felt. “You know I’m not so good with feelings, right?” Zari explained as she leaned on the lockers next to Ava’s. “Right.” Ava quietly answered if Zari was going to open up to her, she didn’t want to scare her away. “Well, I’m having some feelings now.” Zari added.“And those are?” Ava answered figuring she could maybe get something out of Zari.“Anger, frustration, and well I guess I’m just sad too.” Zari turned to look at Ava who also turned to look at Zari as she closed her locker wallet in hand. “Fucking Nyssa has taken our best friend you get that right? I mean seriously she doesn’t even eat lunch with us anymore and she hasn’t come to family night in the last two weeks.” Zari blurted out “I know.” Ava said as she looked down at her feet trying to find the right words. “But Sara seems happy, and I mean as her friends we have to support her.” Ava mumbled and as she looked up saw the anger in Zari’s eyes.“Support her? She is abandoning us. Has she even called you or texted you recently?” Zari is determined to get Ava on her side. She hates Nyssa and therefore all the legends should in her mind. “No, not in the last couple weeks. I’ve honestly barely heard from her.” Ava understands Zari is angry, but Ava promised Sara she would always be there for her no matter what and she was trying to be supportive but boy was she making it hard. “And your first meet is coming up in a couple weeks and if she isn’t there…Ava ill kick her ass.” Zari added as Ava nodded, and she tugged on her shirt to motion for them to start walking towards the lunchroom. “Look let’s give her a little more time to figure out her newfound relationship and go from there. I mean when she was dating Alex Danvers last year, she barely spoke to any of us.” Ava looked knowingly at Zari.“Yeah, but that literally lasted two whole weeks. Nyssa has already been around for two whole months, and it feels like she is just pulling further and further away. And none of us like it, she hasn’t been going to Ray’s house on Wednesday’s which has always been a thing. She also hasn’t been to Sunday brunch with the Heywood’s since the summer. And I think its all-Nyssa’s damn fault.” Zari was mad she wanted her best friend back and she wanted Nyssa gone. Ava and Zari got their food and sat with the legends and Sara was nowhere to be seen. Ava promised to meet up with Zari later that week and take her to the Donut Shop one of Zari’s favorite places on the planet. Which quickly led to Charlie, Maya, and Nora joining in on the little gathering so they could all have a girl’s night together. They knew Zari was having a hard time with Sara pulling away and they wanted her to know they were there to support her even though whatever Sara was doing was hurting all of them. As the days went by Ava went from a general dislike of Nyssa to and absolute hatred building in her chest of the young lady. Because now she could almost see that Nyssa was keeping Sara from them all. She had been trying to be hyper vigilant of what was going on and she started to notice that if they were in a hallway Nyssa would somehow distract Sara and lead her away. Nate had said he had run into Sara, and they were talking about hanging out at one point and all of the sudden Nyssa was there telling her about something they need to do that same night. It was like Sara wasn’t pulling away from the legends it was like she was being pulled away.Just days before her first meet of the year Ava wondered if Sara would be there. Last year the Legends had been at every meet and supported her and Wally in each of their events. This year they were equally excited to support the two and Ava knew having her friends there always gave her a little extra motivation. But she had agreed with all of them during a lunchtime chat that if Sara didn’t show up to the meet, it was Ava who would then approach her and have words. She really hoped Sara showed up because she was not looking forward to that conversation. But she kept faith that Sara would keep her promise their pinky swear just between them no matter what. When the first meet of the year started Ava was stretching out and was able to see when the legends arrived, she made her way over towards them so she could cheer on Wally during his events since she had some time before hers. She quickly noticed no Sara and she quickly noticed Zari’s anger on her face. “She isn’t here!” Zari angrily grunted“Maybe she is just running late?” Ray added and to that most in the group turned and looked at him with knowing eyes.“Always the optimist aren’t you, Ray?” Nate added shaking his head it was weird to see Nate disappointed it wasn’t something Ava had ever seen but the last few weeks Nate had been missing Sara and he was making sure everyone around him knew it. “I told you if she didn’t show I was going to kick her ass!” Zari said to Ava“Look she isn’t here so let’s just make sure we support Wally and I’ll do what I said I would do.” Ava added quietly, she had thought of a million things she would say to Sara, and she was no where near ready for the conversation. “We’re gonna hold you to that Ava.” Nora added and Ava nodded in agreement. “I will this afternoon.” Ava mumbled. The group watched and cheered as Wally came in second place in the 100-meter but a bad start in the 200-meter placed him down in fifth place. But he did great even with the nerves, Ava headed over to the High jump and got ready stretching out and looked over to her group of friends who had moved over to her side of the arena to cheer her on. She couldn’t help but be a little sad that her best friend wasn’t there with her bright smile and sparkly eyes. She fought through the hurt and placed third in the High jump with a personal best over six feet three inches. And on the Long jump she managed to secure third place after two amazing jumps from Central City athletes. She was glad to have placed at all because she knew her head wasn’t in the right place constantly thinking about after the meet. Once the meet was over the group headed over to Ava’s house for the now Annual Pizza Pool Party after a meet and everyone had a great time for a couple hours. As the group parted ways Ava told her parents she was heading over to Sara’s house for a little bit, but she would be back before dark. So, she threw on some running shoes and made her way over. Sara’s house was a good ten-minute jog from Ava’s house, so it gave her time to gather her thoughts. Everyone had said their piece at the party about what she should say to Sara and all of those comments, and her own thoughts were swirling around in her mind and before she knew it, she was walking up to Sara’s front door. Ava knocked on the front door and felt her stomach turn, somehow in Sara’s absence Ava had become a little bit of a leader to the Legends and she wasn’t sure how that happened, but she was going to stand her ground and do this. Sara hadn’t just let the group down; she had hurt Ava too. She had broken their pinky swear all for a girl that none of them even liked. When the door opened and it was Nyssa standing there Ava’s brain went kind of crazy, this is not what she was expecting. “Hey...Umm... Is Sara here?” Ava muttered not wanting to make eye contact with Nyssa for fear she would cast whatever spell on her that she had on Sara. “She is in the shower right now. We just got back from a long hike.” Nyssa said looking Ava up and down. Ava felt like she was being judged in that moment and all it did was fuel her anger a little but more. “No problem I’ll wait out here for her.” Ava said assuredly, Nyssa didn’t scare her well maybe she did a little, but she had to talk to Sara today not tomorrow today and she wasn’t leaving until she did. So, Ava turned and sat down on the steps making a point to motion to Nyssa that was all she wanted to say. After a few minutes of waiting Ava felt the nervous energy building up so she stood and paced a little in front of the steps kicking random rocks every now and again making sure she was getting her thoughts straight in her head. Finally, the door opened, and Sara emerged hair still wet from the shower and fresh clothes on. “Ava hey is everything ok?” Sara asked and Ava couldn’t control the roll of her eyes like Sara didn’t know everything was not ok.“I don’t know Sara, is it?” Ava asked causing Sara’s eyes to go wide, and she crossed her arms across her chest and Ava mirrored her. “What’s up with the attitude Ava?” “Are you serious right now? Ava didn’t realize how angry she was until she saw Sara who didn’t seem to even be bothered by anything. “Do you know what today is?” She was getting louder, and Sara seemed even more confused as she did.“It’s Saturday.” Sara didn’t understand what was wrong with Ava and why the hell she was so mad, but she had never seen Ava mad, so this was all slightly overwhelming. “What the hell is wrong with you Sara?” Ava blurted out she couldn’t hold back the anger anymore. “You missed our first indoor meet of the year.” Her voice was still rising “What so you could go hiking with your girlfriend.” Ava said quite loudly making sure if Nyssa was listening which she was sure she was she would hear it. “What the hell Ava?” Sara asked, “So I missed a meet its not the end of the world.”“Are you kidding me right now?” Ava was mad she was fuming. “Ever since you started dating Nyssa you don’t call; you don’t come to family night. Which was your idea by the way, you don’t even eat with us anymore. Nate said you haven’t been to Sunday brunch in almost two months and Zari said you barely call or text her anymore.” “So?” Sara mumbled she didn’t understand what the issue was, she was happy with her girlfriend, and she wanted to spend time with her she didn’t understand why everyone was so mad at her. “So…did you just say so? Like its not that big of a deal?” Ava really couldn’t believe that Sara was that blind that she was hurting all of her friends and just basically ignoring them. “You broke your promise.” Ava turned and started to walk away and add over her shoulder. “You broke your Pinky Swear.” She stopped a few feet away and turned back to look at Sara. “And you let her” She pointed towards the house “Take you from us, your family, your best friends.” And at that Ava turned and started to walk away from Sara. Sara stood for a moment in shock she looked back at the house and then back to Ava and made a snap decision and ran after Ava grabbing her by the wrist and angrily started to yell at her. “Do you have a problem with Nyssa?” “Oh, do I?” Ava said as she looked over at the house, it wasn’t a question it was a statement. “What are you some kind of homophobe or something because Ava that’s really shitty. I mean I knew you were acting weird when I dated Alex but now Nyssa. I can’t believe you?” Sara was loud and in Ava’s face now. Ava’s eyes went wide how could Sara think anything like that how she could accuse her of anything like that. “Did you just call me a homophobe?” Ava moved into Sara’s space and made herself bigger over the summer she had grown a bit and Sara really hadn’t so Ava stood toe to toe with Sara looking down and Sara looking up at her both equally pissed off.“If the shoe fits.” Sara tries to stand a little taller and when she looks into Ava’s eyes, she can see so much anger and hatred it almost takes her breath away.“I can’t believe you would say that to me. I have spent the last two months trying to be on your side about this relationship. I have tried to calm everyone down as you slowly stopped coming over and pulling away. I kept telling them all... it was because you were happy and we as your friends should want you to be happy. I stood up for you and for her every damn step of the way. But today,” Ava took a step back she felt tears building but she didn’t want Sara to see. “Today you broke my heart by not showing up, and not just mine Wally’s and Zari’s and all of the other legends. So, they sent me here to talk to you to see why you were pushing us away and you have the audacity to call me a homophobe.” Ava turns away trying to gather her thoughts and wipes her hands against her face trying to ground herself back into the situation, but she is struggling she has been for a while now not telling anyone certain things. Sara not being around had been hard on her too she had tried to put on a brave face she had tried her best to be supportive, but she knew now Nyssa was toxic and she was far from a homophobe.“I really don’t understand where this is coming from?” “Sara, my god I’m trying to tell you.” Ava couldn’t stop the tears from falling she was hurt she didn’t know what she should do and then it dawned on her this moment meant something and she needed to make sure Sara knew it. “Do you know why I acted weird around Alex when you were dating her?” She looks at Sara waiting for an answer.“I think I made myself clear on that one Ava.” Sara turned to leave when Ava grabbed her wrist and turned her around to face her again. “I’m gay.” Ava yelled and dropped Sara’s arm and took a step back. It just flew out she had never said it out loud before and she hadn’t meant to say it but there was no time to hold back now. “You’re so blinded by Nyssa you don’t even see what’s going on with your friends. Alex made me nervous okay, I didn’t know how to act around her, and you didn’t even notice. Because you are always so focused on yourself you don’t stop and see everyone around you. Zari is falling apart and eating more donuts than I have ever seen one person eat. Nate is ready to runaway from home because his dad is a dick. Mick doesn’t even talk anymore just grunts. Maya and Charlie might have to move back to the UK. And Ray well his smile isn’t even bright anymore. Everyone is being affected by this and you don’t even care, you don’t even see it. I shouldn’t even have to say this, but Jax and Wally feel like their big sister is missing. So, no I’m not a fucking homophobe but, (tears are running down Ava’s face as she takes a deep breath) I am without a best friend right now. So do me a favor and let her know when she comes back that we will all be here waiting for her because that is what we promised her, that we would always be here for her. Because if you remember correctly once a legend always a legend.” Ava turned around and running away from Sara quickly. Once she got a few blocks away she stopped and leaned up against brick wall and let her tears fall. She had never yelled anyone before not like that she felt so many things right now she wasn’t sure how to navigate all these feelings. Anger, hatred, pain, loss, sadness, fear, and grief. She couldn’t find one positive feeling she just wanted to curl up and sleep, so she took a breath and ran home and did just that. Sunday came and went Ava kept to herself and stayed in bed reading most of the day she had texted the legends it was done, and she didn’t have the energy to talk about much of anything now. Monday came too quickly and still no changes from Sara. For the next couple of weeks, the legends fell into a new group one where Ava became more like the mother hen of the group. She had to talk Nate out of running away from home and had agreed to take over Sunday Brunches this wasn’t super hard as the Heywood’s had become quite good friends now of the Sharpe’s, so Nate and Ava found themselves together whenever their parents were. Zari started to hang out with Ava a little more she even sometimes stayed after school and watched Wally and Ava during track practice. They found a new normal of sorts without Sara although you could still see the ripple effect from her not being around. Maya and Charlie had started hanging out with a new crowd of people and didn’t eat lunch everyday with the legends, but they still were active in their group chats and always made time for family night. About three weeks after their argument a meet that was scheduled in Central City was canceled due to some plumbing issues, so Ava decided to head to the school and run the track and work on some High Jumps on her own. She had her headphones on and was just running mostly to clear her head. She had a lot emotionally going on she was trying to wrap her head around figuring out she was a lesbian, and she honestly wasn’t ready to talk about it to anyone. And the only person she thought she might be able to talk to have all but disappeared from her life and those of their friends. Ava had finished her workout and actually was happy with her High Jumps she was practicing her approach and trying to get a better arche over the bar and she had done much better than at her last meet. She went over to the bench and was switching back into her tennis shoes and hydrating when out of the corner of her eye she saw someone approaching. She looked over to see Sara no one else just Sara by herself walking up and taking a seat next to her on the bench. Ava wasn’t ready for this conversation whatever it was she just wanted to be by herself and now she felt anger rise inside of her because how dare Sara invade her quiet time. So instead of saying anything or even acknowledging her she looked back down to her shoes and finished lacing them up. Ava started to gather her things into her gym bag grabbed her water bottle and stood up and walked away from Sara without a word. As she left the school and started to walk home, she knew she could feel Sara following her, Sara didn’t seem to understand that Ava didn’t want to talk so Ava just kept walking towards home. Once they were a few blocks away from her home and Sara was still there a few steps behind her she finally stopped and turned to face her.“What do you want Sara?” Ava said much harsher than she had planned but she was mad. Sara immediately looked down at her feet and started to talk. “I was hoping we could talk.” Sara quietly said“I’m not really in the mood.” “Ok I get it.” Sara took a deep breath “Do you know when you might be in the mood?” Sara looked up at Ava who was filled with anger she could see it. She knew she had hurt Ava, but she didn’t realize how badly. “You know what Sara” Ava takes a deep breath trying to calm her anger “I don’t know? I just don’t know when I am going to be able to talk to you. I’m so mad at you right now I feel like you just abandoned us like you were the captain of our ship and instead of going down with it you just jumped off while we were all trying to get the sails up.” Ava looked away from Sara to get her thoughts more organized and when her eyes returned, she saw Sara’s eyes had tears forming. “I’m only saying the truth because that’s how it feels for us. It’s been four months Sara, and none of us understands why or what happened we just know that one day you weren’t there anymore. And personally, for me, I needed you I was trying to navigate this new thing and how to deal with it and I didn’t even have anyone to talk too. I still don’t.” Ava looked down and then back up. “And I don’t want to talk about it yet I’m not ready too I’m still trying to figure out with it all means. But what I do know is what I see, and I don’t see you at all ever not anymore. And it hurts to watch her pull you away from us in a hallway, keep you away from us at lunch and keep you away from us when were not in school.” She looks away again and shrugs and then looks one last time at Sara. “I don’t know when ill be ready to talk but its not today so maybe you should start with someone else maybe Zari, Wally, or even Jax but until you have talked to all of them, I don’t want to talk to you.” With that Ava turned and jogged away tears again rolling down her cheeks, she never looked back she again went home and crawled into bed. Having friends sucked now because the pain and hurt they caused was too much, she thought to herself. Over the next few days Ava learned that Sara had broken things off with Nyssa and it had not been a good breakup. At school multiple times she had seen them fighting and Sara running off in the opposite direction from everyone while Nyssa just gave them all a death stare. But on the Friday after their conversation Ava saw Nyssa and Sara arguing this was becoming a normal occurrence right before lunch. Ava and Zari were at her locker watching the normal argument go down waiting for Sara to stomp off angrily the only difference was when Sara went to walk away Nyssa grabbed her and Ava’s body instantly reacted to the painful face Sara made and was in motion before she could do anything. Ava ran up to Nyssa and pushed her away off of Sara and got in her face she did what she always did to intimidate people she straightened up and made herself taller to tower over the person. Nyssa did the exact same thing and pushed Ava back into Sara. Ava quickly pushed Sara further back into Zari who had caught up and grabbed Sara pulled her away from Nyssa and Ava. “How about you keep your hands to yourself there Nyssa.” Ava mumbled as she got in Nyssa’s personal space. “How about you keep your hands and mind of my girlfriend Ava.” Nyssa snarls back and pushes Ava again but Ava is quickly back into her personal space and in her face. “You’re not good enough for her you know that right?” Ava angrily says, “She has a family already.” Ava then pushed Nyssa back and they are just inches from the wall, so Ava pushed again until Nyssa’s back is fully against the wall. “I’m not afraid of you Nyssa, and I’m only going to say this once. Keep your hands off Sara do you understand.” Ava is right in her face looking her right in the eyes now. Nyssa breaks eye contact and looks over at Sara who is in Zari’s arms and looks shocked at what’s happening. Nyssa brings her eyes back to Ava’s and smirks.“How about you make me you lesbian giraffe!” Nyssa’s voice was so loud Ava knew everyone near her had heard that. Nyssa pushes Ava back who had lost her train of thought for a moment and when she looked up and saw the smile on Nyssa’s face, she couldn’t help herself she pulled her hand back and drove a right hook and connected with Nyssa’s chin. “Let’s do this you controlling psychopath.” Ava screamed and went to punch her again this time in the stomach causing Nyssa to be hunched over a little and came back to the standing position and threw a right hook at Ava who was able to dodge it but not the left hook that followed directly after making contact with Ava’s face causing her to see stars for a moment. Ava quickly went to throw a left hook also, but Nyssa dodged it and punched Ava in the stomach. All the sudden Ava felt arms wrap around her and pull her back through the crowd and away form Nyssa. While someone else from what she could see whisked Nyssa away. “Let me go!” Ava yelled and turned to see Nate standing there with his hands up to show he gave up and was letting her go. She walked away quickly down the hall towards the lady’s bathroom and disappeared. Zari quickly ran after her leaving Sara there with a group of people who watched the whole fight go down. When Nate looked over and saw Sara she burst into tears and ran the opposite direction from everyone. When Ava got into the bathroom she immediately goes to the sink and see’s blood dripping from a definite fat lip and her whole face is red from Nyssa getting in a few good hits. She turns on the water and uses her hands to soak her face with cold water as she is leaning over and is overcome with emotion and tears once she is done, she grabs a towel and dries her face off and goes over to the closest wall and sinks down into a sitting potion bringing her knees up to her chest and resting her head on her knees and letting the tears flow. She hears someone come in and when she looks up to see Zari, she just puts her head back down and lets the tears keep flowing. Zari slowly makes her way over to where Ava is slides down the wall sitting next to her and puts her arm around Ava’s shoulder to let her know she is there and isn’t going anywhere. Eventually Ava leaned a little into Zari needing the comfort of her friend and Zari just wrapped her arm around Ava tighter. “It’s going to be okay Ava.” Zari whispered“I never told you this but, before I moved here, I didn’t have friends. I was a nobody and I’m beginning to think I was better off.” Ava cried harder as the words kept coming. “I don’t like feeling all these emotions, I don’t know how to handle this all.” Ava never lifted her head. “Ava, these last few months you have been an amazing friend and I want you to know that. You have stood by all of us with all of this crazy shit going on and you stood by Sara too even though we all gave up hope.” Zari squeezed Ava tighter “You just proved you never gave up hope by standing up for her.” Zari finished and laid her head on top of Ava’s. “You got a few good hits in though.” Zari smiled. “My face hurts.” Ava half cries and half laughs as it comes out. “I think I might need some ice.” Ava sniffles and starts to sit back up taking her weight off of Zari. “And for what it’s worth you have been a great friend too.” She pats Zari on the knee and slowly starts to get up walking over to the mirror already seeing a bruise forming on her face. “My parents are going to wonder what the hell happened.” She shrugs and looks over to Zari as she gets on her feet. “Just tell them you fell or something at practice, let’s go get some ice.” Zari throws her arm over Ava’s shoulder. “So, what did it feel like punching her face?” She looked up laughing.“I’m not gonna lie, it felt good.” Ava smirks as her and Zari make there way out of the bathroom. The next few days went by no one had seen Sara she hadn’t even come to school whereas Ava did black eye and all. She also noticed Nyssa’s absence, but Zari confirmed that she had seen a moving truck at the Al-Guhl residence. When nobody had heard from Sara by the end of the week it was decided yet again that Ava would be the one to check on her. So, Ava headed over there on Friday before having to be at Nate’s for family night with the legends. Her nerves were on edge they as in all of friends just wanted to make sure she was ok. Even though it was Ava still nursing a black eye that was now just a slightly discolored bruise on her face. When the door opened, and Sara saw Ava she froze obviously not expecting to see Ava on her doorstep. “Ava…” Sara didn’t know what to say to her she had no idea what Ava was doing there. “Hi.” She said moving outside and closing the door behind her. Ava stayed a few steps back from the door she put her hands in her pockets.“Umm…You haven’t been at school?” Ava mumbled “I mean since the fight. And we were worried about you.” “We?” Sara asked looking at Ava.“Yes, Sara we were worried about you. You do realize we are all waiting for you to get your head out of your ass right!” Ava wasn’t holding back that’s not what Sara needed. “At lease that’s what Mick said.” She looked down at her feet. “Ava I’m so sorry about what happened.” Sara said taking a step forward, but Ava took a step back and waved her arm for her to stop. “Look, I did what I did because I saw her grab you and I saw your face. She was hurting you and I was not going to stand there and watch her do that.” Ava brought her arms across her chest. “Thank you.” It came out quietly but when Ava looked into Sara’s eyes, she knew it was sincere.“Yeah, well I figured you would have done the same for me.” Ava shrugged. “Why haven’t you been a school?” “After what happened I told my parents I need a few days off and they didn’t seem to mind.” Sara said adding “Nyssa moved. Her dad found out about the fight and he shipped her back to England to a private school.” “Oh.” Ava didn’t know what to say Zari had told her what she saw but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “I mean are you okay?” Ava was shifting her weight now getting a little more nervous.“Ava, I was an ass and i can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for everything.” Sara took a step forward and Ava didn’t move back. “I just until you pointed out everything that day, I didn’t see it. And when I got home Nyssa started yelling at me like literally telling me I couldn’t talk to you anymore. And that’s when I told her it wasn’t going to work, and she needed to leave.” Sara looked down at her feet. “I didn’t notice she was pulling me away from you guys but when she said it out loud, she literally said, and I quote I forbid you from ever talking to Ava again that’s when I knew. My mind started racing back to everything you said and all the things I missed and then she spent the next couple of weeks trying to talk to me at school because I wouldn’t take her calls and I didn’t answer the door. She went kind of crazy on me.”“You don’t say.” Ava looked up at Sara with a smirk on her face.“Jerk.” She said laughing at Ava and Sara lunged forward throwing her arms around Ava in a hug. “Please don’t hate me.” She buried her face into Ava’s shoulder, Ava who took a second to steady herself finally wrapped her arms around Sara.“Just do us all a favor and stop dating psychopaths okay.” Ava said into Sara’s hair and hugged her a little tighter. When they pulled apart both just stood there for a minute before speaking and Ava looked down at her phone to check the time. “Oh…hey I have to go.” Ava took a few steps back still looking at Sara “Do you wanna come with me?” Sara’s eyes went wide at the question.“Where?” “Family night at Nate’s.” She smiled “I think there are some people there you might need to talk to.” Ava continued as she took small steps backwards. Sara looked back at her house and threw her finger up for Ava to hold on. She stepped inside quickly and when she came back out, she had her shoes on and was pulling a hoodie over her head. “Better get this over with right.” Sara said as Ava nodded her head in agreement. The walk to Nate’s took about fifteen minutes and by the time Ava walked into the basement everything was in full swing. The boys were over in a corner playing on a pool table, while Zari and Charlie were sitting playing a video game in front of the TV, Nora and Maya were sitting at a table near the pool table chatting and Wally and Jax were sitting on the sides of the couch watching Zari and Charlie play Mario Kart. Ava walked in and cleared her throat, and everyone looked up and smiled and she motioned back to the door behind her when Sara appeared, and everyone’s looks went from smiling to a little shock. Ava could feel the anxiety in the room, so she decided to put everyone at ease Ava steps forward and gives her speech.“Okay let’s get this over with everyone. This is Sara Lance she is an idiot who dates super crazy psychopaths who have a mean left hook. Sara here makes bad choices, and she is well aware of that, she also regrets the bad choices and hopes that everyone can forgive her.” She holds up her hand to make sure nobody says anything, and she starts to point to everyone. “This is Jax kickass running back for our football team and that’s Wally race him I dare you. That is Charlie I’m shocked I remember her name because I haven’t seen her for two weeks. That’s Zari I am honestly shocked she isn’t in a diabetic coma right now with the number of donuts she has eaten in the last four months. Over there is Nora and Amaya they are the calm in our storm most of the time. And I think you know Nate and Ray over there they are two of the founding members of the Legends. Whatever you do don’t bring up Doctor Who around them, I was warned about that.” Ava stands there as everyone takes in what she just said she looks back at Sara who just stands there waiting. Zari is the first one to move from her spot she walks over and stares at Sara for a moment and then lunges into a hug almost knocking Sara over who wraps her arms around her quickly and tightens the hug which causes a ripple effect as Wally jump off the couch and Jax does the same pulling Ava with him in what is now becoming a group hug with Zari and Sara in the middle. Ray drops his pool stick and heads over grabbing Nora and taking her too the add to the embrace. Amaya walks over to Nate and pulls him to the hug they all stand together in a group hug for a little while. Sara was back and they weren’t going to let her get away again not if any of them could help it.
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The end of the school year came quickly compared to the beginning with all the drama. Ava found herself setting up her schedule next year with a new round of advanced courses, meeting with counselor’s and continuing her plan of going into the military her goal is to become and officer in the Air Force. So, she wanted to make sure she was still on track so they were getting ready to setup SAT and ACT testing so she could study during the summer. So, she kept herself busy. Since Sara had apologized things had gone back almost to normal, they hadn’t talked about her own admission during one of their arguments the only time Sara had brought it up Ava had quickly shut her down saying she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Ava had kept her almost at arm’s length because truthfully, she was still very hurt by the whole situation, and she wasn’t ready to let Sara fully in. But she didn’t act any differently she just made sure Sara understood she needed space to work through things. A big year was coming for them with the school year coming to an end they would be juniors soon and Ava was looking forward to getting a car and having a little freedom of her own. But this summer Sara swore she was going to make up for last summer, so everyone was excited to have her back. But as always life happens, and something finds a way to knock the legends down. A few days before the end of the school year Sara showed up at Ava’s house in tears and Pam let her in the house where she made her way to Ava’s room. Ava was working diligently at her desk on some homework when she heard the knock assuming it was her mother and told her to come in and instead looked up to see Sara crying. “Sara what’s going on?” Ava jumped up from her desk and getting closer Sara threw herself into Ava’s arms sobbing. “My parents are getting a divorce.” She cried as Ava wrapped her arms around her in complete shock. The Lances always seemed to be so in love she couldn’t believe it herself. Ava looked down at Sara and saw the pain she was in and did the only thing she knew to do. She walks them over to her bed and pulled Sara into her arms as she propped herself up against the headboard and just let Sara lay against her and cry. Not saying a word, she just started to stroke Sara’s hair and hum a showtune that was stuck in her head from the years earlier school play Grease. Once Sara seemed to be cried out Ava noticed her breathing had settled and when she looked down, she saw Sara had fallen asleep in her arms. She looked down and realized she had let her in again just that quickly without even knowing it. Keeping her walls up with Sara was never going to work, because Sara always needed someone, and she had chosen Ava to be her person. Ava wasn’t going to ever break the pinky swear no matter how mad she was because after all Sara was her first friend, and someone she could always be herself with no matter what. Ava managed to move her body from under Sara and adjust her to where she would stay asleep, she slipped out of the room and went down and explained everything to her mother and asked if she thought it was okay if Sara just stayed with them for the night. Pam was quick to call Quentin who was glad she was able to stay with the Sharpe’s he knew Sara had left upset but he had also been called into work that night and was worried about Sara being alone since Laurel had already left for the summer on a vacation with the Queens. He dropped her school bag and some clothes off at the Sharpe’s on his way to work. Ava went back to the schoolwork she had been doing when Sara showed up until her mother came into the room with two plates filled with soft tacos on a tray. Which surprised Ava as she wasn’t typically allowed to eat in her room, but Pam knew Sara might not be in the right frame of mind to be seated at a dinner table tonight. Ava hugged her mother when she put the tray down and silently thanked her with a kiss on the cheek. Once she left Ava made her way over to where Sara was asleep a gently tried to wake her up. Sara popped up quickly almost as if something had scared her and Ava jumped back with her hands up to show it was just her. “Hey, its just me sorry. I wanted to wake you for dinner.” Ava motioned over to the tray and Sara’s eyes followed. Ava went over and grabbed the tray and brought it to the bed and sat it down and motioned for Sarah to scoot over so she could sit on the bed with her. Sara started to notice how dark it was outside. “Hey, don’t worry we let your dad know you were here.” Ava softly smiled. “Thanks.” Sara still very much half asleep and her voice dry. “He dropped off your bookbag for school and brought you a clean set of clothes too. You’re staying the night with us.”“I couldn’t do that Ava.” Sara pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them looking at Ava. “Well, my mother said you are, so you don’t really have a choice.” She smiled and nudged the tray towards Sara. “Come on let’s eat my mom makes great taco’s.” Sara adjusted where she was sitting and crossed her legs pulling the tray forward so Ava could move and sit directly across from her, and they both sat and ate the tacos in silence. Once they were done Ava quickly exited the room with the tray and went downstairs to clean their plates and put everything away. When she came back in, she had Sara’s bookbag and a small gym bag that she assumed had clothes in it and put them in her room. Ava made her way back to the bed where Sara was still sitting just looking out the window. Ava sat next to her and followed her gaze looking at the few stars she could see. “Do you want to talk about it?” Ava asked“I’m not sure what there is to talk about.” Sara just shrugged “They haven’t been good for a while honestly and I guess they decided they were better off apart than together. Or at least that’s what they told us this afternoon when they sat us down before Laurel left to go with the Queens.” She wiped a stray tear from her face that had fallen. “They seemed so happy when they were here?” Ava questioned“Yeah, well they put on a great show, they have been fighting nonstop for six months, ever since I came out to them.” Sara dropped her head and more tears fell. “She freaked out saying there you again being reckless. The only time Nyssa came to the house was when I was alone, or dad was home. He was the one who said he loved me no matter what. Whereas she just said oh there goes Sara being Sara. Why can’t you be more like Laurel.” Sara took a deep breath “Then they started fighting all the time.” Sara wiped tears away from her face. “I think I’m the reason they are getting a divorce Ava.” She looked at her friend. “It’s all my fault.” Sara by this point couldn’t hold her tears in any longer and she let them fall freely. Ava reached her arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. “This isn’t your fault, Sara. It sounds like your dad wasn’t going to let your mom treat you that way. He stood up for you.” Ava held her tighter.“But if all that crap with Nyssa had never happened it would have been fine.” Sara dug her face into Ava’s shoulder sobbing.“Your parents aren’t divorcing because you dated a girl. They are divorcing because your father saw his wife treat one of their kids like crap.” Ava whispered to her and then took her chin and pulled her face up so she could look in her eyes. “There is nothing wrong with you. And your father stood up for you like any parent should.” Ava smiled.“You know that goes for you too, right.” Sara said moving her forehead to rest against Ava’s “I don’t know how your parents are going to react, but I honestly truly hope its nothing like my parents.”“I don’t know how they will when I decide to say something. But I can tell you right now no matter what you have family remember, I know its hard to deal with the issue with your mom right now and you’re hurting but you have us. Your chosen family don’t forget that okay.” She leans in to push Sara a little with her forehead. Sara nods and lowers her head back to Ava’s shoulder and then turns it to look out the window again. “Ava.” “Yeah?” Ava looked over at Sara as she turned to look up at her. “Thanks for not giving up on me.” Sara smiled and moved her head back to looking out the window. “Well, I did swear and oath.” Ava chuckled causing Sara to poke her in the stomach and laugh. The next few days Sara chose to stay with the Sharpe’s with her father working so much and not wanting to be alone. Then the last day of school everyone flocked over to Ava’s house for their first summer pool party. For the first few weeks of summer Sara spent quite a lot of time with the Sharpe’s until Laurel got back from her trip with the Queens. But even after Laurel had gotten home it wasn’t abnormal to find Sara at Ava’s house. Pam and Randy had called her a bonus daughter which Ava got a kick out of. Sara had helped Ava study for her driver’s test, something that she was super nervous about. She passed the written test with no issues thanks to Sara telling her she would ace it. But Ava learning to drive was completely different Randy would take Ava out driving at least once a day and it took a couple weeks for Randy not to come back looking like a ghost. Ava would freely admit driving was stressful and it took her a while to get a hang of it. School studying this was something she could do but driving scared her and she let that fear really take over for the first couple of weeks while learning to drive. Then she watched this video that basically explained she was having an internal panic attack and it showed her some breathing tricks she started doing those and quickly noticed that she was able to relax a little while driving and her dad wasn’t pale when he got out of the car and even started to give her compliments. Summer was in full swing now and they were taking turns between legends houses so they weren’t always invading the Sharpe’s house. Just being Legends and hanging out they all decide to go over to Nate’s house and just chill in his basement playing pool and video games. Then someone had a grand idea to play seven minutes in heaven, it was really a ploy to get Nora and Ray into a closet to kiss. But it backfired on Ava and Sara without them really knowing. Sara and Ava had rigged the game initially, but someone had noticed it and added everyone else’s name in the hat. So, five people chose a name without looking and they were both blindfolded and pushed into a dark room with the other person who was also put in the room that has a conjoining door on the other side also with a blindfold on. Ava stood in the dark really not sure why she agreed to do this, and she really didn’t want her first kiss to be meaningless, and good god she didn’t want to have to kiss Mick. So, when she felt the door open, and a person was pushed into the room with a grunt she reached out and found a body directly in front of her. Sara leaned in whispered in Ava’s ear knowing it was her once she was close enough to smell Ava’s perfume, she always wore the same one it smelled like coconut.“So, I think Nora and Ray figured out what we were doing?” Sara whispered in a laugh.“Oh, thank god I was really hoping it was you because I didn’t want to be stuck in here with Mick.” Ava breathed out and took off her blindfold, she couldn’t see Sara but she knew she was close they were almost pressed against each other because the closet they were in may have had two doors but there wasn’t much room in it. A voice from the other side of the door interrupted the silence. “We can hear you talking!” Nora snickered “No talking allowed.” Everyone started laughing, and Ava rolled her eyes even though it was dark she knew Sara would know she had. “Well let’s do this then.” Sara said.“Wait, are we actually going to kiss?” Ava was nervous now she has never kissed anyone before, and kissing Sara wasn’t on the top of her list of things to do. They were best friends; it didn’t seem to be right in her mind. “Yes, we have too they will know if we didn’t.” Sara moved closer to Ava causing her to almost to lose her balance, but Sara grabbed her as if she could clearly see her and stop her from tipping over. “How will they know?” Ava asked in a whisper.“Because when people make out their lips kind of look swollen after a minute or two.” Sara explained and now Ava was even more anxious. “Wait were going to make out?” Ava was panicking and Sara could hear it in her voice. Another voice came through the door at that moment. “We can still hear you talking so we are re-starting the clock!” Charlie yelled through the door. “Dammit!” Ava said under her breath.“Ava.” Sara said in the calmest quiet voice she could and grabbed Ava’s hands to try and ground her, “Listen to me okay, I knew you were in here Zari, and I had a signal, so I took Charlie’s place because lord that was not going to go well. So honestly, I figured it would be best if I was the one who kissed you okay. Trust me I got you, and I’m definitely not Mick so there’s that.” Ava took a deep breath in and whispered her response. “Ok.” Sara moved one of her hands to Ava’s cheek and pulled her a little closer until their lips met. It was soft and sweet when Sara pulled back to make sure everything was okay her hand on Ava’s face, she could feel Ava nod, so she brought her other hand up to cup the other side of Ava’s face and pulled her in for another kiss this one a little more intense their lips moving against each other still softly but with more passion behind it this time. Ava’s hands found Sara’s hips and she rested them there but pulled Sara a little closer, so their bodies were pushed together causing Sara’s breath to hitch. Sara then decided to go for it and ran her tongue along Ava’s bottom lip when Ava slightly opened her mouth Sara moved both of her hands and wrapped them around Ava’s neck and pulled her into a much deeper kiss sliding her tongue to meet Ava’s. If Ava had never kissed anyone before Sara wouldn’t have known because this was quite possibly the best kiss Sara had ever experienced in her entire life. Ava matched Sara’s movements and at one point moved one of her hands to the side of Sara’s face wrapping her fingers in Sara’s hair. Ava was on cloud nine why had she been so afraid of kissing someone this was amazing the feeling the soft lips against hers, the feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the fire she felt running through her body. She didn’t know how long they had kissed when they finally parted if only for air. They rested their foreheads against each other’s. “Wow.” Sara breathed out she couldn’t see Ava’s face because of the dark and she hated it because she didn’t know how Ava was reacting right now. “Yeah, wow.” Ava breathed out and they just sat there for the rest of their time putting their blindfolds back on when they thought time was about to be up. And they were pulled out of the room. Then the next couple went in. By the end of the night Zari and Nate had made out, Ray and Nora, Charlie and Mick which left Wally and Jax and Amaya so since there was an odd man maya said she would split the time with each of them because she didn’t want either to feel left out. Even though they had been caught trying to rig the game Sara and Ava watched as Ray and Nora by the end of the night had made out several more times. Finding themselves fist bumping as their plan had actually worked in helping those two finally realize their attraction for each other. Ava and Sara agreed to just not talk about the kiss again and move on if it had helped them get Nora and Ray together, they felt like it was worth it. The next few weeks went by quickly, but the legends were everywhere after the year they had last year they just wanted to be together as much as possible. Ava was off on a camping trip with her folks, so Sara spent more time at home with Laurel and her dad. She was feeling more comfortable at home and even though the Sharpe’s offered for her to come camping with them she said saying she needed to make sure she probably should try and actually spend time with her father now that everything had settled down a little bit since her mother had moved out. Ava hadn’t told anyone that they had gotten home a day early from their trip due to some inclement weather coming in and she managed to sneak up to Sara’s house where they were having family night. She had text Laurel and told her to sneak her in the front door without the Legends seeing her. So, while they were in a heated conversation over what movie they wanted to watch Ava chimed in.“They all sound like crap!” She yelled as everyone snapped their heads towards her and almost instantly all jumped to their feet to get to her. “Ava!” Nate yelled as he got to her first then grunted when Ray slammed into the two of them and the next thing Ava knew she was surrounded by all the legends in a huge group hug, and she found herself laughing. When they all broke apart Sara grabbed her and pulled her into a bear hug. “I got stuck on the outside of the hug because Ray pushed me down.” She said as she hugged Ava so tight, she almost couldn’t breathe. But she found comfort in her best friends embrace. “Can I talk to you for a second privately?” Ava asked quietly Sara pulled back from the hug and nodded and grabbed her hand and brought her into the hallway away from everyone else. But Ava pulled her up the stairs and started to head towards Sara’s room. Once inside she went and sat on the side of Sara’s bed and took a deep breath looking down at her hands in her lap. “I told them.” “Told who what?” Sara asked.“I told my parents that I was a lesbian.” She looked down and fiddled with her fingers, Sara immediately made her way over in front of Ava and got on her knees in front of her and placed her hands on Ava’s fidgeting hands. “How did it go?” Sara said lifting Ava’s chin up to meet her eyes. “Oddly it went really well. Like, they asked some questions which were awkward for sure. But overall, they both seemed fine with it. And dad even said he kind of already knew he said a father’s intuition or some crap. I don’t know but, the thing is I told them.” Ava smiled “I’m not by any means ready to come out or anything but I had to tell them first before I could tell other people you know.” Sara pulled Ava into a brief hug and then pulled back and looked at her.“Wait. What kind of questions did they ask?” Sara was wondering what awkward questions parents would ask in that situation.“Oh, well first they asked me if I was a virgin and of course I just wanted to die. But I told them of course I was. Then they actually asked me if I was sure, which I told them I had been feeling this way for a while now and I wouldn’t have told them if I wasn’t sure. And then they asked me if I had a girlfriend and I told them no obviously and then they asked…” She started to laugh before trying to contain herself so she could finish. “Then they asked me if I had dated you or Zari. Which I literally laughed out loud at that those were the first two people that came to mind. So, I assured them that you guys were just my best friends and nothing more.” Ava smiled and looked back down at her hands. “I just wanted you to know just in case you come over soon and maybe they might act weird. I think they might pay more attention to me when I have friends over now like girl friends not girlfriends. You know.” Sara started to laugh.“Oh, I get it.” She hugged Ava again “I am so proud of you.” Ava hugged her back and when they broke apart, they both stood up and Sara started to walk to the door and Ava stopped her by grabbing her hand and moving to step in front of her. “Hey, how are you and your mom doing?” Ava asked she just realized that Sara’s mother hadn’t taken her coming out that great and now she felt like an ass basically throwing it in Sara’s face that her parents were totally cool with her coming out. “Ehh. We haven’t really talked much. But Ava please don’t worry about that. I seriously thought your mom would freak the fuck out, so I am really happy that it went well.” Ava didn’t let her leave, yet she held up her pinky.“Pinky Swear.” Sara hooked her pinky with Ava’s and smiled.“Pinky Swear.” Ava smiled and hugged Sara and then she turned and opened the door, and they went back downstairs where the legends were still arguing over what movie to watch. And Sat back and let them argue just enjoying being with their friends. They were three weeks from staring the Junior year and they were all excited and had one big end of the year pool party planned next week at the Sharpe’s. Pam and Randy went all out this year for the end of summer pool party they knew how much Ava’s friends meant to her and after the last two years they had grown fond of all of the kids. Randy had even upgraded the backyard pool area by adding a TV outside under the back porch with a game system ready to go, a fire pit, and six-foot slide leading into the pool. “Dude your parents bought a fire pit?” Jax asked.“Yeah, my dad said it added atmosphere for when the sun goes down.” Ava rolled her eyes“Do you think they would let me move in?” Jax started laughing and Ava just pushed him and walked away from the fire pit. Zari immediately found herself on the game system, Nate and Ray ran over to the slide and started fighting over who was going down first as the girls just watched in amusement. Ava was laying back with an oversized Air Force t-shirt on over her bathing suit just laying down on one of the poolside chaise loungers with her eyes closed listening to her friends all around her. When she felt someone standing over her and shade covering her face. Ava opened one of her eyes to see Sara standing over her with a huge grin.“Come on we want to play chicken.” Sara said“Oh, come on, I’m relaxing!” Ava whined“You can relax later; Ray is going have Wally on his shoulders and Nate always drops me.” She grabs Ava’s hands and start to pull her up against her will. Ava reluctantly gets up and is still pouting. “Fine but hold on let me take this shirt off.” Ava turns back and lifts the shirt over her head. When Sara turns around and sees Ava without the shirt, she sees Ava in a two-piece black bikini and her breath catches. She had never seen Ava in a two piece, and she had never seen that much of Ava’s skin. Yeah, she wore shorts, but she wasn’t one to flaunt her body like some girls do, Ava tended to be more reserved. But Sara could see all the muscles in her back and when Ava turned around to face Sara her knees almost buckled. Ava had not only had defined six pack abs but somehow when Sara wasn’t paying attention not that she would possibly pay attention to Ava that way, Ava had become a woman and Sara was staring at her voluptuous breasts. Ava could feel Sara’s eyes on her, and she could feel the blush raising from her neck to her face. She had never worn a two piece before but had seen one she really liked when her and her mother had been shopping last week and she grabbed it of the rack. When she got home and tried it on, she was shocked to find she didn’t feel uncomfortable wearing it. She quickly noticed her changing body and knew she was growing into her own. She was becoming more confident even if she would probably wear a t-shirt over the two pieces at the pool party to avoid the boys staring but she never thought it would be Sara who she had to snap out of it. Ava reached towards Sara’s chin and lifted it up, so Sara’s eyes met hers.“Eyes up here Lance.” She smirked even though she was blushing it for some reason it didn’t bother her that she caught Sara staring at her. “Sorry.” Sara said turning a bright shade of red “I…Just…When did that happen?” She motioned towards Ava’s body causing Ava to laugh and push Sara away from her. “When you weren’t paying attention obviously.” Ava raised her eyebrows and then ran and jumped into the pool leaving Sara still standing in shock. Her mind racing Ava had grown into some Amazonian Goddess overnight and Sara was still trying to wrap her brain around it. She looked over at the pool where Ava had just jumped in and saw Ava come to the surface pushing her hair back. It was like everything was in slow motion and Ava was the only thing she could see right now nobody else. She finally snapped out of her haze by a smiling Ava who started to shack her head and move towards the edge of the pool where she had jumped in. “Sara? Are you coming or what?” She said knowing Sara was still stuck in her head. “Yeah, I’m coming.” Sara said and ran and leaped over Ava into the pool she needed to be in the cool water and grateful for it because her entire body was on fire. Sara and Ava remained the Chicken Champions yet again, and the pool party continued into the night Junior Year was around the corner and they were all looking forward to it. But Sara was now trying to navigate a newfound feeling she had towards Ava something she shouldn’t be feeling a physical attraction with her best friend. Junior year was going to be hard as fuck for one Sara Lance.
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About two weeks into Junior year Ava had already realized she would probably have to come out, in just fourteen short days she had already been asked out by so many guys it was getting annoying. She would just say no thanks or come up with some excuse about how her parents didn’t allow her to date. Ava was in her locker rummaging through her bag looking for some money for lunch when Lance Harris walks up to her and leans on the locker next to her. “Ava, how are you beautiful?” Lance has a mischievous smirk on his face when Ava looks over at him and rolls her eyes. She shuts her locker phone and money in hand and gives him her attention she knew what was coming but she was about to enjoy this. Lance had once asked out Nora, Sara, and treated Ray like shit because he was the one Nora chose. Not to mention he spent a better part of a year chasing after Sara and that annoyed the shit out of her. “Can I help you, Lance?” She asked smiling and shifting herself, so she was leaning on the locker with her head cocked to the side trying to seem somewhat interested in what he had to say. “Well, I was hoping I could help you actually.” He smiled; Ava did everything she could to not make a face or throw up because the cologne he was wearing was strong enough to kill an ox.“And how can you help me?” Ava was going to really enjoy this although this weird flirting she is trying feels not comfortable she could almost feel her skin crawling. On the other side of the hallway Sara is in conversation with Ray about Friday’s Family night, when she notices Ray isn’t paying attention to her anymore his eyes had looked up and found Lance Harris leaned against a locker and Ava facing him leaning against her locker and they were talking. “Why is Ava talking to Lance Harris?” Ray asked Sara followed his line of sight and noticed the body language, Ava didn’t look uncomfortable and almost everyday had told Sara how random guys were asking her out. Sara was the only one who knew she was a lesbian, so it confused Sara when she saw what almost looked like flirting between the two. Without even realizing it Sara had balled both her fists at her side so tight that her knuckles were turning almost white. “I have no idea.” Sara mumbled through her teeth, why was she so mad she could feel the anger bubbling inside of her. How dare Lance talk to Ava, he shouldn’t even be that close to her or even look at her. Sara shook her head not understanding the thoughts she was having. She just assured herself it was because of the Ray situation. Lance had treated him like crap for the last two years and the legends genuinely hated him. “Ava wouldn’t...” Ray stopped himself and looked at Sara. “She wouldn’t actually date him, would she?” then he turned his attention back to the two down the hall. “Over my dead body.” Sara said and before she could think her legs were moving her in the direction of the two down the hall. Ray noticed and quickly followed on her heels ready for anything because he knew Sara looked pissed and Sara pissed always meant trouble. As they approached Sara stopped as she heard Ava asking what Lance could help her with and it caused Ray to bump into her back. She quickly looked up at him and an apologetic smile crossed his face. She threw her hand up as if to motion to wait a minute. She shifted over along the locker, so they weren’t standing in the middle of the hallway but close enough to hear what he was saying and honestly it took everything Sara had not to laugh. Ava was waiting on an answer it looked like Lance was lost in thought and finally he took a small step closer to her so he could get out what he wanted to say. Oh the smell..“Well, I’d love to take you to dinner, and after that maybe drive up to Cromer’s Corner and work on our non-verbal communication.” He winked at her and God she felt her entire body quiver, but she was invested in this moment. And she was recording because the legends were going to love this. “Non-Verbal communication?” She asked and shyly smiled at him, throwing the bait out and he took it. He took another step closer almost to close, but Ava wasn’t scared of him she didn’t like him in her space, but he deserved this. “What exactly does that mean?” Ava looked down smiling and when she looked back up at him, she took a piece of her hair and tucked it behind her hair. She knew this would get his attention because honestly, she knew it made Sara blush anytime she did it, so it had to be cute right?“Do you need an example?” He asked moving in towards her, and she froze oh my god was he about to kiss her? Wow! And before she could stop him or even put her hand up, he was being slammed into a locker by Sara. “What the fuck Sara?” He yelled, Ava’s eyes went wide in shock and the next thing she knew Ray was right behind Sara as Lance was trying to push her off him and Ray pushed him back into the locker moving Sara out of the way towards a shocked Ava. “What the hell Ava?” Sara brought Ava back to reality and she looked into Sara’s eyes she was pissed. So, Ava did the only thing she could think of and smiled and turned her phone screen, so it was facing Sara. Sara looking down and seeing the screen and that it was recording and looked up at Ava who now had a smirk on her face. Sara seemed to understand what was happening, so she moved out of the way and Ava moved forward to where Ray was holding Lance against the locker.Ava reached up and grabbed one of Ray’s hands and squeezed it Ray looked over at Ava who was smiling. She had never seen Ray angry before not really and she could see the anger in his eyes. “It’s okay Ray let him go ok.” Ava said softly and Ray loosened his grip and Ava nodded reassuringly so he finally let Lance go. Ava moved to face Lance “Do remember Ray here?” She patted Ray on the back. “If you don’t, I can assure you I remember how you’ve treated him in the past. And if you think for one second, I was interested in going anywhere with you, well Lance I’d have to say you live in some kind of fantasy world.” Lance’s face was turning red, and some people had stopped and noticed the verbal altercation. “Also, seriously you need to lay off whatever cologne you apparently bath in because I have been trying not to throw up this entire conversation. And as for Non-Verbal Communication how’s this.” Ava looks over at Sara and smiles grabbing Sara by her shirt and pulling her closer to her and brings their lips together in a kiss that gets hot quickly but stops so abruptly that Sara barely has time to register what has just happened when they part and Ava winks at her and lets go of her shirt as Sara leans back into the locker in shock Ava turning back to Lance. “Does that answer your question. If it doesn’t how is this?” Ava sticks her middle finger up in his face grabbing Ray by the arm and pulling him away. Leaving a shocked Sara and Lance leaning against the lockers. “Holy shit I can’t believe you just did that Ava.” Rays says a huge smile now on his face. “You kissed Sara in front of everyone.” He chuckles and Ava starts to laugh.“I can’t believe I did that either.” She looks and notices Sara is not there and quickly turns around to see Sara still leaning against the locker. “Shit!” Ava runs quickly back to Sara stopping in front of the dazed blonde grabs her arm and pulls her back to where she left Ray. “Come on let’s get to lunch.” She pulls Sara along as they make their way into the lunchroom and over to their table. She sits Sara down and walks to go get some food. Ray sits down across from Sara who is still dazed and in shock and hasn’t said a word. “Sara?” Ray asks and Sara looks at him. “Are you okay?”“That was intense.” Sara answered“I’d say so.” He smiled and looked over to where Ava was and then back to Sara who was just sitting there quietly her mind racing not knowing what to do. When Ava appeared again with a tray full of food and put it in front of her and Sara as she sat next to her and nudged her shoulder.“Eat something.” Ava said to Sara as she nudged the tray over and then looked at Ray. “Lance Harris is a jackass; you know I would never ever betray you like that right?”Ray nodded in agreement with Ava and turned his attention to Sara who was now looking at the tray of food in front of her and she slowly reached down grabbing an apple off the tray and then looking at Ava then looking down and taking a bite. “So, are you guys like a thing?” Ray asked motioning between Sara and Ava. “No.” Sara blurted out causing Ava to look down almost disappointed. And before anyone could say anything more legends showed up to the table most in just the few minutes had heard about the altercation in the hallway and questions start getting thrown around the table. “Did Ray kick Lance Harris’ Ass?” Zari asked“I heard Ava kissed Ray!” Wally chimed in causing Ray and Ava to laugh and Sara to sit straight up looking confused. “Is it true?” Jax asked Ava “Lance Harris asked you out and Ray pushed him up against the locker.”“Wait guys I just heard the craziest thing.” Charlie said as she approached the table. “Ava did you kiss Sara?” Everyone’s eyes were now on Ava and Sara and Ray stayed quiet wanting them to answer. So, Ava spoke up first explaining what happened. “Let me explain exactly what happened and then you can sort out the truths and the lies.” Ava took a deep breath. “Yes, Lance did approach me and ask me out and even mentioned non-verbal communication which by the way it took every ounce of me to not punch him or throw up on him. And why does he smell like he bathes in cologne.” She looked around and saw no amusement. “Sorry random thought moving on. Well, I actually got it on audio recording, so I have proof. I honestly was going with it so I could turn him down and embarrass him you know because he is an asshole. But my plan didn’t go so well because he was leaning in to kiss me which by the way I would not have let happen but before I could do anything this one.” She points at Sara “Grabs him and throws him into a locker and completely shocks the shit out of me. Then all of the sudden he decides he is going to push her back, but Ray is there grabs him and pushes back into the locker and takes Sara’s place.” She looks around and everyone is starting to smile. “So, in an effort to prove to him I wasn’t interested and would never be interested and using what he called Non-verbal communication.” She paused and looked at Sara who just kind of looked confused still. “I grabbed Sara and kissed her in front of everyone, flipped him off and grabbed Ray and came here.” Ava grabbed a fry off the tray in front of her and Sara and ate it. “Now each of your gets once question and I will answer it honestly no matter the question.” Ava says as she grabs more fries and begins to eat waiting on the first question. “Can we hear the recording?” Wally asks“Yes, but after I listen to it, I don’t even know if I got everything. I’ll send it to the group chat on one condition and that is, it doesn’t leave our group ever. I wanted to embarrass him for sure, but I wasn’t going to use that recording as anything but like possible blackmail later if he got stalkerish.” “Why did you kiss Sara?” Nora asked“Well, if were being honest I have spent the last two weeks putting all of my energy telling random guys random reasons why I cannot go out with them. I had been talking to Sara and I told her that one of these days I was just going to grab her and kiss in front of everyone so they would just leave me alone. And she had said I could if I needed too. So, I felt the need to do that.” Ava took a deep breath and waited for the next question, and it came from an unlikely source sitting right next to her.“Why?” Sara asked looking up at Ava and smiling as if to say tell them why you don’t want guys asking you out. She felt a sense of calmness in Sara’s eyes, and it made the next thing she said so much easier. So, Ava took a deep breath and looked around the table at everyone who was waiting on an answer. “I have never said this out loud to anyone, but my parents and Sara and I hadn’t planned on saying anything yet but apparently over the summer since you know.” She motioned at her body as if everyone should understand but looking around, she saw a lot of confused faces. “Boobs guys she has boobs now.” Sara said rather amused by the shocked faces around her as Ava looked at her shocked at her blunt statement. Ava continued.“Okay that’s what I was trying to avoid saying but yes that would be what I meant. Every guy in this school now thinks its okay to suddenly notice me and ask me out or stare at me constantly. But the thing is I’ll never say yes to any of them.” Ava looks at everyone and there are still confused faces all around her and she looks at Sara not sure what to do when Sara leans in and whispers in her ear. “The need verbal conformation there Ava not the brightest group sometimes.” Sara laughs and looks around at all the weird looks on everyone’s faces.“Oh.” Ava says and then clears her throat. “I’m a lesbian.” She waits to see reactions as the statement spreads throughout her friends faces some smiles some laugh. “That’s awesome!” Ray says reaching out his hand to grab Ava’s hand “Thanks for telling us that.” Ava smiles and nods and looks around the table everyone now has smiles on their faces. “You guys aren’t weirded out or anything?” Ava asks“Why would we be?” Asks Nate.“Yeah, your still Ava.” Nora chimes in Mick grunts next to her. Ava felt tears welling up in her eyes she was always so scared that her friends would turn their backs on her because of this. She knew it was stupid to think that, but it was still scary she had read so many things online about families and friends who rejected people because of their sexuality, and it was a deep-seated fear she had and to have such a profound response from her friends made her feel like breaking down. She let the tears fall and everyone around her just kept smiling when oddly enough Mick stood up and walked over to her and as she looked up to him from her seat he reached down and hugged her. Once he broke the hug he walked away and sat back in his seat as she sat there shocked, and everyone just bust out laughing. “Ok I have a question then?” She heard Charlie ask. Ava waited wondering what else could they possibly want to know. “Is Sara a good kisser?” Everyone snapped their heads towards Ava whose eyes went wide, and she looked over to Sara who had a shit eating grin on her face, but Ava had promised to answer honestly, and the truth was she had only ever kissed Sara it was starting to kind of become their thing and she wasn’t sure why. First in the closet and now at school, and if Ava could admit it, she wouldn’t mind kissing Sara Lance all the time. But they were best friends and that would be crossing a line and she had already pushed it to far today with Sara, so she was going to leave that up to her. If Sara wanted to kiss her again it would have to be Sara that initiated the kiss. So, Ava laughed as she got ready to answer honestly as she had promised. “Best I’ve ever had.” She said with a huge grin on her face, Sara knew she had only ever kissed her, so she laughed at the statement and all the guys started whooping at Sara and she was waving them off to tell them to stop. Nobody asked anymore questions after that and they finished lunch talking about other things and Ava was fine with that because she felt emotional drained, but she walked a little taller after that. Like a load had been lifted from her shoulders and she didn’t mind it. Eventually most in the school had heard about the incident and Lance Harris never messed with Ava or any of the legends again after that.The next few weeks were fairly quiet all though Ava did have her fair share of run-ins of guys asking her out and she now just calmly rejected by letting them know she was a lesbian and not interested. It didn’t scare her anymore her friends and family had accepted her, and she had figured making up stories now just wasn’t worth it. About a month after the Lance Harris issue Ava found herself at her locker when she was approached by non-other than Alex Danvers. Alex and Sara had hooked up back when Sara was a freshman and figuring out her sexuality and had never paid Ava any attention. Ava used to be nervous around Alex but now she had a confidence about her, so the nervousness was no longer there.“Hey Ava.” Alex said as she approached, and Ava looked up to see her closing her locker.“Hey Alex, what’s up?” Ava asked“Well, I was wondering if you were busy Friday night?” Alex asked and Ava’s mind went about six different ways was Alex Danvers asking her out? Why would she be asking her out? What would Sara say? She honestly didn’t know what to say and then it dawned on her she was busy Friday was family night with the legends, so she had to say no. “Sorry, I can’t Friday.” Ava smiled and looked down at her shoes and then back to Alex. “How about Saturday night then? Alex asked, Ava couldn’t think of what to say Saturday was her birthday and she had plans with her parents all day, but they hadn’t told her what they were doing so she didn’t know when she would be free. “Oddly enough I have plans with my folks on Saturday and I’m not sure what were doing they are keeping it a surprise because its my birthday.” Ava was starting to get nervous now. She thought after saying no to Friday Alex would leave it alone, but she seemed persistent. “Okay, that’s cool. Here give me your phone.” Alex motioned for the phone and Ava pulled it out of her back pocket and handed it Alex. Alex typed a few things in and then handing it back to Ava. Alex leaned into Ava’s personal space and whispered, “If you think Sara Lance is a good kisser just wait until I get those lips.” And she walked away leaving Ava a flustered blushing mess standing in shock. After school Ava went searching for Sara was, she normally was behind the school in a shady spot they met up in. But when she got there, she didn’t see anyone, none of the legends were there so she put her bag down and waited for Sara who was going to freak out when Ava told her what happened with Alex earlier. Ava waited about ten minutes and checked her phone to see the time and decided maybe it was time to head home she tried to call Sara, but she didn’t answer and just as she picked up her bag she looked up and saw Alex approaching her. Alex did say a word to Ava just walked directly up to her and into her space and planted her lips against Ava’s.Ava didn’t know how to respond at first, she just let her hands stay holding onto her backpack as Alex moved in closer to Ava brushing her tongue along Ava’s bottom lip and trying to deepen this kiss Ava let her. Ava didn’t even notice when her hand came up and wrapped around Alex’s neck pulling her in a little more and kissing more aggressively to the point where Ava decided that it was enough, she moved her hand down to Alex’s shoulder and pushed away a little to break the kiss. Alex whined at the loss of contact, but Ava didn’t feel anything while she was kissing Alex. It was nice and everything, but her stomach didn’t do somersaults or get butterflies like it did when she kissed Sara it was just bland in her mind. Ava looked around and saw Sara over by the back door of the building eyes wide and mouth open in shock staring at Alex and Ava who were only inches away and when she saw Ava looking at her, she turned around opened the door and bolted through it. “Shit.” Ava said and then looked at Alex “What the hell was that?” “A kiss.” Alex said very matter of fact and went to lean into kiss Ava again but was stopped by Ava putting her hand on her shoulder. “I’m not going to do this with you.” Ava said and threw her backpack on her shoulders. “Why not?” Alex asked, “It’s not like you have many options.” Causing Ava to laugh.“Well, I think it’s called girl code or something. You dated Sara and she is my best friend, and I can’t date you. Also, that was great and everything, but I didn’t ask you to kiss me, and I didn’t really feel anything like, no spark.” Ava finished what she said and started to walk away when Alex grabbed her by the wrist, and she turned to face her. “What do you mean no spark? You kissed me back.” Alex didn’t understand Ava’s response to all of this. “Like I didn’t feel anything it was just a kiss.” Ava responded and Alex let go of her wrist. “Oh, I get it. Its Sara right?” Alex asked“What?” Ava wasn’t sure what she meant.“You like Sara?” Alex asked more clearly. “No, not like that.” Ava wasn’t sure how to respond really Sara was her best friend, but she wasn’t sure that’s a path they could go down. She didn’t want to risk losing Sara by asking to be more than friends that was something she couldn’t ever let happen, she could never lose Sara. “I just… this is all new to me okay and I’m still figuring it out. And honestly I’m not interested in dating anyone now.” Ava said and started to back away from Alex and showed an apologetic smile turning to the door that Sara had went in and went to look for her. Ava looked for Sara everywhere in the school and didn’t find her, so she figured maybe Sara had headed home. When she got to Sara’s house, she knocked on the door and no one answered. So, there was only one other place Ava knew she might be, so she headed to the gym. When she got to the gym she looked around and finally laid her eyes on Sara. Sara was across the room beating the shit out of punching bag from what Ava could see. So, she approached her and cleared her throat causing Sara to stop and look over at her, but she quickly went back to hitting the punching bag. “What” Sara punches the bag “are” Sara kicks the bag “you” Sara punches the bag “doing here?” Sara punches the bag again and then stops just watching the bag sway back and forth. “I wanted to talk to you.” Ava put her bag down on the ground. “Well, I’m kind of busy.” Sara retorted kicking the bag again and watching it sway back and forth. “Maybe you could talk to Alex.” Sara said and kicked the bad again. “Okay we are not doing this.” Ava said and walked towards Sara and grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the nearest door and opened it to a dark room. She reached her hand around found a light switch flipping it on and an empty room with a desk and a chair lit up around them. She pulled Sara into the room closing the door behind her and locking the door. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you jealous or something?” “Am I jealous, are you kidding me right now?” Sara yelled at her.“That’s what this looks like.” Ava said motioning her hands towards Sara’s perfect body good lord it was the first time Ava had seen her all sweaty and muscles tense. But now was not the time to think about that.“No, I’m pissed there is a difference.” “You’re pissed? Explain to me why you’re pissed then.” Ava put her arms across her chest and waited. “Why would you kiss Alex Danvers?” Sara asked putting arms around her chest.“I didn’t kiss Alex Danvers, she kissed me!” Ava retorted. “Sure, looked like you were kissing her from what I saw.” Sara snarled“Look even though your being childish about this I am going to explain. I was waiting for you when she walked up to me and just kissed me. I have no idea why, but she did.” Ava said dropping her arms down to her side. “You kissed her back.” Sara said.“Was I not supposed too I mean I don’t know yeah I guess I did but that doesn’t mean it meant anything.” Ava wasn’t sure why she was explaining it like that but its how it came out. “So let me get this straight.” Sara said and started walking towards Ava with an angry face, so Ava took steps backwards and didn’t realize how close she was to a wall until she was already against it and Sara was right in front of her. “Alex just came outside saw you and walked up to you and kissed you?” “Basically.” Ava breathed out. “Well earlier in the day she came up to me at my locker and asked me out on a date with her and I turned her down. That’s why I was waiting to talk to you because I thought you’d get a kick out of that.” Ava was rambling. “Did you like it?” Sara asked under her breath“Did I like what?” Ava retorted “No, you know what I don’t want to know.” Sara turned to leave when the lightbulb clicked for Ava, and she rushed forward before the door could open and pushed her hand on the door to make sure it didn’t open, and Sara couldn’t leave. Sara dropped her hands down to her side and turned to face Ava her head tilted up to see Ava. “No, I didn’t not with her.” Ava whispered and Sara reached up and pulled her into a kiss. Ava responded by pushing Sara up against the wall and pressing her body up against Sara’s. And there was that spark like a fire coursing through her body she could feel herself melting into Sara against the wall. Sara bit her bottom lip and then ran her tongue across it making Ava moan for the first time in her life. Ava could only think of one thing right now. Was this what being turned on felt like because if so, she understood why people had problems stopping once it gets started. So, she bit Sara’s lip back and then mirrored the tongue soothing just as Sara had. She felt the moment Sara’s knees almost buckled and she reached down and wrapped her arm around Sara’s waist to hold her up. This kiss was breathtaking it was passionate it was so fucking good that Ava didn’t want to let her go. But again, Ava’s brain starts going and all she can think about is losing Sara. Not having her in her life if something goes wrong. She liked kissing Sara she liked the amazing feeling that she got when she did, but she wouldn’t risk this she couldn’t risk this. She pulled away and rested her forehead against Sara’s trying to catch her breath as did Sara. “We can’t do this Sara.” Ava said “I know.” Sara whispered back. Ava pulled away from Sara and opened the door and walked out without another word, she grabbed her bag on the way out and left. What the hell was wrong with her, what the hell was wrong with them. They were best friends not girlfriends, they needed to have clear heads about this not let their hormones dictate what was happening. She wasn’t blind she knew Sara was attractive she had always known that. And she could see how Sara had looked at her lately she had caught Sara multiple times staring at her. But they needed to be smart about this. She needed to talk to Sara in a public place not a small, confined space because they didn’t seem to have impulse control when it came to small spaces or really just being alone. Once Ava made it home and threw her bag down and fell onto her bed, she looked at her phone and saw she had a text from Sara. It simply said “Sorry” she didn’t want Sara to regret anything because honestly, she didn’t, they just needed to be able to get through whatever this was intact and remain best friends. Ava texted her back asking her to meet her tomorrow which was Friday and hour before family night at the ice cream shop. They could talk in a public place and make sure they understood each other. Ava sat at the ice cream shop nervously waiting for Sara to arrive, she had trouble sleeping last night, it seemed every time she closed her eyes she was met with those blue eye and that damn smile. She tossed and turned all night and then her alarm went off the only thing she could think about was this afternoon and making sure the right things were said. She was so deep in her thoughts she didn’t even see Sara walk in and before she knew it, she looked up and was met with those same blue eyes directly across from her. “Hi.” Sara greeted Ava as she came back to reality. “Hey.”“So, you wanted to talk, let’s talk.” Sara whispered her eyes down almost as if she didn’t want to make eye contact with Ava. “Ok let’s just talk about it.” Ava wants to get right to the truth. “We keep letting our emotions dictate our actions. At least that’s what I think it is. And…” Ava wants to make sure this comes out the way she needs it too. She takes a deep breath, “Sara, you’re my best friend and I don’t want to mess that up. I almost lost you last year because we didn’t communicate about what was going on and I don’t want that to happen again, so I felt like talking about this was important to make sure we didn’t make the same mistake again.” Ava notices that Sara hadn’t looked up yet and she wanted her too. “Sara, can you look at me?” she asked“I’m sorry Ava.” Sara still didn’t look up. “Sara please look at me.” Ava reached over and touched her hand and Sara slowly raised her eyes to meet Ava’s. “I am not mad at you. Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster and it happened the thing is, I can’t lose you Sara. And doing this (she motions between them) it’s too much of a risk. I don’t want to wake up one day and not have my best friend.“You will never lose me.” Sara added“Sara, you don’t know that. I watched what happened with Nyssa I was there remember and I don’t ever want to risk that with you.” “I learned from that you know.” Sara chimed in. “I think we all learned from that but what I am saying is we have to stay friends. We can’t keep you know…” Ava trails off and her eyes wander around the shop. “Kissing?” Sara says with a smirk and Ava brings her eyes back to Sara and a slight blush rises in her face. “Yeah.” Ava whispers, Ava holds her hand up her pinky finger extended waiting for Sara to hook her pinky with Ava’s “I pinky swear that I will not kiss you again.”“I can’t make that promise Ava.” Sara looks at Ava seriously. “I won’t make a promise I can’t keep to you. So, I’ll reword it ok.” Ava nods and bites her bottom lip the only thing she can think about right now is the fact that Sara does want to kiss her. “Ok.” Ava waits as she can see Sara thinking of how to word the promise. When Sara hooks her pinky Ava takes a deep breath in. “I pinky swear I will not kiss you again unless you ask me too.” Sara said sternly in her mind that leaves the door open for both of them that way they don’t leave this table saying it will never happen because Sara wants to know it could be possible someday. And for some reason she has a feeling that Ava needs that too, so this was the best way to word it in her mind. Ava nods and the two release their fingers and smile. “Just so you know because I feel like you would have asked yesterday if the conversation had continued.” Ava leans in towards Sara and smiles “You are definitely a much better kisser than Alex.” And she leans back in her seat with a grin watching Sara’s face beam with a smile and turn bright red. Ava looked down at her watch and realized time had moved fairly quickly and they needed to head over to Nate’s house before they were late. “Hey, we should head out or were going to be late.” Ava said jumping up. “How sure are we that you’re getting a car tomorrow?” Sara asked and looked up at Ava“Not totally sure but its my sixteenth birthday and honestly my dad has been dropping not so subtle hints.” Ava laughed at the thought of her father asking her random questions about cars. “Why?”“Because I’m lazy and I need you to drive me everywhere.” Sara stood up and threw her arm around Ava’s shoulder as they walked out of the ice cream shop. “I feel like as my Best Friend it’s your duty to be me chauffeur.” Sara was chuckling and Ava just looked at her like she was crazy and pushed her away from her and took off running laughing, Sara dropped her head down and took a breath before moving into a jog to catch up to her. “Why do you feel the need to run everywhere?” “Because you get there faster.” Ava laughed“We’ll get there faster when you have a car!” Sara says and then takes off in front of Ava who just shakes her head. She knew she would drive Sara anywhere she wanted because that’s the thing with Ava she would do anything for Sara, and she knew Sara would do anything for her. The next day Ava’s parents did surprise her with a car. Nothing fancy just a nice four door sedan that a typical teenager should drive. And she was so grateful that after spending the day with her parents she called Zari and had her some over so they could surprise Sara by picking her up and heading over to Nate’s house to hang out. Nate had told Ava she had to come by this evening because his mother had made Ava a cake and it quickly turned into all the Legends coming over. Ava watched as Sara ran outside excited over the car and jumping up and down as they girls loaded up and headed over to Nate’s to join all their friends. Junior year was going pretty good so far.
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The holidays came and went as did track season and it really was going so quickly that Ava didn’t even realize how fast time starts to fly before she knew it Cross Country had started, and school had become pretty intense. Her prep for SAT and ACT had started she was still on track if everything went well according to her four-year plan. She had decided that she wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and had spoken to some people in admissions about it. The only thing that had changed was Amaya and Charlie has moved back to the UK. It was a sad goodbye but they both promised they would be back for college. The Legends were the as usual having fun whenever they could together and now that Ava and Mick had vehicles, they were able to tryout new places for hangouts. Wally had them go with him to his older brother’s house in Central City and they spent a weekend there which was a crazy change but was enjoyable. They were planning a beach trip soon excited to ring in the summer with a bang. But they still had to get through the rest of their Junior year, Ava hadn’t really had anymore issues with anyone asking her out boys or girls, but Sara seemed to be getting more attention as she seemed to say said yes to anyone asked her. Ava didn’t really understand why she was like that, but it was Sara and she always supported her. One thing she did do is make sure whoever she was with didn’t impede on her time with her friends which they were all glad to see. One thing that everyone was pumped about was Ava had made the finals for Cross Country State Championship. Ava herself was nervous of course because wasn’t sure how she had managed to qualify. So, the gang was all together looking at the map for the finals trying to figure out where everyone would stand it was about a three-hour drive to get there but everyone had gotten hotel rooms for that weekend, and they were all excited to cheer on Ava no matter where she finished. Ava was packing up and getting ready for the drive to the championship they were leaving at the end of the week, but Ava liked to be prepared. When someone started knocking on the door and she ran down to answer it. When she opened the door and saw Nora there it was kind of shocking.“Hey Nora.” Ava said in disbelief “We need to talk.” Nora said as she pushed in passed Ava and walked directly upstairs into Ava’s bedroom. “Ok.” Ava mumbled to herself and closed the door following Nora, when she made it to her room Nora was sitting on her bed waiting for her. “What’s up?” Ava asked and went and sat down next to her. “I did something stupid.” Nora said playing with the loose string on her shirt not looking up at Ava. “Is this where I ask you what you did? Or where you just tell me.” Ava asked“I slept with Ray!” Nora blurted out and fell back on the bed. Ava jumped up and ran to her door and closed it all the way this didn’t seem like a conversation she wanted her parents to overhear. “When?” making her way back to Nora on the bed.“Last night.” Nora said and sat back up. “Then I woke up and freaked out and ran out of the house. His mom is at some conference in San Diego, so we had planned to just spend the night together you know just hang out and cuddle maybe. And then one thing led to another…” Ava put her hand up to stop Nora.“I don’t think I need the details; I get it. But why did you freak out? I mean you guys are together, right? I mean I think we all just assumed it.” Ava said sitting back down next to her, Nora nodded and then fell back onto the bed. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. I mean it’s too soon, right?” Nora seemed to be thinking out loud.“I mean, I’m not sure? I know our parents constantly preach about like not having sex and stuff too early, but I mean I honestly think sixteen or above isn’t so bad and you and Ray are old enough to make that choice.” Ava was fumbling this she felt like maybe she wasn’t the best person to be talking to Nora about this. “I mean look at Sara.” Ava chuckled at that, and Nora propped her herself up on her elbows. “So, you and Sara did, right?” Nora asked and Ava’s eyes went completely wide. “No! Why would you think that no we haven’t…? I haven’t... No Nora me and Sara aren’t even dating.” Ava was completely shocked by the statement. “Oh, I thought after the kiss thing earlier this year you guys were.”“Nope.” Ava said simply. “But you would, wouldn’t you?” Nora asked and looked Ava directly in the eyes.“I don’t think so.” Ava was shaking her head of the possible thought running through her mind right now. “And how did this conversation turn into this I thought you were here to talk about you and Ray?”Nora sat up and looked at Ava and then took a deep breath. “What if he breaks up with me now?” Nora asked looking away “I mean that’s a thing right; guys get what they want and just ditch you.” “Nora, Ray would never do that to you.” Ava reached over and grabbed her hand. “He would never do something like that. Ray is probably the nicest person I have ever met in my life. And if there was a female clone version of him, I would totally jump on her.” Ava started laughing when Nora got the weirdest look on her face. “Ava, did you just admit to being attracted to my boyfriend?” Nora asked laughing“No, I admitted that I would like to be with someone like him.” Ava retorted.“He really is great, isn’t he?” Nora got this far off look on her face when she talked about Ray. “Oh my god you love him, Nora.” Ava blurted out.Nora snapped her head and looked at Ava those words, she hadn’t thought about those words. She didn’t think she could feel love really, she had a traumatic childhood and was adopted her father behind bars. She had always been afraid of love and what it does to people. But when she thought of Ray she just smiled and thought of all the happiness he brought into a room with him. He was just special there was no way around it, and he made Nora feel special. “Ava.” She paused gathering her thoughts “I think I might.” And with that Ava threw her arms around Nora’s neck and pulled her into a hug. “If you tell anyone I’m gonna kick your ass!” Nora blurted out and Ava started laughing but she pulled away long enough to make the gesture of her lips are sealed and then had a huge grin on her face. “He isn’t going to break up with you. If anything, maybe he won’t be so nervous around you.” Ava added. The next few days Ray was the calmest anyone had ever seen him and every time he looked at Nora there was a different smile that showed on his face. It was happy but the only thing that Ava could think to herself was that this was Ray in love. And every time she saw it, she couldn’t help but be happy for the two. “What’s going one there?” Sara asked as she approached Ava from behind as she was watching Ray and Nora at his locker. Ava turned to see Sara and shrugged walking towards the cafeteria. “No clue.” Ava mumbled, and Sara grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the nearest bathroom. “Listen here Ava Sharpe. I know you. And you suck at lying so you better tell me what’s going on.” Sara walked towards her, and she kept backing further and further back until she hit a wall. She wasn’t scared but she knew she couldn’t tell Sara because in all honesty she feared Nora. Ava was racking her brain she didn’t know what to say but she knew she had to say something, so she looked around the room anywhere but at Sara to try and figure out the words. “I can’t tell you.” She mumbled and looked up not meeting Sara’s eyes. Sara crossed her arms over her chest. And said the only words that would make Ava faulter. “Pinky Swear?” Sara said her eyes never moving off of Ava who looked down at her and raised her finger. “No way you can’t pull that right now.” She huffed“Yes, I can.” “Sara, I was told in confidence you can’t pull the pinky swear card. I promised I wouldn’t say anything.” Ava whined. “Oh my god they had sex.” Sara’s eyes went wide at the realization. “What, no they didn’t.” Ava said, oh god she knew she was screwed but she didn’t technically say anything she could just blame it on Ray’s stupid face. “Yes, they did you’re doing that thing with your face.” Sara said“What thing I don’t have a thing?” Ava moved to go look in the mirror “See nothing.” “Well, you can’t see it now because you aren’t lying right now.” Sara walked up behind her and smiled; Ava turned quickly to face Sara.“You cannot say anything okay. Nora said she would kill me if I told anyone.” Ava was seriously worried about her wellbeing mostly breathing she liked breathing. “Relax Ava, I’m not going to say anything to Nora.” Ava’s shoulder relaxed a bit at this statement. “But I am rooming with Nate and Ray this weekend and I am totally going to get Ray to fess up.” She turned to walk, and Ava tried to grab her, but she was too quick. Ava did a quick checklist in her head. Go to state finals maybe place and be super happy, then die by the hands of one Nora Dhark. When the day of the meet arrived, Ava wasn’t nervous this was something she had been training for, it was uphill, downhill and even some interesting terrain she wouldn’t typically find in Star City, but she felt good and loose just ready. The legends had placed themselves throughout the race not telling her where so she could just see them and know they were there. It was a 3.1-mile race and then maybe just maybe she would have a medal around her neck. She may not be super positive when it came to track, she had always felt a little insecure at those meets but here running long distance this was her thing. She loved running and she knew she had qualified with the fourth overall time, so a medal was within her reach. Half-way through the race she hadn’t seen one legend, yet which was odd because they tended to spread out along the race. But she stayed focus she was only about a mile and half away from completion and once she hit that mile mark, she was ready to speed up. That was what she had worked on in the last six weeks was a quick pace two or so miles and an almost sprint like run the last mile. When she was watching video of her competitors, she noticed they all seemed to have their burst mid-way through the race. So, her goal was to keep up with them and then sprint the last one mile. She could see the leader group maybe about ten seconds ahead of her, so she knew she was still on pace exactly where she wanted to be. Just before the one-mile left mark was the first of the legends it was Mick of course and he had a sign she glanced over it and smiled, it said “Go Blondie!” Only Mick would make a sign like that she laughed to herself. She started to quicken her pace and surely by her one mile warning she was right on the heels of the leader group with her that made six girls. All she needed to do is wait for the next turn and she would be able to make her move. She had studied the maps constantly and knew there was a leveling out coming up before some rough terrain about half a mile away so if she could get ahead of them, she could hopefully hold onto the lead. As the group hit the turn Ava knew it was now or never and she started to speed up moving past the last girl she knew she needed to move to the right because there was a slight dip coming up but then it leveled out that was when she could push herself. Just as the terrain map showed there it was the dip so as she passed the number four runner, she pushed herself to the right after the dip and hit the leveled ground and pushed herself feeling the adrenaline hit her. And that was when she saw the signs, she was only half a mile from the finish there was Nora and Ray holding a sign “Oh, Captain Our, Captain!” she kept pushing and then saw Nate and Zari holding a sign “Go Captain Sharpe!” as she hit the final turn and she could see the end of the race there was Wally, and Jax all holding signs the when read together said “Once A Legend, Always a Legend.” With the end in sight, she could feel someone coming up behind her, so she kept pushing harder and harder when she saw the last sign the one Sara was holding which simply read “You got this Sharpe! Pinky Swear.” The girl had made it to where Ava could see her out of the corner of her eye as they both kept pushing their bodies as fast as they could coming to the end of the race about to cross the finish line so close Ava did the one thing track had taught her and Wally had sworn worked every time she leaned forward as she passed the finish line. Ava came to a stop throwing her hands up above her head and turning to see the results and there they were she had placed first by a half a second. She stopped at that moment everything froze, all she saw were people cheering in slow motion as the adrenaline left her body and she fell to her knees from exhaustion. Ava had done it she was the State Champion in Cross Country her eyes filled with tears and then there were those arms again lifting her up Nate and Ray pulling her up and lifting her into a hug as she cried happy tears and all the legends surrounded her and kept her upright. And then her parents were there in the middle everyone jumping for joy even her parents. “Guys!” Sara was barely audible through the groups cheering so she yelled louder. “Guys!” And everyone stopped turning to see Sara standing there with a water bottle in hand Ray kept hold of Ava who was literally barely standing on her own. “She needs to walk.” She grabbed Ava and handed her the bottle of water and grabbed her waist and pulled on her to walk beside her. Everyone followed still so excited as Ava drank the bottle of water and poured some on her head. She threw her arm over Sara’s shoulder as they walked around a little while keeping her stretched but letting her take her time. “Ava you’re the State Champ!” Jax yelled and Ava looked back behind her and gave him a high five. “Guys.” Ava stops and turns herself around Sara just mirroring the motion keeping her arm around her waist. “Thanks for always coming and cheering me on. It means the world to me you know that right.” “Anytime Blondie.” Mick yelled from the back of the group, and everyone started laughing. “And what’s up with the captain signs?” Ava asks looking down at Sara who points towards Ray and Nate. “Well, we decided since in Sara’s absence last year you did such a wonderful job and a long conversation with Sara about it, that we can have two captains because you never know when someone is going to need to step up.” Nate Smirked. “And you did, and you were amazing!” Nora added.“Are you okay with that?” Ava asked Sara she didn’t want to take that title from her it wasn’t a real title but still it was Sara’s. “Are you kidding I think it awesome.” Sara said and turned towards Ava holding her pinky up and Ava immediately hooked her pinky with Sara’s. “Co-Captains for life.” Sara said smiling and Ava got a huge smile and hugged Sara and then all the legends joined in for another group hug. They were a sappy bunch, but she didn’t mind she knew no matter what she had the most amazing friends. They all watched the medal ceremony and Sara tried to comfort Pam as she cried so proud of her daughter. Randy was cheering with the boys when she stepped on the podium to get her medal which just made her blush. She took pictures with everyone wearing the medal and shook some fans hands who were calling her name and even signed some little kids autographs which she thought was pretty cool. They finally headed back to the hotel for some much-needed rest and Ava wanted to just take an hour-long shower and eat and then sleep. So, her parents ordered a ton of pizza and pasta for everyone, and they camped out in the joined rooms that Ava had been sharing with Zari and Nora. It was amazing but almost all of the legends were able to lounge around on two beds. Ava was sandwiched between Sara and Nora with her head resting on Sara’s shoulder fast asleep and Zari was at their feet and on the other bed was Wally sandwiched between Ray and Nate with Jax at their feet. Mick had gone into the other room to watch football with Randy as everyone else watched Harry Potter on cable. The next morning when Ava woke up, she was sore which didn’t shock her but when she went to move, she felt and arm around her waist and looked behind her and saw blonde hair she turned a bright shade of red and tried not to move. When did that happen? She didn’t even remember falling asleep, and as much as she didn’t want to move because Sara being so close felt really, really good which she shouldn’t be thinking it felt good? She needed to stretch and walk maybe even go for a run to stretch out her muscles. So, she squeezed Sara’s hand slightly lifting it and turned her body to face Sara who was soundly sleeping. Ava hadn’t slept next to Sara for quite some time not since her parents were getting divorced. But Ava took a moment to look at Sara. She had more freckles than she remembered, and her face was changing just slightly as she got older. She still was beautiful, and Ava was in awe of her, but anything she felt had to stay far away down in the deepest part of her body. She reached up and slightly moved the hair that was in Sara’s face tucking it behind her ear and then slowly took Sara’s arm from around her waist and moved out of the bed. Standing up and stretching and when she looked over at Zari and Nora, she saw Nora’s eyes looking right at her with a smile on her face. Ava stood there for a second and knew Nora had seen the gesture of Ava admiring Sara in her sleep, well that’s a conversation they were going to have later for sure. She shrugged and turned towards the bathroom so she could get ready and go for a run. For the next few weeks at school everyone was constantly congratulating Ava on her win, an unfortunate issue with her ankle caused her to withdraw from Nationals and she wasn’t really that upset the stress of State was enough and she was proud of the accomplishment. And the second-place finisher from State was able to step up and go to Nationals in her place they watched it race on cable as she placed third and cheered her on. She was a good competitor from Central City and Ava was happy for her. As the year ended the legends had their beach trip all planned out and Jax’s mom was coming with them she was almost as excited as they were. They got three hotel rooms on the beach thanks to Ava’s parents chipping in and helping pay for the room while everyone else handled food and gas for the trip. They were leaving the Friday after the end of the school year and coming back that Monday. Jax’s mom had a Van that seated eight and Ava was driving her car down which could hold four. Nora had come to stay the night Thursday with Ava and she knew Nora had an ulterior motive for staying the night before, so she mentally prepared herself for it. “So go ahead and ask?” Ava said as she continued packing her bag with clothes and items, slowly checking things off a paper next to her bag as Nora sat and watched from Ava’s desk chair. “If you already know what I’m going to ask why not just tell me the answer.” Nora said spinning once in the chair. “Because I am not exactly sure what you’re going to ask I just know you have had a look in your eyes for a few weeks.” Ava stopped and looked up at Nora waiting. “Okay, let’s cut right to it then shall we.” Nora jumped up to her feet and walked over to where Ava was and crossed her arms on her chest. “Are you in love with Sara Lance?” “What?” Ava mumbled in shock that was not what she thought was going to come out of Nora’s mouth. “I am not in love with Sara.” “Could have fooled me.” Nora winked. “Let’s examine the facts, you have kissed her twice, you have literally punched someone in the face for her, you get this face when your around her like Ray does when he is looking at me.”“First off I have kissed her three times, Nyssa deserved to be punched and I don’t have a face Nora…there is no face.” Ava says and then turns to grab something out of her closet and bring it to put in her bag making a checkmark on her paper. “Woah. Hold on.” Nora looks at Ava and grabs her forearm to make her face her. “Three times? What do you mean three times?” “Uh…well…” Ava rubs the back of her neck nervously. what the fuck why did I say that no one knew about that fuck! Ava looks at Nora and her shoulders fall in surrender. She moves over to the chair Nora was in and sits down putting her head in her hands and sitting forward. Nora walks over and kneels in front of her and grabs her hands from her face. “Ava, you can talk to me you know. I won’t tell anyone, and I am a good listener.” “Okay but this stays between you and me okay the only other person who knows is Sara and honestly I just…” Ava trails off not sure how to wrap her head around everything. “What? You... just what Ava?” “Okay, earlier this year Alex Danvers asked me out it was around the time I kissed Sara in the hallway like not to long after when everyone kind of figured out I was a lesbian. So yeah, that happened... but I turned her down because you know she dated Sara and well you just don’t do that right like girl code or something. Anyways so I went out to our meeting spot behind the school you know where the big oak tree is. But no one was there which was weird because usually we’re all there and I waited for Sara because I wanted to tell her what happened. When I got sick of waiting, I was getting ready to grab my bag and leave when Alex walked up and kissed me. Like she just walked up didn’t say a word and just kissed me.”“Wait you kissed Alex Danvers? I thought you said you kissed Sara?” Nora looked confused. “I’m getting there, anyways so Alex kisses me, and I didn’t know how to respond at first but then I kissed her back and it wasn’t like…it wasn’t...” Ava was thinking for the right words.“So, Alex is a bad kisser?” Nora asked“No, no that’s not what I mean like Nora up until that moment I had only ever kissed Sara and it felt different like boring.” Ava said the last part with a little question mark. “I don’t know if that makes sense.” “It does it means you don’t like her like that like there was no attraction.” Nora informed her, Ava sat back a little and took in that information and thought about it. In her head she hadn’t thought about it like that. Two years ago, Ava would have probably felt something but now Ava didn’t feel that way around Alex like she had grown out of the crush. “That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for that Nora.” Ava smiled and Nora just looked at her motioning her hands to get on with the story. “Oh yeah sorry okay so then I kind of broke the kiss and when I looked around because honestly, I was in shock I saw Sara at the back door eyes staring and mouth wide open I guess she saw it and when she saw me looking, she turned and ran back in the door. So, I basically told Alex thanks, but no thanks and I went after Sara because I wanted to explain. I couldn’t find her in the school, and she wasn’t at home, so I went to the gym. There she was beating the crap out of punching bag. So, I tried to talk to her, and she was pissed and trying to deflect. Well, we all know what’s she like when she gets like that.” Nora nodded as Ava continued. “So I told her nope were not doing this and I pulled her into an office so we could talk and she started asking all these question about why and how could I. She was really mad and then she asked if I liked it and I froze It was like my brain didn’t understand the question and she was mad again and tried to leave and I stopped her and then I told her I didn’t like it not with her.” She stopped for a second to let that sink in for Nora and took a deep breath. “Not with her?” Nora repeated and looked at Ava knowingly. “Right so those words came out Nora, I mean if I told you right now, I didn’t like kissing Sara I would be lying. Because okay let me finish and then you can ask questions ok. So, I said that to Sara and then she kissed me. But like this was different it was the first time I felt like… I maybe wanted her to kiss me like I leaned into it. I kissed her back, I pushed her back into a wall and leaned into her like…” Ava brought her hands to her face she didn’t want to say this, but she knew she could trust Nora and she couldn’t talk to Sara about it. But she was still scared to admit it. And Nora could tell she grabbed Ava’s hands and pulled them down from her face and looked at her in the eyes. “You need to say it, Ava.” She whispered. “I wanted her Nora. Like I mean every ounce of me wanted her. And then my brain said no we can’t do this; Sara is my best friend, and I cannot lose her.” Ava dropped her head back into her hands and tears started to fall and Nora didn’t pull her hands away she let Ava have this moment and she waited for Ava. “We made a promise to each other after that. We wouldn’t kiss again unless we asked like unless I walk up to her and ask her to kiss me, she won’t. We both agreed that we didn’t want to take the chance our friendship means more to us.” Ava looks up and wipes the tears away from her eyes. Nora leans in and hugs her and then pulls back and clears her throat.“I have two questions okay.” Nora takes Ava’s hand and Ava nods. “First is how do you feel about Sara?” “Nora, she is my person. You know this, that’s why I can’t risk it.”“I didn’t ask you that. I asked you how you feel about Sara.” Nora squeezes her hand.“I love her.” Ava says in a whisper her eyes meet Nora’s.“Are you in love with her?” Nora asks her head tilted, Ava looks up and thinks about how to answer her eyes come back to Nora’s. “The answer to that question is irrelevant.” Ava wipes the tears from her eyes and stands up letting Nora’s hand fall from hers and she goes back to her bed and looks her list and continues to grab things from around the room and pack them. When Nora rises and stands in front of the bag stopping Ava in her tracks. “Nora.” Ava looks at her pleadingly. “It’s not irrelevant. You can’t say that because that is not true, and you know it.” Nora says “I can say it because for me it is. It can never happen; she means too much to me and I can’t lose her so how I feel doesn’t matter. I’ll continue to be there for her like I always am, no matter what, like I promised I would.” Ava moves around Nora and puts the items in her bag. “And what about you Ava?” Nora is concerned that Ava is bottling up her feelings. “I’ll be fine, literally we have senior year and then we head off to college. I already have an early acceptance letter into the Air Force Academy.” Ava moves to mark items of her list. “Wait what?” Nora grabs Ava’s forearms and stops her. “I was going to tell everyone on the beach trip I got the letter a couple days ago. I got in.” “Ava, you cannot run from this.” “Nora, listen I am fine, I have a life plan and honestly I don’t need emotional entanglements involved. Sara and I are just friends, and we will always be friends and that is that. So please I am begging you just to let this go. We have a fun trip planned and I just want to enjoy this weekend. My ankle is finally healed, and I just want to run around and have fun with my friends” Ava grabs her and pulls her into a hug. “I promise, I’m ok. And I promise I am not running.” She pulls back and smiles. “Congratulations. I can’t believe you got into the Academy. That’s just… I am so happy for you.” Nora hugs her again and Ava hugs her back. Nora didn’t ask Ava anymore about the situation and she helped Ava finish packing up. The next day everyone was loading up and they were off to the beach. Everything was going great Friday they had gotten there in the afternoon and checked into their hotel. Everyone decided quickly to head down to the beach and have some fun before the sun went down. The girls all laying out watching the guys run around playing football. Ava decided to go for a walk and before Sara could volunteer Nora jumped up to join her. “What’s up with those two?” Zari asked Sara as they were walking away. “I have no idea.” Sara watched but then moved her focus back to the guys. “I miss Amaya.” Zari mumbled. “Me too and Charlie.” Sara added “It feels different without them, but I keep thinking we will see them soon.” Sara plays with the sand at her toes. “It seems like since they left there has been a little shift you know. Like Ava and Nora spend more time together and Nate is always with Jax since Ray and Nora started dating.” Zari looks over at Sara who is lost in thought. “I honestly think that its just a part of growing up you know. Like dynamics change and people shift and adjust to it.” Sara was looking at Zari now and she saw sadness in her eyes. “Hey, don’t worry it just means that people change and their needs change. Like maybe Nora feels comfortable talking to Ava that’s why they are spending so much time together.” “When you went through…” Zari motions over at Sara “Whatever that was with Nyssa? Ava and I we got really close.”“A mutual hatred of a person can do that.” Sara started laughing and so did Zari. “I agree but these last few months she has kind of pulled away you know like I don’t know I feel like there is another shift coming and it makes me nervous. I know I have you but, sometimes you’re an idiot and I need Ava.” Zari puts her head down she isn’t good at this girl talk and emotions and Sara knows so she throws her arm over Zari shoulder and tugs her a little.Ava and Nora are walking down the beach just enjoying the sounds of the ocean. Ava is randomly bending down and grabbing pretty seashells she comes across. The two of them don’t really talk enough was said last night so they just walk the beach sometimes side-stepping kids running and playing and leaping into the ocean. By the next day everyone is having a ball, the boys had brought a volleyball and they found some nets a little down the beach from their hotel and they had separated into teams. Naturally the group made Ava and Sara captains, and both were not fans of losing so there were some questionable calls. But they played multiple games coming up in a tie anyways. By the time dinner came Ava had told them her parents were paying for this one and they headed over to a popular seaside restaurant. Ordering way too much shrimp and lobster but the group were enjoying their vacation and indulging. Ava had asked her parents to pick up the tab on this one because she was going to tell her friends about the early acceptance letter tonight and she wanted to make it a special occasion. Towards the end of the dinner Ava grabbed her knife in her hand and closed her eyes. She needed to do this now or she wouldn’t do it. So, she used the knife to tap gently on her glass of water and everyone looked over at her as she stood up clearing her throat. “Everyone looks like they had a great dinner.” Ava said looking around at all the smiling faces. “So, there was a reason I brought you all here and now is as good a time as any to tell you. A few days ago, I got an early acceptance letter to the Air Force Academy.” As the words left her the guys started cheering as did Nora but Sara and Zari both looked like they had been hit by a bus.Everything froze in that moment for Sara her entire body was rigid, she knew that was Ava’s dream. But for some reason it’s like Sara didn’t register the fact that they were only a year away from separating. College was going to pull the entire legends group to different places, and the shock of it hitting her all at once. But before she could respond she felt Zari next to her quickly get up and run out of the room leaving everyone behind. They guys still gathering around cheering for Ava and Sara stuck there not moving. Ava noticed over Nate’s shoulder Zari’s departure and when her eyes looked over and saw a very stunned Sara sitting three expressionless her happiness started to fade. Sara looked up and met her eyes for the briefest of moments before looking to where Zari had just run out and quickly got up and followed her. Ava left standing with everyone else who hadn’t noticed the moment. As the guys quieted down and started to take their seats everyone quickly noticed Sara and Zari were missing. Ava looked over at Nora and she looked back at the door where they had left and quickly moved to leave so she could find them. When Ava made it outside, she found herself staring at the parking lot not sure which way to go. She looked around to see any signs of anyone walking off or movement nearby and saw nothing. When she felt someone beside her, and she dipped her head. Thinking it was Nora she turned and felt arms wrap around her, but they weren’t Nora’s they were Ray’s. He pulled Ava into a hug and kissed her on the head. “It’s going to be okay Ava. They just need time to process it that’s all.” He whispered.“I thought everyone would be happy for me this is my dream.” Ava said through sobs. “Everyone is happy for you. I think those two are scared because you’re leaving.” Ray pulls back to look at her as her tears are falling. “They rely on you; you know that right both of them.” Ava nods and puts her head back on his shoulder.“I knew it. You’re in love with my boyfriend.” She heard Nora’s voice coming up behind them. Ava let out a little chuckle and pulled back from Ray who had a big smile on his face. Ray takes a step back and Nora steps in front of Ava. “Come on let’s go pay for dinner and take a walk.” Nora smiles and Ava nods wiping her tears from her face. Once dinner is taken care of Nora and Ava decide to walk back to the hotel by way of the beach its only about two miles and nobody stops them. Its dark but the hotels line the beach give them a guideline and they walk in silence. Ava’s mind is racing why would Zari rush out like that they had talked in the past about colleges and Zari knew Ava was hell bent on getting into the Academy. Ava just let her mind race as she and Nora walked along the beach. Nora was the one to finally break the silence. “You know Ray will probably go to MIT?” Nora announced and Ava looked over at her. “I know it’s his dream school.” Ava added“So, I have been looking at schools nearby like Boston University and Harvard.” Nora mumbled and Ava stopped walking causing Nora to stop and look at her. “Nora that’s awesome, I can totally see you going to Harvard.” Ava smiles“Well, I mean I have to get accepted first but not all of us are like you and applying early, but I mean I’m nervous you know. Like I am looking at a college in a state I have never been to before because of a boy. Is that stupid?” Nora was shaking her head as she completed the question. “I don’t think it’s stupid. I think you really love Ray and I think you guys are meant to be together.” Ava looks around and then brings her eyes back to meet Nora’s “Like soulmates.” She smilesNora starts laughing and pushes Ava’s shoulder “Soulmates?” Nora laughs some more. “Leave it to Ava Sharpe to believe in soulmates.” She turns and starts walking and Ava follows. “Yeah, I believe in them.” Ava adds “My parents always told me there is one person for everyone.”“You’re unbelievable you know that.” “What? Why, because I believe in soulmates?” Ava questions, and Nora stops turning towards Ava.“Because here you are admitting that Ray and I are soulmates, and you can’t admit to yourself that Sara and you are also.” Nora knew she needed to hear it; she didn’t care if it pissed her off Nora could see it. “Sara is not my soulmate.” Ava says crossing her arms over her chest continuing to walk and Nora turns and slowly follows.“And what if your wrong? What if she is?” Nora asks as Ava looks up towards the sky and then back in front of her. “Then I’m screwed I guess.” Ava says.“So, you’re willing to be unhappy for the rest of your life to keep some promise?” Nora grabs Ava by her forearm and pulls her to a stop and turns to face her. “Ava you cannot go through life without love.”“Nora, you would be amazed at what people would do for love.” Ava says and turns to walk away. There it was Nora heard the conformation in her tone. Ava loved Sara and she would rather suffer having her in her life as her friend than ever crossing a line beyond that. Nora decided in that moment she would leave it alone; she would let Ava make her choice and let her live with the consequence’s. And as her friend she would be there to support her. As they walked again in silence, they finally made it to where they were outside of their hotel. That’s when Ava saw Zari and Sara sitting on the beach close to the water, Zari’s head resting on Sara’s shoulder. Ava made her way over to them without saying a word and sat next to Zari and Nora took a seat on the other side sitting next to Sara. “I have a binder.” Ava says breaking the silence and she hears Sara chuckle.“Of course, you do.” Sara laughs and Ava shoots her a look causing her to raise her hands in defeat. “I figured with everyone going wherever they are going we would need like a phone call schedule or like a weekly zoom meeting. So, I made a binder and sort of setup like a first year of college schedule. I included birthdays and holidays and even have girls’ night on there.” Ava finishes and looks over at Zari who is still just looking out over the water. “I think its just hitting me that we only have this year left and then we are just going our separate ways.” Zari whispers and Ava moves closer to her and puts her hand on her leg.“Just because we are going to college doesn’t mean we aren’t in each other’s lives.” Ava says“But it’s different. I mean we won’t be around the corner or in the next classroom. You will be fourteen hundred miles away Ava.” Zari looks over at Ava and then back to the water. “I googled it.”“Listen I don’t know what your plans are or where you are thinking about going to college but if you go anywhere within driving distance like at least three or four hours or hell I’ll even say five hours we can make sure we spend some weekends together or something. I am only one hour from Denver, which has a huge airport you know.” Ava pushes her shoulder into Zari’s. “And I might be fourteen hundred miles away, but you know you can always call me no matter what.” “I’m just…” Zari words don’t come, but Sara’s do. “Scared.” Sara says a lot louder than she intended causing Ava to look at her Sara looks up and meets Ava’s eyes and she sees it she see’s the pain in Sara’s eyes for only a second but its there. “Yeah, I guess that’s the word.” Zari adds“Do you guys think I’m not scared?” Ava asks. And all three of them look over to her she puts her head down for a second and then looks out over the dark ocean as she continues. “When I moved her from Fresno I never in a million years could have ever imagined what my life has become. I…meeting you guys that first day changed my life in ways that I just don’t think you guys really understand. And trust me I am scared shitless to go, especially alone.” Ava takes a deep breath “But here is the thing.” Ava looks back at Nora, Sara and Zari. “I don’t feel like I’ll be alone if I have you guys on my side. I know you won’t be there, but I also know if I pick up the phone and call any of you someone will answer. And I know I’m coming home for the holidays and spring break because there is nowhere else, I would rather be then with my best friends.” Ava breaks eyes contact and looks back out over the dark ocean and closes her eyes. “Well shit this got deep way too fast.” Nora says jumping up and grabbing Ava by her hands. “Come on director.” Nora shouts pulling up Ava reluctantly as she makes a face at the nickname and then Nora goes, and grabs Zari pulls her up too and then does the same with Sara as all stand there with Nora in front of them looking them over trying to decide when she grabs Zari by wrist pulling her into the darkness and splashing them both into the water laughing. Sara and Ava look at each other with a grin and run and join them in the water splashing and laughing. Ava finds herself face to face with Zari and they stop for a second and Zari throws her arms around Ava in an embrace and Ava pulls her in tighter. And when they part Zari jumps on Ava causing her to lose her balance and falling into the water. Sara and Nora keep chasing each other splashing when all of the sudden Ava raises up from the water behind Sara grabbing her and taking her under as Nora laughs. This was what Ava has wanted, what she had needed. She was going to miss this, but they had a year left and she wanted to enjoy every moment of it she could.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Summer seemed to actually go by too quickly for Ava and company. She had noticed a little distance between her and Sara but that was to be expected they hadn’t really sat down and talked after the college announcement, but Ava was focused more on Zari she seemed to take it the worst of the bunch. So, Ava focused time on her during the summer, going shopping and just spending time with her. She even found out that Zari had a little crush on Nate, but she didn’t push it. They had their big end of the summer Pizza Pool Party bash as usual. Sara and Ava found themselves outmatched this year playing chicken, Ray had grown so much over the summer her towered over everyone making it hard when Wally was on his shoulders it was like a giant versus a hobbit or at least that how Ava explained it. They won one game before being beaten and loosing their two-year reign as Chicken Champions. As the night went on everyone seemed to just relax a little and just take in the fact that the last year of high school for them started in just a few short days. Ava had gone inside to get some more towels from the spare bedroom when she heard someone enter and looked out to see Sara sitting on the bed in the middle of the room with her trademark smirk on her face. “This room has a lot of memories you know.” Sara looked around and smiled, as Ava came and joined her on the bed putting the spare towels on a dresser just across from the bed. “You spent like a whole month practically living here when your parents were dealing with their shit. So yeah, I know.” Ava said as she laid down and looked up at the ceiling. Sara looked over at her and laid down next to her looking up. “It’s not just that. This is the room where we became Best Friends.” Sara said, Ava looked over at her and smiled. “You’re right this is where you taught me about pinky swears.” Ava laughed to herself. “We used to stay up talking all night because I couldn’t sleep if my dad was on a raid. And we spent countless hours talking about everything and nothing.” Sara added looking over at Ava who was still looking at her and smiling causing Sara to smile. “You know I am going to miss you right?” “Sara…” Ava couldn’t finish her sentence because Sara stopped her with her finger on her lips turning towards Ava pulling her forehead to rest on her own. There they just lay for a moment looking at each other not talking not moving just taking in the moment. Ava started to tear up and so did Sara the two had a bond that needed no words the knew how hard this was going to be and they didn’t even have to sat it out loud. Sara slowly moved her hands to cup Ava’s face and catch the tears now falling down her cheeks. Ava moved her face into the touch and cried a little harder causing Sara to cry as Ava reached up and held her wrists. Ava moved her hands and wrapped her arms around Sara’s waist and lower back pulling her into her closer and Sara moved her arms and wrapped them around Ava’s neck bring Ava’s face to her shoulder and there they lay in a crying embrace. “I’m sorry I haven’t really been around the past couple of weeks.” Sara said. “I was trying to wrap my head around everything, and then with Laurel leaving and going to college there has just been a lot going on.” She whispered and Ava just nodded into her shoulder and pulled Sara tighter. Neither knew how long they laid there but it was needed they both just needed a good cry and they needed to be there for each other like they always have been. And it helped because when they broke apart finally wiping each other’s tears and laughing they could hear music playing outside and decided to head back out there and join the party. Senior year started off pretty great Ava was class president something she never thought would be possible but here she was with her Vice president Ray, which made those meetings much easier to attend. Somehow the legends had become the most popular kids in school, and everyone seemed to know them. So, when it came time for the homecoming dance everyone was voting for homecoming court Ava, Sara, Zari and Nora, all found themselves on the ballot somehow. On the other side Jax, Nate, Ray and Wally were all on the ballot as well. So here they were in the cafeteria trying to figure this whole thing out. “Well, who the hell do we vote for?” Wally asked“I mean you obviously voter for yourself, but you also vote for who you want to be King and Queen.” Nora laughed. “Are we able to campaign for people not to vote for someone.” Ava said holding up her ballot. “Lance Harris is on here and I’m sure which ever one of us wins we do not want to dance with him.” Ava makes a contorted face at the thought. “I doubt he will make the final ballot. This is going to be all legends this year!” Ray said proudly. “I think its crazy how one year we aren’t even on the ballot and this year somehow we are all on the ballots like how does everyone know who we are now?” Zari adds. “Right, I’m not sure I even should be on here.” Ava adds, and Sara starts laughing at her. “What?” Ava says looking confused. “Ava if anyone at this table should be on the ballot its you.” Sara holds up her fingers and starts naming off reasons. “You’re the Class president, you won a state championship last year in cross country, you’re easily the nicest person in the entire school, you literally tutor younger students, and in all honesty you’re a ten like the hottest girl in school.” Sara says with a smile causing Ava to try and hide her blush by lowering her head down so her hair falls over her face. “Ray is all of that too.” Nora chimes in trying to save Ava in the moment. “See also true so in my mind that is our Homecoming King and Queen right there.” Sara looks at Nora “Would you be okay with them dancing together?” She laughs and Nora gives her a face. “I don’t know because Ava has already admitted if she could clone Ray and make him a woman she would be set for life.” Nora raises her eyebrows at Sara who looks over at Ava.“Nora!” Ava yells at her snapping her head up to look at her while the whole table breaks out in laughter. “What, that is what you said.” She laughs and Ava puts her head down on the table.“Why do I put up with any of you?” Ava mumbles Sara leans over to her ear “Because you love us.” Sara whispers and Ava slightly turns her head and looks at Sara without lifting her head up and smirks at her. Sara turns towards the table “Okay guys there we go you have to vote for three people on each side so everyone has to vote for Ava and Ray and then whoever else they want to vote for. I will spread the word a little campaign to get people to vote for Ava and Ray and we will make this happen Legend style!” Sara jumps up from the table and runs off to interact with other people around the cafeteria. Jax and Wally head off after to Sara to help talk to people leaving Zari, Nate, Nora, Ray and Mick at the table with Ava who just keeps her head down. Mick looks around and realizes no one is talking and just jumps up and walks off. Sara calls out over to Nate and Zari to help spread the word, so they get up and now it’s just Ray, Nora and Ava sitting at the table. So, Nora clears her throat. “What Nora?” Ava says not lifting her head. “So, who are you going to ask to Homecoming?” Nora asks. “I don’t know I was only going because I’m class president and now I might be some stupid queen thing if Sara gets her way.” Ava still hasn’t lifted her head up. “Sara just wants you to have a memorable year that all.” Ray added and tapped Ava on her head. “Sometimes I miss being invisible.” Ava adds as Nora and Ray laugh. “You should ask Sara.” Ray whispers and Ava’s head pops up. “No, I can’t ask Sara.” Ava says“Why not?” Ray and Nora say at the same time and look at each other and smile. “It’s a dance like a date I can’t ask Sara on a date.” Ava puts her head back down. “And before you say anything I am not asking Alex Danvers.” “Ask Sara to go as your friend like not a date.” Nora says and Ava pops her head back up. “Is that a thing? Or I mean what if she wants to ask someone else? I don’t want to be the reason she doesn’t go with someone she really wants to go with. I think I’ll just go stag you know.” She puts her head back down. Nora and Ray look at each other and then look at Ava. “I have an idea.” Ray says, “Hear me out okay.” Ava pops her head back up and nods. “Right what if we ask all the legends to just go as a big group. Like we could get a big stretch limo we could all fit in and show up together like one happy family.” He smiles at Ava and then looks at Nora who breaks into a smile. “Ray that would be perfect, wouldn’t it Ava?” Nora says and looks at Ava who sits up and smiles. “Ray that is perfect!” Ava says and reaches over and grabs his neck and pulls him into a hug over the table. Nora just watches and chuckles. “Again, you are so in love with my guy Ava.” Nora says laughing, Ava looks over and shoots her the middle finger and sits back down. As the next few weeks went on the group all agreed to go together Wally and Jax both had dates, so they decided to show up with the legends but then leave with their dates which no one was opposed to. Ava soon found out that Ray didn’t really know how to dance which led Ava to teaching Ray how to dance as she had been in dance classes when she was younger. Ray had told Nora he and Ava were working on a school project but really, he was going over to her house and secretly learning how to dance. Ava soon found out Ray had two left feet for sure, but she was just trying to get it to where he could lead during a slow dance and not step on her feet. This led to Ava’s mother being very entertained on some evenings with Ray and Ava practicing in the living room. “Ray, you have to put your hand on my hip.” Ava said as she moved his hand back down. “Right but it feels weird.” “I get that, but you’re supposed to be pretending I am Nora right now.” Ava retorted“Well, you’re a lot taller than Nora so it seems weird.” Ray mumbled. “Ray we are just trying to make it so you can dance with your girlfriend without stepping on her toes constantly and we might have to actually dance together if this King and Queen thing works out so I would like it if you don’t step on my toes either.” She added “Okay think of it like this I am not in heels right now and Nora might be in heels for the dance so really Nora might be pretty close to my height if she has on heels that night.” Ava looks at him hoping this works and he can relax. “Ok.” Ray says, Ava’s mother is watching the two from the kitchen and just chuckling to herself. Ava was getting ready for Homecoming as she was going to be the last one to be picked up. The guys had made a deal that they were the ones who came to each door but for Ava the girls said they would pick her up which made her happy she was excited and nervous about the dance. As she put the final touches on her makeup she stood up and went and looked in the mirror. She was wearing a long flowing dark blue dress her heels made her at least two inches taller not like she needed to be taller or anything. Her dress had enough of a slit where her toned legs showed she turned and looked at herself in the mirror and was pleased with what she saw her blonde hair half up and half down over her right shoulder. When her mother walked in and gasped at the sight of her grown daughter tears filled her eyes. “Ava, you look so beautiful.” Pam said, as Ava turned to her and smiled. “Thanks Mom.” Ava said and walked over and hugged her. They both jumped a little when they heard the doorbell ring. “Well, here we go.” Ava smiled as her mother walked out of her room. Ava took a deep breath and made her way down the stairs where the girls were waiting on her. And when she hit the base of the stairs, she heard an audible gasp and looked to see Sara’s eyes wide going up and down. Nora and Zari turned from Randy who was talking to them and saw Ava for the first time and also both were equally as shocked. Ava barely noticed because she was looking at Sara who was wearing a long red dress that hugged her tight form and showed her cleavage just enough for Ava’s to feel an electric pulse run through her entire body. She also had on heels that made her quite a bit taller than she normally was but the slit in her dress exposed toned muscular legs and Ava was going to have a very hard time not watching her all night. “Ava…. You look beautiful.” Sara said Ava smiled and looked at Sara motioning to her.“Sara, you look great too… not that you don’t always look great, but you are stunning.” Ava blurts out and then looks over at Nora and Zari who are just watching this whole moment unravel so again Nora rescues Ava. “We all look amazing!” Nora says as she walks over to Ava and opens a box she has in her hands. “We picked this out for you. Your mom told us the color of your dress; Nora pins a small flower on Ava’s right shoulder of her dress it is a red rose with a dark blue ribbon to match her dress. “Okay ladies picture time.” Randy calls out breaking the silence and bringing Sara back to reality. All four of them stand together and pose for some pictures and then Randy takes one of just Zari and Ava, then just Nora and Ava, and finally Sara and Ava. The group arrived at the dance which had photo booths spread out all over the place and was decked out in green and silver balloons and streamers everywhere. Tables setup with finger foods and drinks and a huge dance floor in the middle. With a DJ right in the center of the room on a circular platform. Everyone headed for the dance floor and just started having fun. Ava found herself in the photo booth with Zari laughing and making faces and was soon dragged into one with Ray saying he promised the yearbook staff they could have the shots if they were selected King and Queen. Sara had dragged her into one when a slow song came on and she noticed Ava had moved off the dance floor. As the night went on, she just leaned back and watched her friends and made sure all the behind the scenes were going well. They had elected Wally and Alex Danvers to be the speakers for tonight since she and Ray were both up for the crowns and they didn’t want to award themselves if they had by chance won. Ava had noticed Ray was doing well on the dance floor, so the lessons seemed to be working. But slowly but surely as the night went on the only thing Ava could think about was the dance if she won the crown with Ray. About a minute after they start the dance, they are supposed signal people to join by their date’s cutting in. But the issue was Ava didn’t really have a date, and Ava had been freaking out about it all week. When Ray finally calmed her down and said don’t worry someone would be there when she turned around. So, it helped her calm down but now she was nervous she was going to have to slow dance with Nate or Wally and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. As the lights dimmed and a spotlight turned to the center of the stage Wally and Alex made their way to the stage to cheers. “Go badgers! Wally shouted and everyone cheered.“You guys tonight has been so amazing and well now its time to name our Homecoming King and Queen.” Alex said and her and Wally looked back to the DJ who gave them each and envelope and they turned back to face the crowd. “Okay guys let’s do this the Homecoming King is….” Wally opened the envelope and showed Alex and a huge smile spread across her face. She leaned in and whispered something in Wally’s ear, and he nodded. “You guys are going to love this! After all the votes came in there was one person who was written in on every ballot in the box, so Sara Lance where are you?” The Spotlight finds her over near Nate and Ray looking shocked. As she makes her way up to the stage as everyone cheers. “Sara you are tonight’s first queen.” Wally puts down the microphone and puts a tiara on Sara’s head and hands her a bouquet of flowers and she seems in shock. Ava is frozen what is happening right now? She is so confused, and Sara looks just as confused and she is stuck on stage, so Ava just watches as Alex starts to speak. “The next person who is chosen was selected on every ballot as well ladies and gentlemen your other queen please give it up for Ava Sharpe.” The spotlight finds her in the crowd with an equally shocked look on her face as she makes her way up everyone cheering for her. Alex put down her microphone and Ava lowers herself a little so Alex can put the crown on and then she hands Ava the bouquet of flowers as Ava takes her place standing next to Sara.“Ladies and Gentlemen, your homecoming Queens.” Wally and Alex say together as the crowd erupts and Sara and Ava look at each other and smile. “And now they dance.” Wally adds as Ava and Sara each make their way down one side of the stage, they hand off their flowers to Alex and Wally and move towards each other as the music starts. And the room fills with the sound of Time After Time by Cyndi Lauper. Ava and Sara meet in the middle of the floor and Ava is the first to reach over and grab Sara and places her hands on Sara’s hips. Sara steps closer to Ava and puts her arms over her shoulders and they start to sway to the music. Looking directly into each other’s eyes and never looking away. “Are you nervous?” Ava asks quietly and Sara smiles. “Why would I be nervous?” “Just everyone is staring at us, and this isn’t exactly how this was supposed to go.” Ava raises her eyebrow. “Ava, I just got named Homecoming Queen with my best friend. This is the best night of my life.” Sara said smiling so brightly that Ava could help but smile with her. Ava pulls her in closer and Sara wraps her hands all the way around Ava’s neck and rests her head on Ava’s shoulder as they just danced in their own world. “This is the best night of my life too.” Ava whispered so low she didn’t think Sara could hear her as smile spread across Sara’s face. Instead of interrupting the two Nora and Ray and Zari and Nate joined them on the dance floor at the one-minute mark. Everyone slowly moved onto the dance floor and joined them, But Ava and Sara were in a bubble they only heard the music and each other’s whispers. When the song finally ended Ava pulled away from Sara and kissed her sweetly on the cheek. And walked away to get something to drink as Sara made her way over to the tables where Mick and Zari were sitting, and she sat down watching Ava on the other side of the room talking to Nora and Ray.Nora made her way towards Sara and sat on other side of her opposite Zari. Zari notice the pure look of happiness on Sara’s face. Zari follows her line of sight and notices she is watching Ava. Zari looks over at Nora who also notices the same thing and they make eye contact and Zari smiles.“You guys looked great up there.” Nora says to Sara who is still watching Ava“I’m going to miss her so much when she goes off to college.” Sara whispers“You should ask her to dance again.” Zari says“Maybe I will.” Sara looks over to Zari and smiles.The three of them watch Ava, Nate, And Ray burst out into laughter across the room. Sara can’t help but think how perfect that moment was. Holding Ava close to her and everything disappearing into the background. There was a moment when everything just disappeared and Sara could hear Ava’s heartbeat next to her ear, and feel her arms wrapped around her waist. It was as if she had never felt safer and she had never felt like that with anyone. Ava was her person and she always felt safe around her, but this feeling was different, and Sara was trying to wrap her head around it. Across the room Nate had said something that made Ava laugh again and Sara felt a warmth spread through her whole body and she stood up abruptly breathing quickly.Sara took off out of the room leaving a shocked Zari and Nora still sitting quickly turning to each other having no idea what just happened. Sara rushed out of the door of the gymnasium and down the hall quickly to the doors that led outside. She pushed them open, and the cool air hit her, and she took a deep breath in trying to ground herself. No this isn’t possible she thought to herself. She started to walk away from the building not sure where she was going but she needed to get as far away as she could. Sara didn’t make it far she found herself sitting on the bleachers facing the football field her mind lost in a sea of thoughts. When she felt someone watching her, she looked over to see Zari making her way over to her on the bleachers. Zari sat quietly beside her and just looked out over at the empty darkened football field. She wrapped her arm around Sara’s and leaned her head on Sara’s shoulder. “Do you want to talk about it?” Zari asked Sara bowed her head into her hands.“Talk about what?” Sara mumbled through her hands. “Feelings?” Zari retorted“I thought we didn’t do feelings?” Sara asked“We don’t but I can’t help but notice your having them.” Zari lifts her head and looks at Sara “And I can’t help but notice who you are having them about.” “No, I don’t want to talk about it.” “Okay, I get it but just so you know you can talk to me when you’re ready ok.” Zari says and then puts her head back down on Sara’s shoulder and they sit there in silence. Ava had the most amazing night of her young life so far, she felt like she was walking on cloud nine, the dance was winding down and Wally, Jax and Mick had already left with their dates. Ava went looking for her friends because they were all supposed to go out for waffles after the dance. She came across Nora, Nate and Ray all sitting at a table and just watching people walk by. “Hey, are you guys ready to head out? I’m starving.” Ava said as she found a seat next to them and sat down. “I mean I am if you are.” Ray said as he looked to Nora. “We can go I’m hungry too I just don’t know where Sara and Zari are.” Nora replied“Maybe they’re in the restroom I’ll go check.” Ava said abruptly getting up and heading out of the gymnasium. Ava looked everywhere for Zari and Sara and were unable to find them when she started to head back towards the gymnasium she was met by Nate, Nora, and Ray. “Hey Zari just called Nate and she took Sara home she wasn’t feeling well. So, we can go ahead and go get something to eat.” Nora said as they approached Ava. “Why didn’t she say anything to us that’s crazy.” Ava asked as she turned and walked with them.“I don’t know they didn’t give details just said she didn’t feel good.” Nora shrugged The group that was left went out and had a quick dinner before dropping off Nate and Ava. Ava walked into her house and saw her parents both awake and excited to see her. They gasped at the tiara on her head and her mother ran over and threw her arms around her daughter. Ava smiled and let them know she was tired and headed of to her room to change. Once she was in some sweats and an oversized t-shirt, she laid in her bed trying to figure out if she should call Sara and make sure she is okay. She tossed and turned for a good thirty minutes before she grabbed her phone and just decided to make the call. She would be able to sleep until she knew Sara was ok. Ava pulled up Sara’s phone number and clicked call and waited. “Hey.” Sara’s voice came through the phone. “Hi, I know its late, but I wanted to call and make sure you were ok.” Ava said “I’m good.” Sara said quietly“Are you feeling better? Nora said you felt sick?” Ava asked“Yeah, I’m better now.” “Ok, umm…” Ava wasn’t sure what else to say but she felt like there was more to the story. “Do you want to talk about it?” She asked“I can’t.” Sara replied“Sara, you know you can talk to me about anything.” Ava quietly added Sara was quiet for a minute and Ava just waited for her. “Not about this I can’t talk to you about it.” Sara said.“Sara there is nothing that you can’t talk to me about. I’m serious we made a promise to each other, and I meant it. I have seriously heard you talk about things I wish I could un-hear and I have never stopped you from saying anything. Seriously you can talk to me about anything.” Ava was getting upset now why didn’t Sara trust her. “Please just tell me what’s wrong.”“I just, I think you would be upset with me, and I can’t handle that, Ava. I don’t want you upset with me.” “Oh my god you’re not pregnant, are you?” Ava blurted out it was the first thing that came to mind that would upset her. “NO!” Sara’s voice much louder and aggressive. “Why in the world would you think that?” “Sara, you said it would upset me. I mean that’s the only thing I think I might freak out about, but I would help you the best I could. I mean if that was the issue.” Ava said“I’m not pregnant so you can relax it’s not that.” Sara said with a kind of chuckle. “Okay well good so that’s the worst-case scenario for me. So, if it’s not that then what is it, Sara. I don’t like feeling like we aren’t being honest with each other.” Ava added“You want to know why I left I mean the truth the real truth as to why I left.” Sara asked.“I thought you didn’t feel good was that not the truth?” Ava replied.“No, it wasn’t.” Sara said and took a deep breath before continuing “I am going to say this because you asked me too and I don’t know how you’re going to respond so... here goes I had to leave because I wanted to ask you to dance again. I wanted to dance with you all night, I wanted to kiss you all night. And we made this promise that we wouldn’t cross that line and…I… Ava, I felt like I might have broken that promise if I stayed. And I didn’t want to hurt you, I know you don’t feel that way about me and that’s okay I get it. I just I may need some time to try and figure this out. Okay.” As Sara finished, she couldn’t hear anything on the other end of the phone. Ava listened to every word like a knife in her chest ripping at her insides. Tears welled up in her eyes, she had spent so much time trying to avoid the feelings she was having for Sara. She didn’t know what to say or do. She knew that Sara was asking for space, but she was scared of giving it to her. But she took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice. “If you need space I understand and I will respect that. As long as you know I am still here, I am still your best friend no matter what.” Ava whispered the last three word quietly before she hung up. Ava placed her phone on her nightstand and cried herself to sleep that night. She had placed a barrier between herself and Sara one that she refused to cross. And now that barrier was potentially going to rip them apart doing the opposite of what she thought it was going to do. The next few weeks at school went by as usual nothing major really and the first track meet was coming up this Saturday. Sara had kept a quiet distance from Ava but was still around she didn’t miss any family nights or get togethers. What Ava noticed was she just didn’t put herself in positions where she was alone with Ava. Ava understood that was the space she needed, so she didn’t mind it. She missed the closeness and if she was honest with herself, she craved it, but Sara needed the space, so she gave it. Ava had become quite good at pushing her feelings away maybe that was what Sara was figuring out. The track meet was going well Ava had as usual went over and cheered on Wally as he took second place in the one hundred meters and second in the two hundred meters. Wally had to pull out of his hurdle event because of a pulled groin muscle but she was happy with the two races he did manage to race. Ava made her way over to her area she was doing long jump first and was stretching out when she noticed the legends move over into her area minus Wally. She figured he was getting treatment for his groin pulled muscle. Ava stood and was ready to jump so far, the competition hadn’t really made any extreme jumps at this point her personal best would easily put her in first place. So, she took off and made her jump easily landing in first place. When she stood, she her knee felt a little stiff maybe she had just landed wrong. But she was determined to jump at least one more time if she could get a good enough lead where she was confident a third jump wouldn’t be needed then she would make that choice at that time. Ava watched as the competition went again and only one person came within an inch of her first jump. So, she wanted to extend that just a little if possible, so she opted to jump again. The next go around she would know if she was good by the time her last jump came. Her knee still a little stiff but nothing she couldn’t work through. She took off down the track and leapt through the air but when she landed her knee buckled and when she fell to the side, she immediate grabbed her left knee. Legends watched as one of their captains went down, she went down hard. Sara, who was in the back, thrust herself up to the front of the group trying to see Ava but she was behind a results board. Ava was holding onto her knee trying to breathe through the pain, but it was hard. She sat up trying to get in a better position to catch her breath. Coach Hunter was by her side in seconds as were some medics who were on standby, and she flooded with questions. The legends could only see her surrounded by people, when they went to pull her up on her feet and she couldn’t put any pressure on that leg they knew it was not good. Ava was taken to the medical area, and it was determined she needed to see a doctor. So, Randy ran over to the legends and let them know they were going to the hospital when Sara and Zari asked if they could come. Randy quickly handed his car keys to Sara and said he and Pam were going with Ava in the ambulance and he needed Sara to bring the car to the hospital and she agreed and her and Zari ran out of the arena letting everyone know they would keep them posted. After about two hours and tons of people messing with her leg and causing her more pain, she was settled in a room being told she was having surgery in the morning. She had torn her MCL, and it was bad enough that this was the only way to repair it. Ava’s parents had finally stepped out after a rough couple of hours and Ava had her head leaned back on her pillow thinking about everything, she may have done to cause the issue when she heard the door open. She looked up towards the bed over her wrapped up knee that was currently propped up with multiple pillows under it and saw Sara slowly walking in. “Hey.” Sara said as Ava got a slight smile on her face and looked down at her knee and then back to Sara. “Hey.” “So, your parents filled me in and let me know what’s going on.” Sara added as she walked over and grabbed a chair to pull it closer so she could sit next to Ava’s bed. Ava’s eyes watched her every move. “Have you been here the whole time?” Ava asked“Yeah, I drove your dad’s car here.” Sara smiled and leaned into Ava “Your dad let me drive his car.” Sara said and leaned back with a huge grin on her face. “You seem very proud of yourself.” Ava chuckled“I am.” Sara laughed. “How are you?” “Better now that they gave me something for the pain. But I have to have surgery tomorrow.” Ava looks at her knee. And then looks back at Sara tears in her eyes. “I keep going over it in my mind like how could I let this happen? Did I land wrong was my jump off?” Ava let the tears fall down her cheeks. “I don’t think I’ll be able to do cross country this year.” Ava just broke and started to sob her shoulders shaking, and Sara quickly jumped up and got to Ava’s side and wrapped her in a hug. Ava pulled her closer and buried her head in Sara’s shoulder and just let the tears fall. “What do you need?” Sara pulled back to see Ava’s eyes full of tears falling and Ava tugged her back closer. “This, I just need this.” Ava buried her head back into Sara’s shoulder. Sara pulled back again, and Ava didn’t lift her head this time and Sara moved around to the other side of the bed and started to get up on it next to Ava, she positioned herself laying next to Ava where Ava could slightly turn into her and just lay there and cry into her shoulder without moving her leg. “I got you.” Sara whispered in her ear and Ava just continued to sob, as Sara just lightly stroked her hair and down her back repeatedly. “I got you.” She whispered again Ava wrapped her hands in the front of Sara’s shirt and just stayed there crying until she couldn’t cry anymore. After about twenty minutes Sara could feel Ava’s breathing calming down and becoming quieter. When she looked down, she saw Ava had fallen asleep in her arms. Sara chose not to move she wanted Ava to rest. When Randy and Pam walked back in quietly Sara asked them if what okay and they both nodded for her to stay where she was and let her know they were going to head home and get some things for Ava for tomorrow. Sara quietly offered to stay with Ava that night if her parents wanted to get some rest before the surgery and they gladly accepted telling her they would call her father and let him know. Sara shot off some texts to the group giving them an update on Ava and what was going on and they all said to let them know how the surgery went. The nurse was super nice to Sara and brought her an extra blanket to cover up with and made sure she had something to drink while she stayed with Ava. Sara kept looking down at her admiring this strong woman in front of her who seemed so broken now. Sara felt honored to be able to be the person that Ava trusted to be there for her. She didn’t need space anymore Ava needed her and like so many time when Sara needed Ava and she had always been there Sara wasn’t going to let Ava down. Ava’s eyes shot open at the sound of something dropping in the room and her hands tightened around Sara’s shirt. “Hey its okay.” Sara whispered as she pulled Ava closer “It’s just a nurse putting something in your IV.” Sara rested her head on Ava’s and tried to coax Ava to go back to sleep. Ava laid there wrapped in Sara feeling safe, breathing in her smell, comforted by her best friend’s voice calming her down. Her eye heavy with sleep she slipped back into slumber and the next time she woke up was because she felt Sara moving from under her. Her hands still holding Sara’s shirt tightly. She felt Sara’s move down on the bed and get to where she could look Ava in the eyes placing her hands on Ava’s hands and pulling them from her shirt. “The nurse said I have to get up now they have to get you prepped for surgery ok.” Ava eyes filled with tears again and she saw Sara raise her hands and cup her cheeks on her face. “I will be right here; I am not going anywhere ok.” Sara leaned in and kissed Ava on the forehead. Ava held up her pinky and looked at Sara.“Pinky swear.” She mumbled her voice still thick from sleep, Sara smiled and wrapped her pinky around Ava’s and nodded.“I’ll be here when your done ok.” Sara moved off of the bed and sat in the corner watching them prep Ava and get her ready for surgery and her eyes never left Ava as they rolled her out of the hospital room. Once Ava was out of the room and being wheeled towards surgery Sara felt her knees buckle and she fell to the ground sobbing. She was overcome with emotion; she knew it was a simple surgery but seeing Ava in pain had been like being stabbed in the stomach constantly. All Sara wanted to do was make it go away was to make Ava smile again. It was this moment this instant when Sara realized she was totally and utterly in love with Ava.
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“Ava!” Zari shouted as she came rushing into Ava’s bedroom followed closely by Nora on her heels. It had been two whole days since her Ava had had surgery. She was sitting on her bed her leg in an immobilizer sitting on top of multiple pillows. Ava had a book in her hands and looked up in complete surprise when Zari and Nora came bursting through her door. “Jesus Zari. What the fuck?” Ava dropped the book it fell to the floor next to her bed. Ava looked at the doorway while trying to reach down and grab the book without moving. Zari moved quickly to grab the book and hand it to Ava. “Knock much?” Ava added“Sorry.” Zari mumbled as Nora made her way next to the bed with Zari. “You’re never going to believe who we saw.“Who?” Ava asked and Nora went and made her way over to Ava’s desk chair and sat down. “You’re not going to like hearing this.” Nora said and Ava snapped her eyes over to Nora and then back to Zari.“Who?” Ava asked curiously.“Nyssa.” Zari said through gritted teeth, the name caused a shiver to run down Ava’s back. “What? Wait I thought she was in England? Why the hell is she here?” Ava asked looking between Nora and Zari both shrugging their shoulders not able to answer. “We have no idea, Ava. But I mean her folks still live here so the only thing I can think is she is visiting them.” Nora said quietly and then spun herself around in the office chair. “All I know is we need to keep Sara away from her.” Zari said in anger dropping to the floor next to Ava’s bed.“Where is Sara?” Nora asked a little shocked looking around. Since the surgery Sara had rarely left Ava’s side only to attend school and bring home homework for Ava since she had opted to stay home for the first week after her surgery. “She went home today after school.” Ava looked at Zari whose eyes went wide and then anger again. “Shit.” Zari puts her head in her hands and then looks back to Ava. “You don’t think Nyssa would go there, right?” “I wouldn’t put it past her. That chick is a psychopath.” Ava adds and Zari jumps up off the floor and grabs Ava’s phone and hands it to her. “Okay well text her and tell her you need her to come over ASAP.” Zari says pushing the phone into Ava’s hands as Ava stares at her in disbelief. “I am not texting her and telling her that.” “Why not?” Zari questions. “Because I don’t need her to come over. She has spent every second with me since I got hurt and I wanted her to have some space and get some rest.” Ava said putting her phone down next to her on the bed. “Ava, what if Nyssa goes over to her house?” Zari asks and Ava looks over at Nora. “Zari...” Nora starts but Zari cuts her off. “I am serious guys what is Nyssa goes over to Sara house and convinces her to get back with her with whatever magic voodoo she has.” Zari looks between both Ava and Nora pleadingly.
“Z, we have to trust Sara.” Ava says calmly and pats the side of the bed next to her trying to get Zari to sit down. Zari, doesn’t she starts to pace instead. “I’m sorry but when it comes to Nyssa…” Zari starts but Ava cuts her off. “We have to trust Sara. She and I have talked about Nyssa a lot and what happened, and I know she is aware of what Nyssa did and the affect it had on not only her but all of us. So, on the off chance that Nyssa does stop by there we have to trust that Sara will know what to do.” Ava is calm when speaking but inside is nervous as all hell, but she doesn’t want Zari to see it. “Will you do me a favor Zari?” Ava grabs her forearm when she paces near her. Zari looks up and meets Ava’s eyes and nods. “My mom was making me a snack can you run down there and grab it for me and get some waters for us.” Zari nods and heads out the bedroom door closing It behind her, and Ava turns her eyes over to Nora who is already looking at her knowing Ava had sent Zari away for a reason.“I know your worried.” Nora whispers looking at Ava“Of course, I’m worried but I can’t let Zari see that she is freaking the fuck out.” Ava keeps her voice quiet. “You know maybe your right about Sara maybe we just have to trust her.” Nora adds and Ava cocks her head at Nora and raises an eyebrow. Nora grabs her phone out of her pocket and starts typing on it. “Or maybe I can tell Ray to grab Nate and go to Sara’s and make sure she is not falling victim to that Voodoo.” Nora chuckles and Ava smiles mouthing thank you as she can hear Zari’s footsteps coming towards the door. Sara had just gotten out of the shower and was on her bed looking over her homework when she heard a knocking at her door. She jumped up and made her way to the front door opening it surprised to see Ray there standing with his usual smile and Nate beside him looking a little less happy. “Hey guys.” Sara says with a smile. “What’s up?” She asks“We need to talk.” Nate says as he moves is way inside brushing past a surprised Sara as Ray tries to not let his smile faulter and fails miserably as Sara shifts so he can come in as well. Nate makes his way to the living room and is followed by Ray and Sara as she shuts her front door. “What’s going on?” Sara asks as she walks into the living room and goes and sits on the couch followed by Ray and Nate. Nate seems to be looking around as if trying to see if anyone is home, and Sara notices. “My dad is at work.” She says curiously looking at Nate. “Have you had any visitors?” Nate mumbles. “Umm no.” Sara raises her eyebrow looking at Nate and then to Ray and then back to Nate. “I just got home like less than an hour ago. And my dad won’t be home until dinner time. Why?”Sara isn’t sure what’s going on Nate looks rather annoyed or pissed she is trying to figure out which one it is. He isn’t saying much just asking random questions that make no sense. Why would she have visitors? Ava had told her to come home and relax tonight because she wanted her to get some rest. Sara was not happy about that because she wanted to be with Ava helping her, but Ava had insisted. “Well…” Ray started almost nervous about what he was going to say when Nate cut him off and jumped right to it.“Nyssa is in town.” Nate said much louder than he had planned but with enough anger in his voice that it sent a shock through Sara. “What?” Sara looked at him eyes wide. “Zari and Nora ran into her at the coffee shop after school. And we were worried she would come here.” Nate said. “Apparently Nora had to drag Zari out of the coffee shop.” Ray added“What why?” Sara looked at Ray.“Because if given the chance Zari would punch her in the face, as would most of us.” Nate said sternly. “Ava is the only one who has had the pleasure of doing what we wished we had done.” “Why do you think she would come here? I am literally the reason she was sent back to England in the first place.” Sara asked. “Because she is obsessed with you. Why else?” Nate said he turned to look at Sara. “We don’t trust her, and she can be very persuasive when it comes to you.” He adds.“Wait where are Nora and Zari why didn’t they just come over here?” Sara asks and both guys look down because they know she is not going to like the answer. “Where are they?” She asks again sternly. “They’re at Ava’s.” Ray mumbles“Wait they told Ava she is here!” Sara stands up and turns towards them both. “Why would they do that? She just had surgery she doesn’t need that kind of stress.” Sara reaches her fingers to the bridge of her nose and drop her head down. Sara looks up at both of them and then runs upstairs and grabs her coat and her backpack stuffing all her homework inside and comes back downstairs to see both Nate and Ray looking towards where she had ran trying to figure out what is going on. “What are you doing?” Nate asks as Sara comes back and approached them.“Take me over to Ava’s. We all need to talk.” Sara says and then makes her way to the front door. Sara, Nate, and Ray make it to Ava’s house quickly and head to the front door where they are greeted by Ava’s father who is just stepping out to run some errands. “Hey guys.” Randy looks up surprised. “Are having a party I didn’t know about?”“No Mr. Sharpe we just wanted to check on Ava and I need to talk to her about something.” Sara said with her beaming smile. Randy smiles right back at her and motions for her to go ahead in the house. “You know where she is, and Nora and Zari are up there too. Pam is in the kitchen baking if you want some snickerdoodles.” Randy smiles as they walk past him into the house. And Ray heads for the kitchen as Nate and Sara move to go up the stairs. Nora, Zari, and Ava are in Ava’s bedroom talking about how Ava has to go to physical therapy in a couple days and how she isn’t looking forward to it. When they all turn when there is a knock on her bedroom door. “Come in.” Ava yells, thinking its her mom but instead its Sara pulling Nate in and being followed by Ray with a plate of cookies in his hand. Ava’s eyes go wide as she wasn’t expecting more visitors but smiles softly when Sara meets her eyes and smiles at her. Sara motions for both Nate and Ray to take a seat on the floor next to Zari. “Sit.” Sara demands of Nate and Ray who quickly do as their told. “Okay let’s talk about this.” She starts to pace around the room. “First things first, she did not come over. I want to make that clear.” Sara says looking at each person. “What would you have done if she did?” Zari interjected. “I have no idea. And that’s the truth.” Sara says, “It’s not like I sit at home wondering what would I say if Nyssa showed up on my door at this very second.” She laughed trying to cut the tension, it didn’t work. “Well now that you know she is here, what would you say to her.” Zari adds and Sara stops and looks at Zari then looks to Ava who is just watching Sara from her bed. Sara looks down towards her feet and thinks about it for a second then looks up. “She punched Ava; I wouldn’t say shit to her!” Sara said sternly and everyone looks over at Ava. “What I punched her too.” Ava shrugs and chuckles. “Still jealous by the way.” Zari adds looking at Ava who smiled proudly. “Right but what I am saying is she punched Ava. And for me there is no coming back from that like ever.” Sara says and looks at Ava. “She did that knowing it would hurt me, that’s all she did was cause me pain so I guess if she showed up on my front porch, I would literally ask her what the hell she wanted?” Sara adds. “I think everyone is just nervous about her because she was able to control you last time and we almost lost you because of it.” Ava quietly adds looking at Sara.“We didn’t almost lose her Ava.” Zari looks over towards Sara “We did lose her for three months. She consumed you and took you from us.” She said and everyone agreed with nods of their heads. “Honestly I realize I was blind to what she was doing but I learned from that mistake. Now if I am dating someone, I don’t let it interfere with family.” Sara says as she squats down in front of Zari. “I don’t let whoever I am with dictate who I can see or spend time with. It wont ever happen again.” “You’re sure?” Nate questions“I am sure.” Sara adds “Now can we move on from all this Nyssa talk it’s giving me the creeps.” She looks over at Ava and walks towards her. “How are you doing today?” “Good, I am not looking forward to tomorrow though.” Ava mumbles. “What’s tomorrow?” Nora asks.“Her immobilizer comes off and she gets a regular knee brace to wear.” Sara smiles at Nora and continues “And she has to try and walk on it.” Sara finishes and looks at Ava who half smirks at Sara. “Again, not looking forward to it.” Ava pouts. The room drifts off into different conversations Sara, Ava and Nora talking about Ava’s knee and Zari, Nate and Ray fighting over cookies on the floor. The next few days go by, and Ava is adjusting to Crutches and a knee brace. She is trying her best to not scream in pain when she puts pressure on her leg but sometimes faulters. And she hated physical therapy, she was pretty sure those people enjoyed making people cry. Sara is in her room moving stuff of her bed as Ava comes to get comfortable sitting down her back resting against the headboard. “What kind of person becomes a physical therapist, seriously those people are sadists.” Ava mumbles, as Sara reaches over and starts to unhook her knee brace. “I don’t think that. I think they have to teach you to fight through the pain you know. So, you can get better.” Sara says this as she slowly starts to bend Ava’s knee doing some of the home exercises that the therapist sent home with Ava. “No, I saw her face, she was enjoying my pain.” Ava throws her arms over her chest and winces as Sara puts her leg back down and starts again going a little further this time. Ava makes a face but doesn’t say anything. “You, okay?” Sara asks watching her. “Yes.” Ava says through gritted teeth, Sara repeats the same motion multiple times. Ava watches as she moves her leg up and down and she can’t help but think Sara would be good at this it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad when she is doing it. But she also starts to think about the fact that Sara hands keep grabbing her thigh and she is feeling it places other than her knee. She can feel her face get warm, so she closes her eyes as to not look at Sara and just let her do what she needs to. Trying not to bring attention to the fact that even something as simple as touching her leg has her entire body wanting her. Every now and then she would clench her jaw from a slight jolt of pain but overall, she could just feel the fire from Sara’s hands everywhere she touched left a warm mark. As the days go by Ava is able to put more and more weight on her leg. She would be in the knee brace for a few weeks for sure, but her goal was to get off crutches walking through school with them was pure hell. But she made do with the legends of course. They all took turns helping her throughout the day, she loved that she had such an amazing group of friends, but she hated feeling like she was being babied. Nyssa never tried to reach out to Sara and that was a good thing because as the days went by Sara would tell Ava more not so nice things she would say to Nyssa if she did try to reach out to her. At one point Ava was hoping Nyssa would just she could hear Sara tell her how she cussed her out. But knowing that Sara had moved on and wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself and her friends was good enough for Ava. Ava was finally able to get rid of the crutches right before the holidays hit but again, she was stuck with the knee brace until further notice, the doctor had told her probably another four to six weeks depending on how her physical therapy went. Ava still hated physical therapy but she like that Sara helped with her home exercises even though she could probably do them herself she was almost selfish in the fact that she loved having Sara help her. After the holidays came and went, they were on countdown to graduation the Sharpe’s were already in planning mode for a huge graduation bash for the legends. Going as far as ordering cots for the pool house telling the kids they were all welcome to stay all night. But for now, Ava was busy helping everyone apply to college. She had sat with Sara and narrowed down her list to ten school to apply too and helped her get all her stuff ready and sent off. Ava had helped Zari craft a really neat presentation for a couple of local IT schools she was interested in. And focused Nora in all the school near MIT so she could be near Ray. Nate was set on the fact he wanted to stay locally as Star City University had a great History program, but Ava talked him into applying for at least four other schools she found within driving distance that also boasted great programs as well. Wally had been offered a scholarship to Colorado State which made Ava happy because he wouldn’t be far from her, and they could maybe see each other every now and then and Jax had decided to go to an engineering school that he had been accepted to in Central City. Mick on the other hand decided to take a gap year and figure out if he wanted to go to college so as of now, he would just stay in Star City and make sure to hang out with everyone when he could. Ava felt like she blinked an eye, and it was April already. How is it that time goes by so fast when you don’t want it too? But it seemed like everyone got their acceptance letters the same day because Ava was up stairs working on her homework when her doorbell rang. She ran downstairs to answer looking through the peep hole she saw four people standing outside. She opened the door to Sara, Zari, Ray and Nora all holding letters in their hands. She moved to the side opening the door more so they could let themselves in. “Dining room.” Ava announced, there was a table in there that everyone could fit at as they opened the letters. “Nate is on his way over too.” Ray said as they walked into the dining room.“Okay, everyone sit down, Ray text Nate tell him just come straight in the door is unlocked and my parents aren’t home right now. I am going to go get some snacks and drinks.” Ava announced as she left the room. “She goes to the kitchen looking for sweet snacks and some healthy. She finds a small bag of mini donuts perfect for Zari and grabs those too. And then pulls out a selection of drinks ranging some water and Gatorade. She grabs a notebook off the counter and head back to the dining room. By the time she gets back in the room Nate has joined everyone and they are sitting around the table. She puts all her stuff down and leaved the room for a moment and when she reappears, she has a hat in her hand. She writes down everyone’s names and starts tears the paper apart and crumbling them up. “Okay we do this like we do everything else, random pick.” She puts all four of the papers into the hat and swishes it around above her head to mix it up. “Nate.” Ava motions for him to come over she holds the hat towards him, and he pulls a piece of paper out. She opens the piece of paper and shows Nate. “Okay Ray its go time.” Nate announces, as everyone looks at Ray who swallows the lump in his throat. “Okay, here goes.” Ray says and he grabs the five envelopes he has and starts opening them. “Cornell is a yes.” Ray smiles and looks over at Nora and keeps going. “Yale is a yes.” He opens the next one “Princeton is a waitlist.” He opens the next one “Caltech is a yes.” As he grabs the last envelope it’s the one, he wants to say yes, it’s the envelope for MIT he takes a deep breath and opens it. “I did it…I got in to MIT!” He jumps up from the table and grabs Nora and pulls her up and kisses her like he has never kissed her before. Everyone in the room just goes from shouting congratulations to being stunned at Ray making out with Nora in front of them. They had seen them kiss a million times yes, but this was a kiss with passion, and it brought everyone in the room to a standstill. “You guys realize we are still here, right?” Zari mumbles and Ray breaks away from Nora whose eyes are so wide in shock, and she quickly sits down breathing heavily from the shock and awe of the kiss. Ray goes around and gives everyone a hug and then takes his seat with if it could even happen an even bigger smile than usual. Ava walks over to ray and holds the hat out in front of him and he reaches in a grabs a paper and holds it out for Ava. “Okay Zari lets do this.” Ava said and Zari eyes go wide, and she takes a deep breath, she has three envelopes she starts to open the first one. “University of Washington is a yes.” She whispered and everyone cheered as she opened the next one “Star City University is a yes” And Sara literally jumped up and hugged her. The last envelope she had in her hands was for a sleeper school that Ava begged her to apply to because she had found they have a great computer science program. Zari looked up at Ava who nodded as she opened the last envelope and gasped. “Oh my god! I got Ava I got in!” She jumped up and ran too Ava and hugged her. She handed Ava the letter and just pointed at it jumping up and down. Everyone around the room froze, they had never seen Zari so excited or so emotional even Sara was stunned and Ava was just over the moon happy for her. “Wait where did you get in?” Nora asked the question everyone wanted to know why Zari was so excited. “Berkeley, I got into Berkeley!” Zari shouted and Ray jumped to his feet and ran over and hugged her followed by Sara, Nora and finally Nate. Zari took the paper and sat back down just staring at it in disbelief. Ava came over and put the hat in front of her and she reached in and pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to Ava. “Okay, Nora your turn.” Ava said looking over at Nora. Nora had four envelopes and she started to open the first one. “Emerson is a waitlist.” Nora said quietly “Star City is a yes.” She heard Ray quietly cheer and looked at him he was smiling proudly. “Harvard is a waitlist.” Nora grabbed the last envelope the one for Boston College that would put her within one mile of Ray she tore into it sick of waiting and she started to cry and put her head down on the table. Everyone remained quiet not sure what to do. First Zari jumping around and now Nora was crying this was an emotional roller coaster for all involved. “Boston College is…” Nora started crying again and held up the letter. “A YES!” She shouted!“YES!!” Ray yelled and grabbed her by the shoulders while her head was still down hugging her against the table as everyone went crazy excited for her. They knew had badly she wanted to get into Boston University, it wasn’t just close to Ray it had been her mother’s alma mater and meant something to her to be able to go. Once everything settled down Ava turned towards Sara the only one left who needed to open her letters. “Captain Lance.” Ava said smiling but she was met with a look of fear from Sara. “Ava, I can’t do it.” She lifted her pile and gesturing towards Ava to open the letters, and Ava nodded taking them. Ava sat down quietly with the five envelopes that Sara handed her and started opening them one by one making sure that showed no emotion as she opened them. She sat them neatly in a pile one by one as she ready them and then looked up at Sara. “University of Oregon is a yes.” Ava smiled as she saw Sara smile brightly “Star City is a yes, University of Washington is a yes.” Ava took a deep breath “Stanford and Santa Clara, both waitlisted you.” Ava said and smiled but…” Ava got a bigger smile and grabbed the top letter. “Star City offered you a full scholarship.” Ava said and Sara gasped throwing her hands over her mouth. Ava got up and took the papers back to Sara as everyone cheered for her. “I can’t believe this.” Sara whispered as she looked at the paper. Sara jumped up and hugged Ava and then kissed her on the cheek causing Ava to blush and smile. “I was so worried about tuition.” “Well now you don’t have too.” Nora said laughing as she made her way over to Sara and gave her a hug. “Okay enough of this mushy stuff! Were going to college guys!!” Nate jumped up and everyone made their way towards him and joined into a group hug laughing and jumping up and down with excitement. When they broke the hug, they all sat down munching on the snacks Ava had put in the middle of the table and talking about neat things they saw online about the colleges they were accepted too. It was moments like these that Ava wanted to memorize wanted to mentally take a photograph of and never forget. She was just three months from leaving for the academy and she was going to miss these goobers. As time again seemed to be flying by it was just two weeks before graduation and Ray and Ava found themselves in the office both knew what for. They were about to learn who had earned the honor of being this years Valedictorian. The two knew it was between them and they had spent the last four years neck and neck working on being top in the class and here they were both nervous and excited at the same time. “If it was anyone else but you, I would be mad.” Ava whispered and looked at Ray who calmly put his hand on top of Ava and squeezed. “I never expected to be anyone else Ava.” Ray looked at her and smiled.
They were ushered into the principles office and standing with them were Coach Hunter and Vice Principal Cotner. As they sat patiently waiting for the principle to arrive Ava took the time to look around as to not let her nerves get the best of her after a few minutes Principal Gideon arrived a smile on her face making her way behind her desk and sitting.“Well, I can tell you this is a first.” She looked at Ray and Ava who then looked at each other in confusion and then back to her. “You are tied in everything including GPA. So, we have a little bit of a situation here. We have to make a choice who is Valedictorian and who is Salutatorian. You both can give a speech, but one is more of a farewell. “She finished and then looked at both of them sitting there in shock. “So do you have any ideas?” She asked.“I do.” Ray said as he stood up and grabbed a blank piece of paper from the copier on the other side of the room and then sat down writing his name and Ava on each half of paper and then tearing it into two pieces looking over to Ava who was laughing at him. He looked at Coach Hunter and smiled. “Can I borrow your hat?” Ray asked and the coach took it off his head and handed it to Ray. He threw both crumbled up pieces of paper into the hat lifted it above his head and shook it a little. And looked back to Ava who stood up and cleared her throat. “This is what we do when we are nervous and can’t figure out who should do something first in our little group of friends so, Coach since its your hat will you do the honors.” Ava said as Ray walked over to Coach Hunter and held the hat in front of him. “First name pulled is Valedictorian.” Ava added, coach Hunter reached down and pulled out one piece of paper and handed it over to Principal Gideon. “You’re sure this is how you want to decide?” Gideon asks both of them Ava and Ray look at each other and smile and then turn and nod to Gideon. “Okay.” She opens the paper and looks up at both of them. “Valedictorian is…Ava.” Ray grabs Ava and gives her a big hug and pulls back with a big smile as she wipes tears from her eyes. “You go this Cap.” Ray says and hugs her again. “You have to write a speech too you know.” Ava whispers in his ear as he hugs her. “Yeah, but I get to open the show and you’re the closing act.” He smiles brightly and hugs her again. They are congratulated by each of the adults in the room before they walk out and find themselves facing a waiting group of legends who had heard they had been called to the office. Nate, Zari, Sara, Nora, Wally, Jax, and even Mick were waiting with bated breath to find out who was valedictorian. “We were tied.” Ava mumbles and looks at her shoes trying to make it seem like they didn’t have an answer.“Yes, we were so we did what we always do.” Ray said as he looked at Ava and then back to the legends. “We put our names in a hat.” Ray said laughing and saw the confusion on everyone’s faces. “Guys get over here and hug you valedictorian Ava Sharpe.” Ray yelled and everyone Ran towards Ava hugging her and laughing when they pulled back Ava took a deep breath.“And hug your Salutatorian Ray Palmer.” Ava yelled and everyone quickly moved over to Ray and grabbed him laughing. As soon as Ava got home, she told her parent the news and of course there were tears her parents always so happy for her achievements and proud of all of her accomplishments. She headed up and to her room clearing her desk and pulling out her journals and looking though them. She had been keeping journals since she was eight. And she wanted to get some inspiration for her speech, and this is where it would be. So, for the next two weeks every chance she got she was writing her speech and re writing her speech moving things around adding things taking things out that didn’t sound right. She didn’t read it to anyone she wanted this all to herself. No matter how much her mother asked, or how much Sara, Nora, and Zari begged she kept the speech carefully tucked away. Anything she scrapped was put in a shredder in her father office. She didn’t know if it would be epic like Nate kept saying it would be, but she knew it would be from her heart and meaningful. Ava looked in the mirror as placed the golden stole around her neck, on one side it said Student Body President and on the other it said Valedictorian. She had multiple stoles wrapped around her neck for academic excellence they all stood out from her solid black gown, and she just stood and stared at herself. Ava couldn’t believe the past four years had flown by so quickly and she was trying not to cry because she had already broken-down multiple time today finishing her speech and then her mother came in and gave her the stole so she cried again and then her father came in and just looked at her and she cried and had to redo her makeup all over again so she told him he couldn’t come back in. She closed her eyes and thought of her friends and smiled, this was it the final thing she had to do and then she was officially done with High School and off to bigger and better adventures. She reached over grabbed her hat and a few pieces of paper sitting next to it and walked out of her room and made her way downstairs. Ray started off the ceremony by greeting everyone and telling some funny stories and then the staff took up their roles and honestly Ava was not really listening to the people after Ray she was trying to slow her heartbeat down because the closer it got to her time to speak the more, she was trying to focus and not throw up. Her eyes wandered the crowd until she found a pair of bright blue eyes. Ava looked into those eyes and slowly felt herself calm down and she was able to take a deep breath. What in the hell was she going to do not having Sara when she left for college, she seemed to be able to calm her down just merely being there just knowing her presence was there was all Ava needed and she could feel herself relax. She didn’t have time to think any further because she heard her name being called up by Principal Gideon and here it was time for her to speak.Ava’s speech:It’s an honor to be here chosen to speak today I would first and foremost like to thank our families, friends, teachers, staff members, our school board, and my fellow graduates. I know that everyone is excited to get on with the show, but I do have to make a speech, but I will try to do my best to make it quick. I was struggling to find the words to explain my personal journey, the one that led to me standing here in front of you today. So, I did what any sane person would do I went back into my journals, yes, I have a diary. (Laughs from the crowd) I found a few entries that I thought I would share with all of you. My very first journal entry was simple it was from September 7th, 2011; I hate this school! That was it, that’s all the entry said so fast forward to the next year September 20th, 2012; School still sucks, and I keep getting pushed into lockers. I wish people could see me and know I exist. Okay that is that entry. September 18th, 2013; I have no friends, and I feel invisible. (Ava looks up and meets the watering eyes of her parents.) Okay I just want to say yes this sounds sad, but I need you to know I am coming to point here so bear with me. June 17th, 2014; We are moving to Star City and that means a new school and a new start, or at least that’s what my dad keeps saying. I did a little research on the city it seems like a neat place way better than Fresno. I am nervous too but maybe just maybe things will be different. And then September 4th, 2014; My first day at school was nothing like anything I have ever experienced in my life so far. I think I might actually be making friends. Nora seems nice even though kind of scary, (Ava looks at Nora) Wally can fit seventeen grapes in his mouth at once, (Ava looks at Wally) Jax couldn’t fit as many grapes in his mouth as Wally but he somehow managed to get 23 cheeze-it’s in his mouth. (Ava looks at Jax) I’m not sure about Mick he doesn’t talk much just kind of grunts and nods, (Ava looks at Mick) Ray has the brightest smile of anyone I have ever met and he is quite possibly the nicest person I have ever met, (Ava looks at Ray) Nate is interesting he loves history I had no idea a Great Dane was given a military medal for peeing on a bomb so I also learned something from him, (Ava looks at Nate) and Sara Lance I haven’t really figured her out yet but we have been paired together for a project so maybe I will get to know her better. One thing I can say about her she has the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. (Ava looks up at Sara.) After that day my journals are filled with everyday run of the mill crazy hijinks and group outings with my friends. But before that day I was sad and lonely and had no friends. So, I wanted to thank everyone here all of the graduates sitting in front of me and Ray back here on the stage (Ava looks back and smiles at him) We fought hard for it didn’t we Ray we fought so hard it was a literal tie, so I got you something. (Ava reached under her stole and pulled a similar one from under that she had hidden, and she waved him over.) I don’t know if anyone has heard but they call me Captain a lot in our group of friends, and I share that title with Sara. We are like Co-Captains, so I thought why not have a Co-Valedictorian. (She showed Ray the stole as he approached, and he grabbed her into a bear hug and let her put it around his neck the stole said Co-Valedictorian.) I wrote this part for you to read she motioned for him to step up. (Ray cleared his throat and started to speak.)
High school is full of ups and downs, crazy hormones, loves, first kisses, loss, breakups, fights, football games, track meets, family game nights, and pool parties. But what so many people forget is that first day, how one moment can shape our entire High School career. (Ray turned and hugged her as he knew by glancing down the next part was for her to read.) Ray saw the next few lines, so you know where this is going. Everything that happened in the next four years leading to this very moment started with that last journal entry. The day I met that crazy bunch of people that everyone calls the legends. I started track because of Wally, which led to Cross country and a State Championship. (Cheers from the crowd) Nora, Amaya, and Charlie, all gave me makeup tips which was good because until I met them, I never wore any. Nate kept me sane on a lot of days I didn’t think I could be he also saved me from getting a trouble a few times, Zari made me trust myself and my instincts and taught me to follow my heart, Ray pushed me he pushed me harder than I would have ever pushed myself and I wouldn’t be standing up here if it wasn’t for him. Nora, she has become my backbone and has never held back, she taught me that sometimes hearing what you have to hear and not what you want to hear is the only way. Sara honestly, I don’t think we have gone one day in three years where we haven’t spoken to each other in some form or another you are my best friend and you taught me keeping promises is more than words its actions. If you would have told eleven-year-old me I would be Valedictorian, Homecoming Queen, and an athlete. She would have laughed at you. But here is the thing, one thing changed the trajectory of my life and that was moving here. This school has giving me the most amazing memories of my life so far and they far outweigh the times before, So I want to say to everyone here and now whether I know you or don’t, whether you feel seen or invisible. It only takes one moment to change everything. This next adventure we are off too could mean everything changes again, and that’s fine life is about change but all I know is here right now I am not invisible anymore. I am your Student Body President a proud out Lesbian Homecoming Queen on her way to the Air Force Academy, and that’s because of all of you. (She motions to her fellow graduates as everyone cheers.)
So, let’s go embrace the next chapter while holding this one near and dear to our hearts, but never forgetting the journey we had. Our class has the highest graduating percentage in the history of Star City High School, we raised more money for charity in our four years then the last ten classes combined, and we were the first school in this district to have a GLA club. We made a difference, we were not invisible, and today I ask you to continue to make a difference and make sure you keep your eyes open to the person next to you because they may have the courage to stand up on a crowded room and speak but they may not have the courage to say something to the person sitting next to them. Be the person that changes their trajectory and be the person who helps them find their voice. Thank you everyone and congratulations.
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As Ava sat waiting patiently for everyone to get their diploma’s she couldn’t help but think about the last four years, the lifelong friends she had made and the fun times they had. Sitting at lunch doing dumb things like see how many grapes could fit in their mouths, to punching certain people in the face. Beach trips and family nights. Everything in her mind seemed to lead to one place to one person, Ava remembers the first time she saw Sara and knew she had it bad. It was when they were working on their science project way back in freshman year. It had rained nonstop for days and she had answered her door after the doorbell rang to open it only to see a soaking wet Sara Lance standing on her front porch with a huge smile on her face holding her container full of rainwater. Ava felt something in that moment looking at Sara something that was more than friendship something that in her fourteen-year-old mind made absolutely no sense but now as she thought about it, made all the sense in the world. And now her goals within sight her plans laid out she was beginning to question herself she wondered if she could be so far away from her, and it was starting to scare the shit out of her. Before she knew it, they had everyone stand up and having the graduates move their tassels on their hats from the right side to the left to signal the age long tradition of graduation. And the crowd went wild, and some hats flew, and laughter became all anyone could hear. As the students started to hug and talk to each other. Ray found Ava on the stage and hugged her again and they made their way down to the graduates and joined in. Being surrounded by tons of people like celebrities when they made it down to their fellow students stopping and hugging random people finally reaching the center where most of the legends were standing in a circle where they joined. “We did it guys!” Nate yelled “Well let’s find our parents take our damn pictures and head over to the Sharpe’s for our end of the year bash!” Sara yelled and everyone cheered but not before they all came into a group hug and shoved Mick in the middle, which even though he grunted the small smirk on his face proved he liked it. Ava was changing when someone knocked on her bedroom door and went over and opened it a crack to see it was Nora before letting her in. She may have been only in a bra, but it was Nora she didn’t care. Nora sat down on her bed as Ava finished dressing in her closet and when she emerged with bathing suit under shorts and a t-shirt, she saw Nora’s body language and went and sat next to her. “Something wrong?” “I wasn’t sure I should tell you, but I guess I need too, you know how I have to pass Sara’s house on the way over?” Nora said and Ava nodded “Okay, I saw Nyssa walking up to her front door.” Ava looked away for a moment and then back to Nora and stood up from the bed. “Ok, so here is what we are going to do, we are not going to let this ruin our day. We will trust Sara to keep her word, and we absolutely under no circumstance tell Zari.” Ava said“Why wouldn’t we tell Zari?” Nora asked “Because we must trust the Sara will stand her ground when it comes to Nyssa, and I also have to trust that Sara will tell us this herself. So as of right now we keep it between us.” Ava said sternly and pulled Nora up off the bed. “Now go get ready, we have a pool party to get too.” Ava smiled and pushed her towards her closet. Ava sat back on her bed while Nora was in the closet getting changed and her thoughts started to wander. Why the hell would Nyssa be back in town? Why of all days would she go to Sara’s? Why does that woman feel the need to cause her friends pain? And why the fuck didn’t I punch her harder like way harder? Ava shook her head she wasn’t going to let her ruin this day, nope she was going to have fun with her friends and have a great summer before the only way she could talk to them was on the phone or facetime. She wasn’t going to miss out on the precious time she had left with them. And she would be damned if she let her get to Sara. If Sara didn’t say anything tonight about it, she would be the one to broach the subject later much later when it was just her and Sara. Nora was finally ready and her and Ava made their way downstairs to find people had already shown up. Nate was hovering over the taco bar her parents had laid out over the kitchen counter tops. Zari was over near where the deserts were laid out. No doubt looking for donuts which Ava knew weren’t there. Ava went over to a cupboard and pulled out a small box she had hidden up there just the day before and walked over and placed it directly in front of Zari. Giving her a wink as she walked away, Zari opened the small box and found three sprinkle donuts in it. She quickly grabbed the box and followed Ava who was now out on the back porch greeting Nate’s parents as Nora made her way over to Ray who was sitting on the side of the pool with his feet dangling in the water. Once Ava was done speaking with the Heywood’s Zari grabbed her arm and brought her over to where Nora and Ray were. “Thank you for the donuts.” Zari said as she sat down next to Ray and motioned for Ava to sit. But Ava’s eyes were looking around for someone, her parents had invited family members and coworkers to the gathering, so she didn’t recognize some of them. “She isn’t here.” Nora whispered in Ava ears as she sat on the other side of Ray and Ava looked down and took a seat. “I wasn’t looking for her?” Ava mumbled back and Nora rolled her eyes “Who are all these people?” Ava asked more to herself than to anyone in particular. “No clue.” Zari said as she bit into a donut.Nate came and joined the group and sat next to Zari with a plate full of food.“Your parents went all out this time Ava, there is so much food in there you’ll be eating tacos for weeks.” Nate laughed as he shoved a taco in his mouth. “Well, I didn’t know they were invited so many people.” Ava said as she motioned towards random people she honestly didn’t know. “It’s a celebration Ava, the more the merrier.” A small voice came from behind her and when she turned her eyes went wide and huge smile crossed her face. “Amaya?” Ava said as she jumped up and embraced the woman in a hug, quickly the others got up as the shock wore off of seeing their old friend. “Where’s Charlie?” Ava asked looking around. “She couldn’t make the trip her band is touring in Scotland.” Amaya said as she hugged Nora.“She has a band?” Zari asked as she hugged Amaya with a confused look on her face. “Yeah, they are pretty good started performing a few months ago and then got some gigs for the summer in Scotland. But she sends her love.” Amaya says smiling and hugging Nate. “I am just happy to see you. Hopefully she can come next summer.” Ava adds with a smile on her face. Around this time Wally and Jax show up with their mother’s and are shocked to see Amaya too and they quickly exchange hellos and hugs as the parents go off to mingle with other adults and the group settles in to talking in the kitchen as everyone starts getting food. Wally is explaining how the ceremony was dull except for when Ray and Ava were doing their speeches. Amaya had hoped she would make it in time but a delay in her flight had caused her to only get in about an hour ago and she came right to Ava’s house. The group sits down at the dining table and talks with Amaya filling her in on things she has missed, and they start talking about college and where everyone is going. Zari let’s them know she is staying for the first two years and going to Star City so her family can work out the financial stuff for Berkley and then she will transfer. Ray and Nora tell her about Boston and how excited they are, Ava chimes in and lets her know about the Academy and how strict they are and how everyone has to get on a zoom call on Sunday’s so they can catch up every week. After about an hour Sara shows up with Laurel and her dad in tow and see’s Amaya and freaks out as she is hugging her. Laurel makes her way over to the taco bar as their dad steps outside to greet the other parents and adults at the party. Laurel comes and takes the final seat at the table and just watches as the friends all talk about random things. Sara notices there isn’t another chair and goes and looks at Ava and smiles and then plops down on a shocked Ava’s lap. Ava immediately blushes not knowing what to do so she adjusts a little to Sara sitting on her and her hand comes to slowly rest on Sara’s thigh. Ava looks over at Nora who has a weird smile on her face, and she quickly looks away.“So, Sara you weren’t here but where are you going to college?” Amaya asks“I’m headed to Star City and then I am going to take the MCAT and see about going to medical school.” Sara says as a lot of people look at her in shock this was news to them, they didn’t know she wanted to go to medical school. “that’s awesome Sara.” Amaya says as Ava pinches Sara to get her attention. “Ow.” Sara mumbles and looks at Ava in shock. “What was that for?” “Care to share with the rest of us your new life plan?” Ava says and Sara looks around at all the shocked faces. “Oh.” Sara says shyly “Well I kind of just made the decision a few days ago. I was wondering what I should major in and then it hit me like helping people that’s what I think I would be good at.” Sara says as she looks around at her friends and they all start to smile. “I think you’re going to be great.” Laurel announces. “Me too Cap.” Nate adds, and everyone starts to agree. “What about you?” Sara whispers into Ava’s ear a little too closely as it sends a shiver down Ava’s spine placing her hand on the Ava’s the one on her thigh. Ava takes deep breath and looks at Sara as she pulls away a little to look into Ava’s eye, Ava moves into Sara’s ear to whisper. “I think you’re great at everything you do.” Ava whispers and pulls back with a smile that Sara can’t help but reciprocate. Then they turn their attention back to Amaya as she starts to speak again. “Laurel how is school.” Amaya asks and everyone shifts their attention to Laurel. “It’s good I don’t have time to do much honestly I took a heavy class load this year but I’m glad I got to come home for this.” Laurel motions her arms around the table. Laurel starts to talk about school, and everyone chimes in asking questions as they were all excited to get some incite as to what they could expect, and she didn’t mind. She had known a lot of them for years and they truly loved her like a big sister to all of them. While she is talking Sara leans back on Ava relaxing her weight into Ava’s shoulder and Ava adjusts by moving her hand that on her thigh and wrapping her arm around Sara’s waist. It was more comfortable there is what Ava told herself and she wasn’t sure why she was enjoying this so much why Sara sitting on her lap was possibly the best thing she had ever experienced but if she held her there maybe she wouldn’t get up anytime soon. Ava was listening to the conversation and doing everything in her mind not to let her mind take off in the wrong direction with Sara sitting there and before she knew it her mother was standing at the table with a camera asking everyone to smile. Everyone turned and smiled as Pam took the pictures of everyone Sara reached down and put her hand on top of Ava’s that was wrapped around her waist and didn’t attempt to move, Ava’s mind went crazy there is going to be absolute proof of this moment an actual picture will exist. Pam looked over at Ava and had a huge smile on her face and took a few more pictures of everyone at the table before departing. The picture seemed to be something that started a shift and people started to get up from the table and make their way outside to the pool. Ava was almost broken hearted at the turn of events, but Sara leaned back and whispered to Ava and didn’t move. “I need to talk to you sometime tonight about something.” Sara said and Ava just nodded. “By the way just so you know, this is very comfortable.” Sara added with a smile causing Ava to blush and smile. “Glad you find sitting on my lap enjoyable.” Ava said in a whisper into Sara’s ear. “Ava Sharpe, are you flirting with me?” Sara asked moving her head to see the now even more blushed face of Ava. “No, if I was flirting with you, I would tell you how much I’m enjoying you sitting on my lap.” Ava mumbled and Sara went to move but Ava tightened her hold on her not letting her move. Sara turned towards Ava, and they made eye contact Sara bite down on her bottom lip and Ava could feel her stomach do flips. Sara jumped up grabbing Ava by the wrist and pulling her with her, she pulled Ava up the stairs and into Ava’s room closing the door and pushing Ava up against. And they just looked at each other Sara took a step back and Ava stayed against the door eyes still on Sara.“Say it, Ava.” Sara says waiting for permission, but Ava just looked at her and then her eyes fell to her feet. “Ava, Say it.” Sara pleaded with her she needed permission she wouldn’t do anything without permission. “I…I can’t” Ava whispered she looked back to Sara and looked back down at her feet. “You want too though?” Sara asked walking over to Ava’s bed and plopping down onto it. “Maybe.” Ava mumbled she hadn’t moved and still had her eyes trained down. “But I can’t say it.”“Nyssa came by.” Sara laid down on the bed looking up at ceiling “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, she just showed up at my house after graduation. And I did exactly what I said I would do, I asked her why the hell she was there, and I didn’t want to talk to her. She said she understood, and she had just stopped by to apologize. And she realized that how she had acted and treated me was wrong, and that she hoped I was okay and could some day forgive her.” Sara just kept staring up at the ceiling and she didn’t notice Ava had been watching her tell the story with a look of anger on her face. Ava could only think one thing, Nyssa was trying to charm her way back into Sara’s like or something like that. She didn’t just show up to apologize she wanted to check on her because that’s the kind of crazy person she is. There was no way in her mind that it was that simple, no way that she didn’t want something from Sara.“What did you say?” Ava asked breaking the silence, and Sara sat back up on the bed and looked at Ava. “I told her I would never forgive her for what she did to you. I could forgive her for being and idiot and controlling me and all the stupid shit she did but hitting you I could never forgive her fully for hurting you.” Sara was almost angry saying those words and Ava could tell Sara truly did hate the fact that Nyssa had gotten a few punches in on the fight a couple years back. “Then what?” Ava asked wondering if anything else had happened. “I told her not to come over again and she nodded and left.” Sara said “That’s it I just didn’t want to not tell you. I wanted to make sure you knew I handled it.” Ava nodded and looked back down to her feet. Ava wanted to say it she did, and she stood there for a moment and seriously thought about asking her to kiss her. But always in the back of her mind was that horrible thought that she would lose her, and she couldn’t shake it. So instead, she looked up at Sara and smiled. “Thank you for keeping you word.” Ava whispered and then reached out her hand towards Sara motioning for her to take it. “Let’s get back downstairs.” Sara nodded and stood up and grabbed her hand and followed her back down to the pool party. The rest of the night went by with laughter and joy, Ava made sure she and Sara were never really alone together knowing if they were it wouldn’t take much, and she would give in, something she couldn’t do. Nora kept giving her looks all night and she would just roll her eyes and move on. Sara sat on her lap multiple times that night even with chairs available around but Ava just indulged Sara. If she needed to feel this close, she wasn’t going to stop her. Ava needed this too and honestly if that meant Sara sat on her lap every time, they were together for the next few weeks she’d take it. The weeks go by quickly too quickly for Ava she makes sure to spend time with everyone as equally as possible. But finds herself craving more with the looming separation that is coming. Ray and Nora had gone out to Boston to get to know the area a little before heading there in a few weeks. They had made it back just in time for family night and everyone had again fought over what movie to watch. It was always a fight but ultimately the group gave up and just had fun watching Zari play video games with Amaya and the guys playing pool. The next day Ava was just relaxing at home when someone knocked on the door and she was shocked to see Nora on her front steps. “So, I am pretty sure Zari and Nate hooked up last night?” Nora said as she walked pass a shocked Ava into her house.“Wait what?” Ava asked closing the door and following her. “Ray got a phone call this morning from Nate and I am pretty sure I overheard him say the hooked up. Has Zari called or texted you?” Nora asked as she plopped down on Ava’s couch.“No not that I am aware of.” Ava grabbed her phone, and she didn’t have any notification. “Well call Sara or something and see Zari called her.” Nora said. Ava opened her contacts and called Sara, but she didn’t answer so she sent her a text telling her to call she had a question. And about ten minutes later Sara called Ava back and Nora grabbed the phone and asked if Sara had heard from Zari and Sara told her she hadn’t. When Sara started to question what was going on Ava just told her to come over and hung up.Nora and Ava were waiting on Sara to get there when Nora thought about something and quickly turned to Ava. “I haven’t forgotten by the way.” Nora said.“Forgotten what?” Ava asked“Sara sitting on your lap multiple times the night of the pool party.” “Nora just it was nothing. Sara was being clingy that’s all.” “Sitting in someone’s lap is not clingy.” Nora stated“Nora.” Ava started but was cut off by someone knocking on the door. “It’s open!” Ava yelled and then looked at Nora as if to say drop it. As Sara entered making her way over to where they were on the couch. “Ok what the hell is going on is Z ok?” Sara asked as she sat down with a concerned look. “Nora thinks her, and Nate hooked up.” Ava said and Sara’s eyes went side and then she tilted her head and thought for a moment. “Okay you know what that might actually make sense.” Sara says “What?” Ava and Nora said in unison. “Now that I think about it, yeah that makes sense. Z has been spending a lot of time with Nate and she has been kind of flirting with him.” Sara says “When?” Ava asks, “When have they flirted, I haven’t noticed.” “Ava you barely know when someone is flirting with you.” Sara says and Nora chuckles Ava gives them both a death stare. “Look easy peasy we will just ask Z.” Nora says and pulls out her phone and goes to call Zari but put its on Speaker so all of them can talk. “Why are you calling me so early Nora?” Zari’s voice come through the speaker on Nora phone“First off its like noon and secondly its not just Nora.” Ava says“Noon is early.” Zari replies“Cut the shit Z.” Sara says, “Did you sleep with Nate?” Sara adds cutting right to the point.For a second the Ava, Nora, and Sara can hear rustling in the background, and they all look at each other. “Oh my god, are you still with him?” Nora asks“No.” Zari says too quickly and then sighs “Yes.” “Holy shit Zari when did this happen?” Ava asks still in shock“Last night obviously.” Zari mumbles “Stop being a smart ass.” Sara adds “Well, it’s the truth it just happened.” Zari says, “And how exactly did you know anyways.” “Nate called Ray this morning.” Nora said and they heard a slap and a deep voice grunt. “You called Ray?” Zari said to the other person as Nora starts laughing and Sara and Ava joined in. “Could you not even wait a few hours.” They heard Zari trying to cover her phone on her end, but they could hear the whole conversation. “Z?” Sara said.“Yeah?” “Were okay if you’re ok.” Sara added “I’m okay. I’m just going to kick his ass, but you can call him later and ask if he is ok.” Zari added as they heard another slap and another grunt. “I’m going to get off the phone now and deal with that.” Zari added and then she hung up leaving Ava, Nora, and Sara in shock as they looked around at each other and then busted out laughing.“I did not see that coming.” Nora said laughing, Ava, Nora, and Sara decided to go out for lunch since they were already together, and they texted Zari and asked if she wanted to join but she opted out because apparently, she hadn’t slept much that night. So off they went enjoying each other’s company. They days flew by Ava found herself getting more and more nervous as it got closer to the day she had to leave for Colorado. She made sure to spend time with her mother and father as well as traveling down to Central City to see Wally and Jax before she left. The day before she was set to leave everyone came by everyone but Sara. Who had texted and explained she couldn’t say goodbye she just couldn’t?Which is what led Ava to her doorstep the night before she left. Ava knocked on the door with a bag under her arm. Laurel opened the door and looked surprised to see Ava there but ushered her in. “Hey.” Laurel said as she closed the door behind her. “She has been upstairs all day she won’t come out of her room. I tried to get her to come over, but she just wouldn’t.” “I know.” Ava said she swayed in the hallway and looked at Laurel. “That’s why I came to her. I can’t leave without saying goodbye no matter is she wants to or not.” Ava added and Laurel nodded in understanding. “We’ll miss you around here but, we’ll see you when you come home for the holidays.” Laurel said and then leaned into hug Ava, and she hugged her back. “Okay go up there and deal with that.” Laurel said motioning upstairs and Ava nodded. Ava walked up the stairs and made her way to Sara’s door she gripped the package a little tighter under her arms and took a deep breath. This was going to be hard, and she knew it would be, but she couldn’t leave not without seeing her first. She knocked on Sara’s door and only got a muffled “Go Away” from the other side. Ava wasn’t going to leave so she reached down and turned the knob to Sara’s room, and it turned it wasn’t locked so she quietly opened the door and stepped into the room and closed the door behind her. Ava looked over and saw Sara curled up in a ball in her bed the covers over her head. “I told you to go away Laurel.” Sara mumbled without saying a word Ava made her way over to the bed and sat on edge watching the lump under the covers. “I don’t want to talk Laurel just leave me alone.”“I brought you something.” Ava said and the covers shot up and Sara sat up in her bed looking at Ava. Ava noticed quickly her eyes were red and swollen she must have been crying. Ava looked down at the floor away from Sara away from the hurt in her eyes. “Ava what are you doing here?” Sara said wiping her eyes. “I wasn’t going to leave without seeing you so if you wouldn’t come to me then I came to you.” Ava mumbled. Ava handed her the bag she had brought over without looking at her. Sara took the bag and looked at it curiously and then kept looking at Ava. “Open it.” Ava whispered.“Ava.” Sara almost whimpered her name, Ava looked up at Sara and a small smile crossed her face. “Open it, Sara.” Ava said as she kept eye contact and Sara slowly opened the bag to reveal a big Air Force Academy hoodie and when she unfolded it there was a framed picture of the two of them. The picture made Sara smile it had been from the pool party Sara was sitting on Ava laying her head back they both had huge smiles on their faces. Sara knew the moment this picture was taken Jax had stolen Ava’s parent’s camera and Wally had just choked on a sip of champagne and everyone had burst into laughter at his response. Sara looked at Ava and tears were in her eyes, Ava looked down and then back up. Sara took the hoodie and put it on and noticed when she did it smelled like Ava, and she got a smile on her face and looked at Ava. “I slept in it for like two weeks.” Ava smiled as she knew that would make Sara happy having something that smelled like her. Sara was that kind of person she needed something personal. Not to mention that she had stolen so many hoodies over the years she started asking her mother to buy her two because Sara would steal one. “I don’t want to say goodbye.” Sara said as tears started to fall down her face and Ava was quick to move next to her on the bed and wrap her arms around her. “Please don’t cry Sara.” Ava was starting to tear up “Please don’t think for one second this isn’t hard for me too. I am going to miss you more than you know.” Ava pulled her closer to her almost on her lap. Sara buried her head into Ava’s shoulder and just let the tears flow. They stayed like that for a while just Ava holding Sara as she cried, and Ava had tears flowing as well. This was much harder than she thought it would be and she made a choice one that she hoped would help one they she knew she needed, and Sara needed. Ava went to adjust herself a little and Sara thought she was pulling away.“No don’t leave not yet.” Sara whimpered.“I’m not I am trying to see you to look at you.” Ava said as she adjusted, and Sara moved back a little out of the embrace. “Why do you want to look at me I’m a mess.” Sara said trying to smile through the tears. “I want to see your eyes.” Ava whispered“My beautiful blue eyes that you wrote about in your diary.” Sara said with a smile. “Those are the ones.” Ava whispered as Sara looked up at her. Tears still falling down her cheeks, Ava reached up and wiped the tears away and looked at Sara with so much love and admiration the words just came out. “Kiss me.” Ava whispered.Sara didn’t hesitate her lips met Ava’s softly and lovingly, Ava pulled Sara closer and deepened the kiss. Sara moved into Ava’s lap cupping her hands around Ava’s face. Their lips moved in a familiar motion knowingly it was almost as if they both had the same dream and knew exactly how they had wanted this moment to be. Ava was the one who asked for access has her tongue slide across Sara’s bottom lip and she parted her lips and Ava deepened the kiss more. And she moved one of her hands to Sara’s face and the other rested on Sara’s waist. When they parted to breath Sara kissed down Ava’s jawline and moved to her neck slowly leaving kisses until finding Ava’s pulse point where she sucked and soothed with her tongue causing Ava’s breath to catch and she moved her head back to give Sara more access. Her other hand moving to Sara’s waist and her fingers digging into Sara’s hips as Sara sent tingles down her body with every kiss on her neck. Sara moved her way back up to Ava’s neck kissing her along her jawline and moving back to her lips and the kiss was more passionate more lustful this time. Their tongues fighting for dominance and before Sara knew what was happening Ava had flipped them and she was on her back. Ava was kissing her hard as her body was pressing into Sara’s and Sara let a moan escape as Ava placed her leg in between Sara’s leg’s her knee positioned perfectly over Sara’s core causing another moan. Ava started to kiss down Sara’s neck and moved to her pulse point and stopped there she sucked on the spot causing another moan to escape Sara’s lips and her tongue soothed the spot before she moved back up to Sara’s lips and kissed her again. Ava slowly pulled away and rested her forehead against Sara’s. Both breathless and wanting. Ava sat up pulling herself off Sara she hadn’t intended on the kiss becoming what that was. She needed to stop to be logical she had never had sex before and she wasn’t about to do it the night before she left for college, she wasn’t sure that was an emotionally mature thing to do. She pulled Sara into a sitting position. She took Sara ‘s hands in hers and just looked at her for a moment. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Sara’s lips it was a goodbye kiss sweet and simple, Sara knew it. Ava squeezed her hands and then slowly moved off the bed and got onto her feet. “Make that hoodie last. I’ll bring you another one when I come home for the holidays.” Ava smiled as she made her way to Sara’s door stopping one last time to look at her. “I’ll be seeing you, Miss Lance.” She said as she opened the door.“You too Miss Sharpe.” Sara managed to say causing Ava to look back to her with a huge grin and small wink she closed the door leaving Sara in her room. “I love you, Ava.” Sara whispered to her room and then she tucked herself into the hoodie she had on and fell asleep holding the picture of her and Ava.
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As the sweat dripped down Ava’s face as lowered herself down to the ground, she pushed with all her might back up to complete the push-up. Small pebbles from the ground under digging into her palms with every movement. Her hair pulled back in an immaculate bun on the back of her head she lowered herself again and then pushed back up. Every morning the same thing run four miles with her class, sit-ups, pullups, and then push-ups. She had always thought herself to be in good shape, but she was finding there were muscles she had never really strengthened in her youth and the burn she could feel after sixty push-ups was excruciating. Everyday at the Academy was mostly the same. Physical training then chow, then classes then, chow again then, more classes then, time for homework and studying then, chow again and off to more homework and studying. By the time she had a moment to think she was so tired she just wanted to go to sleep, and the cycle continued. Saturday afternoons after special classes or more training was when she usually had her first moments to think but she usually had to get laundry done and start to prep for the next week making sure her uniforms were setup pressed and ready to go. Sunday’s is when she was able to take time to herself and make phone calls and zoom the legends. Time was moving quickly, and it was almost thanksgiving she hadn’t even really had time to think about planning with the legends, but she made sure her parents kept her coming home a secret. She had all but told her friends she didn’t know if she would be home before the two and half weeks at Christmas. Her room was small but for a military academy it wasn’t shocking. There were two beds and two desks and two large closets. Her roommate Mona is especially talkative but overall, a nice girl. Ava and she read books and talk about them kind of like their own little book club. Ava hadn’t really had time to make many friends she just knew a few from her classes merely acquaintances. Ava was a doolie a weird term used for freshman year cadets; Ava found it odd the nickname as it didn’t really make sense, but she seemed to hear it a lot from upperclassman. She had made sure to make all the legends zoom calls they had scheduled on Sundays. That was the only day she could find time to get caught up on everything else. She loved hearing about how everyone was doing, she didn’t so much enjoy hearing about certain peoples love lives. Hearing Sara gush over some new crush in her classes or a girl that hit on her at a party made Ava want to punch someone. She tended to find herself going for a run after those calls. Which led her to meeting Cadet Tucker and Cadet Saunders, who she referred to as Tuck and Kendra. She had gone for a run on the track one day and they had noticed her from the bleachers and approached her after her run and spoken to her about track. She came to find out they were track team members and one year ahead of her. She shared with them her high school experience and that she used to compete. She made it clear that she wasn’t interested in joining track, but they were adamant she had to come to some of the meets and they became quick friends. “Are you excited to go home?’ Mona asked as she watched Ava pack her bag.“I mean yeah. I miss everyone but at the same time its like just a few days really.” Ava said“Well, I know my parents already have every minute planned for me but I’m excited to see my boyfriend.” Mona mumbled. “I asked my parents to keep me coming a secret so I could surprise my friends so I’m excited to surprise them. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about them scheduling every minute sorry you have to deal with that.” Ava said sitting down and taking a breath, she was nervous to see everyone she felt like in the last three months she had changed a lot. She wasn’t sure how she was going to do at home after truthfully having every minute of every day dictated and scheduled. “What about a boyfriend, I mean aren’t you excited to him.” Mona asked, and Ava realized they hadn’t ever broached that subject her and Mona shared a room, but they didn’t have many classes together and when they did have free time, they were mostly filling it with to-do lists so their personal lives hadn’t really come up. “I guess I should tell you I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m not really the boyfriend type.” Ava said looking down at her hands to avoid eye contact. She was still nervous telling people sometimes and someone she shared a room with she didn’t want Mona to think anything weird. “Oh, well do you have a girlfriend back home?” Mona asked without missing a beat and Ava looked up at her noticing Mona wasn’t judgmental in the question she was truthfully asking. “Nope.” Ava said popping the P at the end of the word. “Wait how do you not have a girlfriend?” Mona asks motioning towards Ava which causes Ava to chuckle and blush at the same time.“Well, that is a good question honestly I was always busy with school and honestly there weren’t many options back home. So, I just never really you know…” Ava mumbled as she got up and zipped up her bag and set it in the bottom of her closet. She was flying home tomorrow, and she honestly was looking forward to laying on a couch and eating some junk food it seemed like the only thing she could think about since getting her plane ticket. “Well maybe when you get back, we can go out to town and find a gay friendly place and I can wingman for you.” Mona giggled causing Ava to laugh“Oh my god don’t ever say that again.” Ava laughed as she made her way back to her bed pulling down her covers. “What I’m serious.” Mona laughed as she climbed into her bed. “Right, I don’t have ten minutes to myself let alone time to think about anyone else.” Ava said, “I don’t think dating is on the top of my list of priorities.” Ava went over and turned the light off before heading back to her bed and crawling in. “Well just remember the offer stands.” Mona whispers in the dark.“Thanks Mona, I will defiantly let you know if I want to take you up on it.” Ava mumbles as she turned over on her side and closed her eyes. Her thoughts drifted to seeing Sara and how she couldn’t wait to hug her. Her flight the next day was long and annoying her layover was way to long and she was anxious to get home. The legends had talked about a Wednesday get together at Nate’s house and she had already figured out how to surprise them. She had her mother talk to Mrs. Heywood so she knew Ava was coming and would let her in the front door so she could sneak down to the basement. It seemed like the more time it took her to get home the more nervous she got. She was walking towards the luggage claim where her parents were waiting to pick her up and once, she saw them her feet took off without thinking and she ran into her parent’s arms. She didn’t know she needed a hug from both of them. The last three months hadn’t given her anytime to think about how much she missed them it was like they did that on purpose even though she did facetime them on a regular basis. Being around them physically was so much better. They talked about anything and everything on the ride home. She talked about the few friends she had made and about meeting some track athletes. She went into detail about how at first Mona was a little much, but she had grown on her and found her to be comforting. Her parents laughed when she told them about the wingman offer Mona had made. She explained how she was kept busy, and the classes weren’t so bad it was just a lot of studying. Once she was home, she walked into her room, and it felt like years had passed since she had been there, but it had only been about four months. Her mother had explained that Mrs. Heywood was expecting her at eight that night that way she didn’t knock or ring a doorbell she would be waiting for her at the front door. She looked at her clock and realized she had about two hours. So, she unpacked her bag and jumped in a shower to wash of the day of travel. As Ava drove over to Nate’s she was glad she was alone because she was so nervous, she had to take a lot of deep breaths. She just honestly couldn’t figure out why she was so nervous. She parked on the street because she didn’t want to chance anyone seeing her pull into the driveway. She made her way up the driveway and passed all of her friend’s cars and made her way quietly to the front door where Mrs. Heywood opened the door and ushered her secretly wrapping her in a big hug and then she whispered they were downstairs she said they were all playing pool and chatting she had just taken some snack and told them she was headed to bed. Part of Ava’s plan was to make a facetime Nora from the bathroom which had white walls so she could make sure she wouldn’t be caught. So she made her way to the small bathroom and pulled out her phone and pressed on Nora’s Contact information and hit the video button. When it connected she saw Nora’s smiling face. “Hey Ava.” Nora said “Let me put you on speaker. Guys Ava is on the phone.”“Hey guys!” Ava said as she watched Nate pop on the screen.“Hey stranger we miss you!” He said and was quickly pushed out of the way by Zari.“It’s bullshit you can’t be here. I am beginning to hate this academy you’re at!” She yelled and Ava laughed. “I know guys I’m sorry. I miss you too though.” Ava laughed as Zari pushed Mick in front of the phone.“Hey blondie.” Mick moved out of the screen, and she saw Nora again. “We do miss you it’s not the same without you here.” Nora said as she looked up and Ava could see the phone switch hands and Ray appeared big smile and all. “Ava how are you; I hate you’re having thanksgiving in a strange place.” Ray mumbled “I know Ray I wish I was there too.” Ava said and she saw Ray look down and hand the phone off and Nora’s face was back on the screen. “So, someone else wants to say Hi.” Nora leaned over a little and Ava saw Sara’s face next to Nora’s “Hey you!” Sara said with that beautiful smile that made Ava smile brightly. “Hey you back.” Ava said, “So everyone is there?” “Everyone but you silly.” Sara said And Ava smiled.“I have an idea.” Ava says and Nora and Sara who are both still on the screen both look at her confused. “Hold on.” Ava says as she starts to move and leave the room she is in while the two of them watch in confusion. “Please don’t do that thing where you are going to show us the moon and say it's the same as your moon.” Nora chuckles. “No, I am not going outside silly.” Ava says, “Just hold on.” The woman are watching Ava walk somewhere eyeing the screen as she walks. “I have this special place I can go to and its pretty neat hold on there is a door and some stairs I have to go down.” Ava adds“Oh, a secret place you found.” Sara laughs “I swear Ava if you found some kind of dungeon at that school…” Sara laughs but is cut off by Ava.“No, it’s kind of cool, has some cool people and even has a pool table.” Ava says and she adjusts the phone as she starts walking down the stairs making sure they can’t see the pictures on the walls giving away her location. “She looks up and makes it look like she sees someone, and she leans in really close to the phone. “Hey, I have to call you back in a second I have to be quiet don’t want to get caught down here.” Ava whispers into the phone and Nora and Sara both nod their head as Ava hangs the phone up. She stands at the door and takes a deep breath grabs the handle and turns it walking into the room and everyone turns around and stops what they are doing and look at her in utter shock. “What the Fuck?” Zari says“I told you it had cool people!” Ava yells and Sara jumps over the couch and runs to Ava as Nora’s brain catches up and quickly follows. Sara’s body collides with Ava’s like a wrecking ball knocking her back into the wall as she wraps her arms around Ava’s neck and Ava wraps her arms around her back pulling her up off the ground holding Sara in her arms. Suddenly Nora is hugging Ava from the side and Ava is moving an arm to wrap it around Nora and pulling her in against her and Sara. “I missed you so much.” Sara whimpers in Ava’s ear and Ava digs her face into Sara’s neck.“I missed you too.” Ava whispers back“Okay our turn.” Zari announces and Ava can feel Sara releasing her grip Nora lets go and Ava puts Sara back down onto her feet. Zari waits for Sara and Nora to move so she can hug Ava, it’s a bear hug that Ava isn’t expecting she hugs her back just as hard. When Zari breaks away, she wipes a tear and Ray comes up and hugs Ava and lifts her off the ground causing Ava to laugh. Ray steps aside and Mick is there and hugs Ava which was kind of awesome because she can’t remember him ever showing her affection. When he steps aside Nate steps up and hugs her tightly. “Welcome home Captain.” Nate whispers in her ear she smiles and hugs him tighter. “What the hell.” Nora says as Nate breaks away form the hug. “I thought you couldn’t come home?” “I told you that so I could surprise you.” Ava looks at her feet and then back up “Are you mad?” “Hell, no we aren’t.” Sara says walking over and grabbing Ava by the waist and walking her over to the couch as Ava throws her arm over Sara shoulder. “Where are Wally and Jax?” Ava asked“They’ll be here Saturday your parents invited us over for the annual College Football Party after Thanksgiving.” Ray says with a big smile. “That’s why they invited us.” Zari added and looked at a laughing Ava. “We were like they must really miss Ava to invite all her friends to come over when she isn’t there.” She shakes her head. “How are we so dumb we didn’t realize that.” Nate adds. “Hey, I am sure if I was here or not, they still would have asked you to come over my parents love all of you.” Ava said with a smile Sara is looking at Ava oddly and reaches her hand up and starts touching her in different places as Ava watching her curiously.“What the hell Sara? Stop fondling Ava.” Zari says and Sara turns and gives her a glare and looks back at Ava and starts touching different places again and Ava just keeps looking at her curiously.“Sara I’m real if that’s what you are checking.” Ava says as Sara is still poking her different places and then reaches up and her hand cups around Ava bicep. Sara pulls back and looks at Ava with a smirk that catches Ava off guard. “What?” Ava asks“Ava you are…buff.” Sara starts touching her all over again amused causing Ava to laugh.“Wait let me, see?” Nora reaches over and starts to grab Ava’s arms.“Okay guys.” Ava stands up laughing throwing her hands up. “You want to see?” Sara’s eyes go wide. “Wait, are you about to strip?” Mick asks and Nate and Ray immediately throw their hands up over their eyes. “No, I have a tank top on under this t-shirt.” Ava says confused and Ray and Nate drop their hands.“Okay then let’s see it.” Nate says smiling, so Ava raises her eyebrow and lifts her shirt up and Sara audibly gasps at Ava’s toned body. And Nate can’t help himself as he walks over and squeezes Ava’s biceps and his jaw drops. “Wow.” Nora and Sara say at the same time. “You have only been gone like three months how did that happen.” Ray says and Ava laughs“Well, I mean I was already a runner, but we do a lot of physical training, and I can do over one hundred push-ups now and like twelve pull-ups. I am very proud of the pull-ups by the way. And we have a weight room, so I use it. I mean I need to be able to pick up a grown man if needed so I wanted to make sure I could.” Ava shrugs, everyone is kind of in shock at the moment and Ava starts to look around and decides it times to change the subject. “Okay so moving on from my body…what are we doing tonight?” “Oh well we were just hanging out didn’t have any plans really. What do you want to do?” Nate asked “That’s sounds perfect.” Ava tucks her t-shirt into her jeans and sits back down next to Sara in her Tank top. It hasn’t escaped Ava’s attention that Sara has yet to look away from her. As the night goes on the guy’s challenge Ava to push-up contest and the only person who comes close to what Ava can do is shockingly Mick who makes it sixty-four push-ups and Ava could have done another forty easily. They talk about the different classes their in. Sara complaining about how her biology professor is douchebag, while Zari talks about how her history professor talks like that actor from Ferris Bueller’s Day off “Bueller, Bueller.” She mocks and then explains she has fallen asleep multiple times in his class. Ava tells them a little more about Mona, Tuck, Gary, and Kendra“And he no idea what personal space is.” Ava finishes “It’s crazy they all seem like they would fit in with our little group.” Nora adds. “I mean yeah they probably could, I hope one day you guys can meet them.” Ava says“So, when are you going back?” Sara asks everyone was thinking it she just was the first one to ask. “Also how did you get in my house?” Nate motions towards the door to the basement causing Ava to laugh.“Oh yeah okay well I leave on Sunday night I have a direct flight back so my flight leaves at five, and Nate your mom let me in. She may have known I was coming.” Ava smiles at him and he feigns surprise throwing his hands to his chest.“She kept a secret from me?” Nate shakes his head. “My mother made her promise she knew this surprise was important for me.” Ava says“I feel like its not enough time.” Zari says.“Its not but it's what I have and I'll be back on December 18th for Christmas break.” Ava adds“Really is that day you are coming?” Nora asks eyebrow raised. “Yes, it is I can actually show you the plane ticket if you want me too. Mom bought it as soon as she got the schedule.” Ava laughs. “I don’t leave until January 4th so I will be here for almost three weeks.” “Nora, when are we back from Boston?” Ray asks“We come back on the 17th.” She answers. They talk about plans for the next few days and what they can do on Friday. Nate wants to hit up the black Friday sales and everyone else just want to spend time together, but they agree to just spending the day together. And then they start planning for the next holiday break since they have more time together. Eventually it starts to get late, and everyone starts to say their goodbyes and plan to meet up on Friday at the Sharpe’s house. Friday comes quickly and they decide to drive to Central City and surprise Jax, and Wally and they spend the day with them. Going out shopping and hanging out at Wally’s brother’s house. They find out Amaya and Charlie will be home for the next holiday break and start to plan a party for New Years it will be the first time they have all been together in almost three years since Charlie hadn’t made it back the last couple of trips just Amaya. Saturday comes and the gang is together at the Sharpe’s watching Football. The guys are all invested in a game some in state rivalry going on that everyone is excited about. The girls are hanging out on the back porch just talking and catching up. Nora gets a phone call and Zari goes inside to sit with Nate for a bit and Ava motions for Sara to follow her up to her room. Ava opens the door and Sara follows her in the room, Ava walks over to her dresser and pulls out a hoodie it’s a USAFA hoodie that Ava has had since she got to the academy. She made sure to sleep in it every night, so it smells like her. “I brought you this.” Ava hands Sara the hoodie and smiles. “You didn’t have to do that Ava.” Sara whispers and looks up at Ava who looks down at her feet. “I wanted too.” Ava whispers. “I made sure it smells like me I know how you like that.” She smiles looking up at Sara. “You know why I like that right?” Sara asks as she puts on the hoodie. “It makes you feel safe.” Ava mumbles and Sara smiles at her. “So, tell me about this girl you have been seeing.” Ava says as she goes and sits down on her bed patting the spot next to her.“Oh, that thing yeah it didn’t work out.” Sara says and moves to sit next Ava“Wait what?” Ava asks, “like two weeks ago you were talking about how amazing she was.” “Yeah, well she turned out to be kind of like Nyssa.” Sara says and tilts her head towards Ava. “Wow well that kind of sucks.” Ava says “Yeah, she wasn’t okay with Family night on Friday’s, and she threw a fit when I told her I had a certain time on Sunday’s I was unavailable.” Sara shrugs “What about you?”“Me?” Ava laughs “No I have absolutely no time for that.” Ava laughs “I barely have time to get homework done. They keep us busy like I mean like I have to schedule time to do laundry, so I don’t forget.” She laughs. “If I made a list of fifty things, I needed to get done I would say dating is about three hundred.” Ava looks at Sara as she laughs. “Does it get a little easier or is it because you’re a freshman?” Sara asks“Oh, it gets easier the more years your there for sure a little more free time but it’s pretty strenuous I mean Kendra and Tucker were trying to get me to walk onto the track team and I was like no way that’s too much.” Ava says“But you like it right?” Sara asks, “I mean you’re okay right.” “I mean there are days where I am lonely, and I miss you guys like a lot. I am not going to lie they try to keep us busy so we can’t think really, and everything is scheduled you know so it almost like you don’t really have to think you just follow the schedule.” Ava explains "I was kind of nervous about this week because there isn’t a schedule, and I was like worried I forgot how to just wake up and not do anything.”“What do you do when you miss us?” Sara asks looking at Ava who looks up and thinks and looks back at Sara“I write in my journal, and I write you guys’ letters. I don’t send them I have this little box I keep them in. I just sit down and write letter to you, or Nora, or Zari. Kind of a way to talk to you and get all those feelings out. I have even written to Ray and Nate. I actually have a letter I wrote to both of them one time.” Ava laughs. “Will we ever see the letters?” Sara asks Ava shakes her head “Probably not. I mean its therapeutic to put things down on paper for me. So, the letter is mostly for me not actually for you. Or whoever I write them too, it just helps me clear my head.” Ava smiles, Ava’s door opens to Nora standing there and Sara and Ava look up to her. “Hey, sorry I couldn’t find you and your mom is looking for you.” Nora says, “Am I interrupting anything?” She asks.“No, we were just sitting up here talking.” Ava says. “Good because your mom seems to have some separation anxiety or something.” Nora starts laughing. “Okay we’ll be right down.” Ava smirks and Nora nods and leaves closing the door behind her. “When I come back for the next break did you want me to bring you another one of these?” Ava asks pulling on the hoodie Sara has on. “Well, I am never going to say no to a hoodie since I can’t come over here and freely steal them from you like I used too.” Sara smiles as Ava nods standing up, Sara follows her out of the room, and they join the party downstairs. Sunday came to fast, but Ava knew that would be the case, but she was glad to get to spend some time with everyone. And her next visit would be longer, and she couldn’t wait. But back to Colorado she goes and back to living in a scheduled world.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
She isn’t even fully back in the dorm room before Mona is talking her ear off telling her all about her visit and asking a million questions about Ava’s trip home. Ava was glad to see her she had missed Mona and her nonstop spunky personality. Ava manages to tell her the surprise was a success, and everyone was shocked. How they spent an entire day shopping and just driving around town. How they all said it would be nice to meet Mona and that she sounded nice. Ava even told her maybe she could one of these summers because she thinks she would mesh well with the group. Ava was already on countdown to go back; she found a cute pink USAFA hoodie and bought it for Sara she figured she would get a kick out of that. At the rate things were going Sara would probably end up owning every color by the time she graduated. Mid-terms were coming up, so Ava found herself sitting at her desk with her head in a book. She had leave before she was flying back on a Saturday, and she took some time and went to Boulder with Mona and Gary to try and get some Christmas presents. That’s when Mona and Gary started to question who Sara was in her life. Because she seemed to be more particular when looking for a gift for her than any of her other friends. But she tried to make it seem like because Sara’s birthday was also on Christmas, so she always tried to make it a special. But it didn’t seem like Mona and Gary were buying it. And they defiantly started asking too many questions. “But you said Nora and Zari are your best friends too.” Mona says looking up while thumbing through old vinyl records, Gary had found this old record store he liked to stop in and listen to music from time to time. “They are but Sara was the first of the group who really got to know me back then and we became close you know. Like I can share things with her that I don’t share with the others.” Ava added not looking up from the pile she was looking through. “So, what exactly are your thoughts? Like what does she like?” Gary asks.“Well, she likes all kinds of stuff I always struggle finding something but don’t worry I will. It always seems to come out of nowhere and I find something I know she will like.” Ava adds as she looks up and sees Gary isn’t browsing anymore just standing there. “Are we ready to go because I could eat something.” “Okay let’s head out I’m hungry too.” Mona says as her stomach growls. “Like really hungry.” She chuckles. The three of them head down the street back to a café they had seen earlier in the day. They take their seats and are greeted by a beautiful young woman who smiles at them sweetly and takes their drink order. AS they are looking over the menu Mona tries to continue the earlier conversation. “What about Jewelry?” Mona asks looking at Ava over her menu as she watches a smile come across Ava’s face. “No, she isn’t really into much jewelry, she does like rings. But that’s a little overboard.” Ava doesn’t look up from her menu just keeps reading as she speaks. “Clothes?” Gary asks“Well, I am pretty sure she has enough of those.” Ava laughs “Plus I’m not her parents it has to be something like meaningful.” Ava puts her menu down and looks at both of them “I’ll find something if not here then when I get home so stop worrying. Can you order me the Chicken Salad I’ll be right back?” Ava slides out of her seat and heads towards the restroom. “There is no way this Sara girl is just a friend.” Mona says and looking over at Gary who looks back at her. “Why do you say that?” he asks. “Because I have seen them talk on the phone and believe you me when Sara tells her about who she is dating or sleeping with because she puts the call on speaker like eighty percent of the time. You should see Ava’s face.” Mona finishes “Well maybe she doesn’t really like to hear about her exploits.” Gary says picking up his menu and glancing over it again. “I am telling you there is more to the story then she is telling us.” Mona mumbles as the waitress arrives and takes their order. “And for your pretty friend?” The waitress asks and Mona and Gary both look at her in shock.“She is going to have the chicken salad and just so you know she is our single pretty friend.” Mona says proudly and smiles. The waitress raises her eyebrow and turns to leave. “Good to know.” The waitress mumbles as she steps away. Mona looks at Gary and they both chuckle. “What’d I miss? Ava asks as she gets within ear shot and slides back into her seat. “Not much she took our order so food shouldn’t be long.” Gary saysAva makes it clear that she doesn’t want to talk about Sara anymore and the three fall into conversation about next year and their schedules and how fast the first half has been so far. They get their food and eat and just enjoy each other company. Gary going on about his D&D group back home and how they are falling apart without him. Mona talks about her boyfriend who is currently traveling abroad. And Ava talks about Tuck and Kendra still trying to convince her to walk on as a track athlete so the three decided they need to go to one of the meets in April so they can root them on. Eventually the waitress comes back and drop off everyone’s check and slides a small napkin over to Ava who just looks up as the waitress winks and walks away. “What is…” Ava looks down at the napkin and unfolds it, there is the name Drew and a phone number written on the napkin. Ava’s can’t help the blush that raises up her neck and through her face. As Nora and Gary, both watch her and get huge smiles. “Look at that you didn’t even try, and you got a phone number.” Mona whispers and giggles, as Ava looks back towards the waitress and smiles at her and then turns back to her friends and here eyes are wide with shock. “I don’t know what to say right now.” Ava sinks a little in her chair as Mona and Gary both start laughing causing Ava to roll her eyes. “That’s it.” She starts pointing at them “I don’t know why I am friends with you.” “Because you love us.” Mona says in between her giggles as Ava stands and flips her off and walks over to the counter to pay her bill. And she is now face to face with Drew and she has no idea what to do. “I hope you enjoyed the food.” Drew says as she takes Ava’s bill and starts punching buttons on the register. Ava swallows the newly form lump in her throat her hand reaches to the back of her neck, and she looks down at her feet for a second and then looks back at Drew.“Yeah, umm it was great. Really good.” Ava says as she hears giggles from over in the direction she came form and she snaps her head over at Mona and Gary and gives them a death glare. “Your friends are cute.” Drew says and Ava looks back at her. “Their no longer my friends.” Ava says blushing and handing Drew her credit card and Drew gets a sad face. “No, I mean… okay yeah their cute.” Ava gives in her stupid friends are embarrassing her and she is going to kick their asses when they leave. “Well just so you know…” Drew starts and leans in to hand Ava her card back “So are you.” She winks and walks away leaving Ava standing in front of the counter with a smug smile on her face. She looks back over to Mona and Gary and nods her head to the front door and makes her way out. Mona and Gary both throw some cash on the table with their bills grab the bags they brought in and follow Ava out smiling at Drew as they walk by. Mona and Gary catch up to Ava who is walking back to the bus terminal, Ava is having and internal conversation with herself completely unaware of Mona and Gary. Her mind didn’t know exactly how to register what had just happened. She had only ever been hit on by two women, and now there was this woman who she could honestly say was beautiful and had even complimented her. How does she respond she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the napkin and looks at it in her hand? Gary and Mona watch her quietly they don’t say anything the three just walk back in silence. If there is one thing, they have learned knowing Ava its that she needs to think things through and when she is ready to talk about it, she will. Ava stares at the napkin the whole way back to the dorms she fiddles with it in her hands and looks out the window. She has spent the last few months supporting Sara in her new endeavors and listening to her stories about her dates and or crushes. So, for the first time in her life Ava is thinking about going on a date, she is racking her brain trying to figure out how she could possibly so that. School keeps her so busy, and she barely has time for herself how could she possibly expect to date anyone. Ava takes a deep breath and takes the napkin and puts it back in her pocket. She needed to go for a run to clear her head because this was slightly overwhelming her and wasn’t sure how to quiet the thoughts. Ava and Mona said their goodbyes to Gary and headed back to the dorms where they put the items they had bought in the personal effects. They were only two weeks from heading home for the holidays, Ava changed into some running clothes and headed out the door for a run to help clear her head. Ava found herself the next Sunday heading back to town for a few hours still trying to finish up Christmas shopping before she left the next week. She heads back to that café where Drew worked and was happy to see her there. She had the chicken salad again she found the situation a little more bearable without Gary and Mona’s prying eyes. It wasn’t very busy, and Drew made her way over to Ava who had pulled out a one of her study guides and was reading it as she ate. “So, you’re a cadet?” Drew asked as she came to stand at the end of Ava’s table. Ava looked up and smiled.“Yes, I am” Ava said as she tried to read Drew’s reaction. “You never called?” Drew added “I didn’t and I wanted to come let you know why.” Ava smiled“Girlfriend?” Drew inquired. “No, just not looking to be honest. School takes up so much time and well I mean…” Ava trails off not sure what else to say.“I get it. And just so you know if you change your mind hold onto my number.” Drew smiles and she walks away from the table. Ava watches her walk away thinking she is attractive, and she wouldn’t mind getting to know her she just doesn’t know how she would find the time.Ava finishes her lunch and pays giving Drew a small smile on the way out and heads back to the bus terminal. As she is walking, she sees a small antique shop and decides to pop in and look. She finds herself looking at some jewelry in a small box that all have tags on them. She pulls one out that has two canaries intertwined around each other leading to the band. Ava gets a huge smile on her face this is it; she knew she would find the perfect gift for Sara. She loved canaries ever since she was young and her and Laurel each had one. Sara had told her the story years ago, but she knew hoe meaningful the bird was to her. She grabbed the ring and went to the checkout counter and paid for it. The next week seems to fly by as the previous weeks have. Ava had never noticed time went by so quickly and she was on her way home stuck in a middle seat on an airplane is never fun honestly, but she would deal with it if it meant she was going to see her parents and her friends. She only had one more gift she had to get. She had already ordered it; she never had any idea what to get Mick so this year she got him a personalized flask with flames all over it. She had to pick that up in three days at the mall in Star City but that was it. Ava wasn’t expecting what was waiting for her at Baggage claim. Everyone was there her parents and all the Legends holding signs. She dipped her head in embarrassment when she saw all of them standing there like a bunch of idiots. Still shaking her head as she got closer, and the group started running towards her she put her bag down as Wally made it to her first and everyone gathered around her in a big group hug. “You guys are such softies!” Ava yelled while being hugged by ten people. “They insisted dear.” Pam yelled at Ava who just laughed. After the group let go, they allowed Ava to go hug her parents and head over to baggage claim to grab her bag. Nate was in charge of carrying it. Ray threw his arm over Ava as they walked out of the airport. “So where do you want to go first?” Ray asked.“Well, I could really use some good french toast.” Ava said smiling“To Frank’s Café!” Zari yelled and everyone cheered. Everyone got into their cars they had brough three all together with Nate’s mom’s van. Ava jumped in the car with her parents and was shocked to see Zari jump in with them. “What? I never get any alone time with you.” Zari says buckling her seatbelt. “My parents are right there.” Ava laughs and Zari shrugs. “Yeah, but none of the legends are in the car so I consider this alone time with Ava.” Zari says and Ava smiles and grabs her hand and squeezes. “I missed you too.” Ava says. In the days leading up to Christmas Ava found herself taking Zari shopping with her which was fine she had missed her. She just had almost not left Ava’s side since she arrived, and Ava was just waiting for her to say something. They had headed to the mall so Ava could pick up the gift she ordered for Mick. And they decided to have lunch at the food court and that when Zari decided to open a little bit. “So, I think I might be in love with Nate.” Zari blurted out as Ava took a drink of her water which almost came right back out of her mouth, but Ava reacted quick enough with a napkin to catch it. That was not what she was expecting Zari to open up about. “Wow.” Ava said it was all she could say she wasn’t sure how to respond. “Yeah.” Zari mumbled“It’s not a bad thing you know. I mean you guys are really good together and well, Nate has been so happy since you have been dating.” Ava adds“I get that and at the same time I’m worried you know like, what if I mess it up or I don’t express my emotions properly.” Zari asks and takes a bite of her food. Ava plays around with her food on her plate for a moment. She knew what Zari was feeling she had a deep seeded fear of love as well. But she needed to be positive for Zari, so she took a deep breath. “You know you have changed since you started dating him.” Ava says, “You are more open to talking about things and I say this with absolute love way less bitchy.” Ava smiles and Zari gasps grabbing a fry and throwing at her. “That was rude.” Zari blurts out. “Hey, I am just being honest here. I mean I can see the change its not a bad change it’s a good change.” “You think so?” Zari asks“Yes, very much. I read once; Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” Ava said and then smiled as Zari rolled her eyes. “That’s from the bible.” Zari mumbles “Can’t argue with a higher power now can you.” Ava smiles and Zari just shakes her head. “You guys are good for each other.” Ava addsAva and Zari finish their lunch and head back to her house until Nate comes to pick up Zari. It’s the day before Christmas Eve and the Legends meet up over at Nate’s house with their gifts for each other. Ava brings the pink hoodie for Sara and save the ring for another time. She plans to stop by and give it to her in person because it was more a personal birthday present for Sara, and she didn’t let the legends buy her birthday gifts. But Ava always managed to get her one despite her threats. They all sit around opening gifts Zari jumps for joy when she is given a classic Nintendo by Ray and Nora, she immediately goes to hook it up to the television. Ray is off in his own world after he got a book of knights from Nate. Nora almost cries when she opens Sara’s gift which is a picture of the first time her and Ray danced together at one of their gatherings. Mick hugged Ava when he opened his flask and he actually smiled. When Ava went to open her gift she also almost cried, it was a picture that was nicely framed it was Ava after winning the state championship squatting down talking to two small kids. She remembers them because they asked her for her autograph and the picture seemed to be snapped while she was signing their little book. Ava looked up at Mick and without thought went over and wrapped her arms around him. “How did you find this? I mean where did you find this?” Ava asked him when she pulled away from the hug Mick looked at her and just simply smiled. “I took that picture.” Mick mumbled, Ava looked back down and then back to him and hugged him again.“Honestly Mick its probably the best gift I have ever been given. Thank you. It really means the world to me.” She says and moves back to her seat where Sara is quick to jump to her side so she can look at it. “That was a great day.” Sara smiles at Ava. “It was and now I have this amazing picture of this moment I absolutely loved.” Ava smiles and looks over at Sara. “Did you open your gift from me yet?” Ava asks her, Sara holds up the box and shakes her head. “Nope that’s why I came to sit by you.” Sara smiles that huge smile and start to pull the paper off the box and opens it. She pulls out the pink hoodie and matching sweatpants and smiles. She pulls the hoodie to her nose and takes a deep breath and looks at Ava who just blushes. “I love it.” “I figured I would get you the set for Christmas that way you can just lounge around in a hoodie and matching sweats.” Ava smiles and looks back to Sara who is biting her bottom lip she quickly moves her lips and kisses Ava on the cheek. “It’s perfect.” She jumps up and goes to sit next to Zari and shows her the hoodie and sweatpants. “You know your blushing, right?” Nora whispers in her ear and then plops down on the couch next to Ava. “Shut up Nora.” Ava whispers as she looks at Nora, and glares at her Nora raises her hands in defeat. “I just wanted to make sure you were aware.” She smiles and Ava rolls her eyes. The rest of the night everyone takes turns playing the Nintendo and having fun. The next day is mostly spent with actual family so they plan to get together after Christmas Day so they can talk about their new years party at the Sharpe’s house that is coming up. On Christmas Day a little after lunch Ava sneaks over to Sara’s house like she has for the last five years, Ava walks up and knocks on the door and Laurel answers the door looking at her watch. “Well, you’re later than normal.” Laurel laughs and Ava chuckles. “Yeah, I got stuck with my aunt talking to me about my love life.” Ava mumbled. “I was ambushed” she adds. “Sara is upstairs.” Laurel moves to the side so Ava can make her way inside. “Is that Ava?” Quentin says from the kitchen“Who else would it be.” Laurel yells back“Hey Ava, I made some cookies if you want some.” Quentin yells back, and Laurel shakes her head and makes a face implying they aren’t good as Ava tried not to laugh. “Thanks Mr. Lance but I couldn’t possibly eat anything else.” Ava yells and Laurel pushes her towards the stairs. “Save yourself.” Laurel laughs as Ava heads upstairs. Ava walks over to Sara’s door and knocks until she hears Sara’s muffled voice tell her to enter. Ava slowly opens the door and looks for Sara who is not within sight and she closes the door behind her. “Sara?” Ava says looking for Sara. “I’m in the closet.” Sara says and Ava starts to laugh at the statement, as Sara emerges from the closet looking at Ava and rolling her eyes. “Why do you laugh every time I say that?” “it’s funny, you in the closet.” Ava chuckles. “Jerk!” Sara says and pushes Ava towards her bed. They both sit down, and Ava pulls her gift form her pocket and hands it to Sara. “Ava, I tell you every year not to get me anything.” “And I ignore you every year.” Ava replies and smiles pushing the box into Sara’s hands. “Open it.” Ava is excited to see Sara’s face when she sees the ring. Sara tears into the paper and opens the small box which had another small velvet box inside, she looks up at Ava who has a smile and motions with her hands for her to keep going. Sara slowly opens the box, and her eyes start to tear up when she sees the canaries on the ring. She lifts her eyes to meet Ava’s she is speechless it’s the most meaningful gift anyone has ever gotten her. “Ava…” Sara lets a tear fall down her cheek as she pulls the ring out and places it on her finger. “It’s perfect.” She whispers and Ava sees the tears falling down Sara’s cheek and reaches over to wipe them with her fingers. “Why are you crying?” Ava asks looking at Sara. Sara looks at her finger again and then back to Ava and moves over to embrace Ava she wraps her arms around Ava who wraps her arms around Sara. Sara moves and before Ava can react Sara is sitting in her lap her arms holding tightly around Ava’s neck. Ava moves her arms around Sara’s lower back, and they sit there in silence for a few minutes. Sara pulls back to look at Ava and wipes the tears from her face with one arm keeping the other around Ava. Sara looks into Ava’s eyes and starts to lean into Ava, but Ava brings her hand to Sara’s cheek to hold her from leaning in any further. She leans her forehead against Sara’s, and they look at each other and Ava places a soft kiss on Sara’s cheek. “Happy Birthday Sara.” She whispers in her ear. Ava looks down and then back to Sara with sad eyes “I have to go back, or my dad will kill me for leaving him alone with Aunt Ruth for too long.” Ava whispers and Sara nods and moves herself from Ava’s lap and sitting back on her bed. Ava stands up and looks over at Sara who is looking down at her finger with her new ring. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ava asks.“Of course, we have a party to plan don’t we.” Sara says with a soft smile and Ava nods and walks out of the room. The next day the legends get everything planned for their party in a few days and they head to the airport to pick up Amaya and Charlie. It’s a band of misfits waiting for Amaya and Charlie at the airport with signs that range from “It’s about damn time!” to “Once a legend always a Legend.” And Ava’s favorite is Micks sign that simply reads “You owe me a beer!” Once they see the twins heading their way everyone starts shouting greetings and the group rushes over to them and envelope in a big group hug. Amaya rode in Ava’s car on the way back and for some reason nobody else did which they both found weird, but they enjoyed the calmness and were able to talk a little on the way back. Amaya talked to Ava about how college was going over in London. And how Charlie was making a name for herself as a punk rocker in London. She said it was sometimes impossible to go places with her because people were always recognizing her. Ava told Amaya about her school and filled her in on what she knew about the others best she could. Then they talked about the party and how much fun it was going to be. But how nobody was allowed to leave once they started drinking it was the first time her parents were allowing alcohol at one of their parties as long as no one left until they slept it off, they were allowing. They had bought a bunch of cots after it was brought to their attention trying to inflate a bed while drunk would be redundant. Once they arrived at the Sharpe’s house Amaya and Ava made their way inside Pam and Randy were there to greet Amaya with hugs. Ava took Amaya’s bag into the spare bedroom. Ava told her parents they had taken Charlie over to Zari to drop off her stuff. Ava said they were all going to head over to Nate’s later and spend some time together. The next few days were filled with just random lunches and dinner with everyone. Charlie and Amaya wanted to shop while they were in town because somethings here in the U.S were just cheaper than in the UK, so they wanted to stock up on some items. By the time New years Eve had arrived Ava was out on the back deck hanging up some lighting and checking all the bulbs in the pool house which is where her parents had put the cots for the guys. Pam had made a joke that Ava should sleep out there too because all the girls would be inside. And Ava literally almost died from embarrassment in front of Amaya and Nora who almost fell over laughing at Pam.“No offense pam but Ava is not the one you should be worried about.” Nora laughed “Hey?” Ava looked at Nora “what the hell does that mean?” Ava asks“It means you would be the last person we would worry about ever making a move on us.” Amaya laughs and Ava looks at her mother. “Do you see what you started.” Ava puts her head in her hands. “Well then who do I need to be worried about?” Pam asks and Nora looks at Amaya and they burst out into another round of laughter. “Don’t answer that.” Ava says Nora and Amaya look at Ava still laughing and then at Pam who seemed to be looking for an answer. “Charlie and Sara.” Nora and Amaya say at the same time and continue to laugh. “Mom, the guys will stay in the pool house and the girls will be in the house its pretty simple and how it was planned.” Ava says rolling her eyes walking away. “I don’t understand why is my daughter is not someone who would make a move?” Pam walks towards Nora asking in a whisper so Ava can’t hear her. Amaya and Nora pull Pam into another room so they can talk to her alone. “Ava hasn’t actually every been on a date that we are aware of.” Nora says “Are you sure? I mean I figured she would be dating or something. She doesn’t really talk to us to much about it.” Pam says“Because from what we know there isn’t much to talk about.” Amaya says. “I don’t understand she… I am not trying to sound like a typical mother, but my daughter is beautiful she should have woman lining up for her.” Pam says looking back towards the backyard watching her hammer lights up. “See she can even do that.” She points at Ava causing Amaya and Nora to both laugh. “Ava isn’t the aggressive type you know, when it comes to flirting or you know things of that nature, she honestly is completely oblivious to it.” Nora said“I would use the word naïve.” Amaya added. “Well at least I can rest in the knowledge that she hasn’t had sex yet. How many parents can say that?” Pam looks at the girls who both nod and giggle. “Don’t giggle I’ve known you both since you were kids, I know neither of you are virgins.” She laughed.“Honestly I think Ava is the only one in the group who is.” Nora says looking at Pam. “Maybe I should try and set her up.” Pam mumbles. “No.” Amaya and Nora both say at the same time causing Pam to turn in shock looking at them. “I can tell you right now she would not like that at all!” Nora says and Amaya nods aggressively in agreement. Pam puts her hands up in surrender and smiles and walks away. Nora and Amaya look at each other and shake their heads. By the time everyone arrives for the party that night the sun has already went down and the lights light up the back porch and the portable heaters are keeping the area warm, and everyone is mingling. The Sharpe’s had chosen to go out for the night knowing they can trust Zari to make sure no one leaves. Everyone’s keys with them in their car so no one could leave unless on foot. The group chose to still pull New years kisses to chance with a random draw. This year it was group B pulling names which meant Amaya and Charlie both got to pull names as they were in the same group and couldn’t possibly pull each other names. First hat they had to pull from was group B names because there was one extra person who had to sit out the pull. So Sara pulled a name out and handed it over to Ava who read the paper and looked over at Nora. “Sorry Nora but no kiss for you this year” Ava said. Nora nodded and grabbed the hat with Group A’s names in it and went to over to Amaya who pulled a piece of paper out and she held onto it without looking. then To Charlie who did the same, then to Ava who pulled a paper out, then to Mick who pulled a name, then to Zari who pulled a name. They all stood holding their small papers and then Nora moved to the center of the circle and nodded. Everyone who pulled a piece of paper opened their paper and there were interesting expressions crossing everyone faces as usual. “Okay everyone go and stand next to your New Years partner.” Nora announced. Amaya moved first and went and stood next to Jax with a big smile. Charlie than moved over to over to Ray which caused Nora to snicker and Ray to blush furiously. Ava looked up and then slowly moved and stood next to Sara. Amaya and Nora exchanged looks. Mick moved over to Wally grunting in anger. Wally just put his head down in disappointment. And Zari moved over to Nate with a smile on her face. “Yes.” Nate fist bumped and everyone looks at him. “What seriously last year I was odd man out and the year before I had to kiss Jax.” He laughed and he grabs Zari and pulls her closer kissing her on the cheek. “Okay everyone makes sure you find your partner when its time.” Nora says walking over to Ray “And you sir I will get you right after. Ava made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine, Sara approached her from behind slightly touching her lower back and sliding in between Ava and the counter in front of her smiling. Ava took another sip out of the glass in her hand looking down at Sara who was looking up at her. “Do I have your permission to kiss you at midnight Miss Sharpe?” Sara said in a voice that made Ava’s knees nearly buckle from under her. She leaned forward to put her free hand down and her face made its way to Sara’s ear, she took a deep breath in smelling Sara’s perfume she closed her eyes. “Say it.” Ava whispered to Sara and waited for Sara to respond staying right next to her. “Ava, will you kiss me?” Sara whispered her voice low and almost seductive Ava was glad she had her hand on the counter holding her up because she defiantly would have lost her footing with the way Sara’s voice was sounding and the fire it was sending throughout her entire body. “Yes.” Ava whispered in a low voice so close to Sara’s ear that Ava could hear the gasp that escaped from Sara’s lips. Ava lightly pressed her lips against Sara’s neck and then stood up and walked away with her glass of wine. Leaving Sara standing there with her eyes closed and blushing. Amaya passes Ava as she walks out of the kitchen and sees Sara standing there with her eyes closed and her face flushed. “Hey, you okay?” She asks and Sara opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Yes.” Sara turns and puts her face against the cool counter Amaya approaches her and stands next to her and smiles. Sara turns her face to look at Amaya but keeps her face pressed against the counter. “You want to talk about it?” Amaya laughs and raises her eyebrow“She is killing me.” Sara says and closes her eyes Amaya leans down to her ear.“You know you could just talk to her maybe tell her how you feel.” Amaya whispers. Sara stands up and looks over at Amaya and grabs her wrist and pulls her into a hidden pantry behind the kitchen a cabinet. Amaya looks in shock as she is pulled through what she thought was a cabinet. Sara closes the door behind her. “It’s a hidden pantry.” Sara says as Amaya looks around “I cannot tell her anything. We made a promise to each other that we wouldn’t cross that line.” “But you guys keep kissing.” Amaya says and cocks her head looking at Sara. “But its just kissing nothing more.” Sara says as if it makes it okay but she knows every time it gets harder to stop. But she likes kissing Ava she wants to kiss Ava all the time. But she is trying to respect Ava’s wishes. “And what do you do tonight if that kiss turns into more than a kiss.” Amaya asks. “And what was that?” She points towards the kitchen.“You know you told me about earlier how Ava doesn’t know how to flirt or like when someone is flirting with her.” Sara says and Amaya nods. “Trust me when I say this Ava knows how to flirt. And she is very good at it.” Sara takes a deep breath and leans back on a shelf. “Wait are you telling me Ava made you blush like that?” Amaya asked“I don’t know what it is, but Ava doesn’t even have to try, she can literally just look at me a certain way and…” Sara moves her arms around and then puts her head in the hands. “Wow I am truly impressed. I know it takes a lot to make the great Sara Lance blush I think I may have underestimated Ava.” Amaya chuckles Sara drops her hands and looks at Amaya with a look of annoyance. And opens the door and makes her way out followed by Amaya still laughing behind her. As the time went on, they had pizza delivered and everyone ate their fill as Ray may have over ordered. Nora grabs some waters from the fridge and makes sure Ava drinks at least two she is trying to make sure Ava doesn’t drink too much because she knows that Ava could very easily give into some deep feelings she may have and at this point Nora just wants to protect Ava. Ava hadn’t said it right out loud, but she had spoken to Nora not to long after leaving for the Academy and the farewell she had with Sara and how it took every ounce of self-restraint she had to pull away. Nora knows if Ava is drunk, she won’t have that same self-restraint when it comes to Sara, and she doesn’t want her to cross a line she isn’t ready for. When the minutes starts to tick down and at three minutes to midnight Nora announces for everyone to come into the living room and get ready with their partners. Sara makes her way back into the living room and she looks around as everyone pairs off and she sees Ava on the other side of the room leaning against the wall. When their eyes meet there is something ava’s eyes something that Sara has never seen. Is it possible her eyes were darker than usual, as Sara got closer, she began to notice that was in fact the case her eyes were a darker color? Ava was nervous but excited at the same time as Sara walked towards her, she could feel a heat in stomach her heart started to beat fast, and she just wanted to feel Sara’s pressed against her. Sara stood in front of Ava and as everyone in the room started counting down from fifteen seconds Sara took a step closer to Ava her hands going to the shirt Ava had on her fingers lacing in the shirt, they were at five seconds when Ava brought her hand to Sara’s cheek and used her other hand to pull Sara closer by her waist and as their bodies connected Ava’s lips connected with Sara’s. Everything around them disappeared it was just them in the moment. Their lips dancing together perfectly and when Sara brushed her tongue against Ava’s lips, she slightly parts her lips and Sara leaned in and deepened the kiss and she could feel Ava’s hand on her waist tighten and pull her closer. Her hand on Sara’s cheek moved around to her neck and into her hair causing Sara to smile into the kiss. Their tongues worked in unison as their lips danced when they finally pulled apart, they noticed silence. They turned to everyone in the room and all of them were watching them with shocked expressions on their face. Ava glanced at the TV which showed the time and they had been kissing for almost three minutes. Sara turned back to Ava who was looking at the TV and finally her eyes came back to Sara. Ava half smiled and leaned and kissed Sara on the cheek and moved away from Sara and made her way up stairs to her room. Sara turned to everyone in the room who were all still standing in shock. And she looked the way Ava went and quickly followed her. Ava went into her room her mind racing she went and leaned against the wall in her room and dropped down into a sitting position pulling her knees to her chest and placing her head down on her knees. “You fucked up Ava.” She said out loud to the empty room. She heard the door open and close and when she looked up, she saw Sara standing there looking at her from the door. Sara went to take a step. “No.” Ava said sternly. “Stay over there.” Sara stopped and took a step back Ava dropped her head back to her knees.“Ava, please talk to me.” Sara pleaded as Ava Looked up and pulled herself into a standing position. “I can’t talk to you.” “Why?” Sara asked“Because when I’m around you my brain it just stops working Sara.” Ava says as she takes steps forward closing the distance between them. “In here.” Ava points to her head. “I know I am supposed to not cross the line I tell myself that constantly.” Ava closes the distance even more to where she is standing so close to Sara, she can feel her breath “But then I get this close to you and everything stops and all I can think about is feeling you, touching you, kissing you.” Ava leans in and takes a deep breath in smelling everything that is Sara closing her eyes.
Ava’s arms go on either side of Sara propping herself up against the wall with her hands and she takes another step closer causing Sara to move against the wall. Sara searches Ava’s face her eyes are closed but she is breathing slowly as if thinking about something, but Sara can’t read what it is without seeing her eyes. “Ava.” Sara whispers “Shh.” Ava says and takes a deep breath opening her eyes to look into Sara’s eyes. “I’m scared because, I don’t want to ever lose you. Don’t you understand that?” Ava searched Sara’s eyes she pushes herself back and walks back over to where she was and sinks back down on the wall. Pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on her knees looking at Sara who is still leaning against the wall. “I’m scared too.” Sara whispers and she looks over at Ava. “I can’t lose you either.” She slides down the wall and mirrors Ava’s image pulling her knees to her Chest and placing her head where she can look at Ava. “I do want to say something though.” “What’s that?” Ava asks“That kiss downstairs was by far the best kiss of my entire life.” Sara says with a smile and Ava smiles and chuckles a little. “Have you been making out with girls out there in Colorado?” Sara adds and Ava snorts and smiles shyly looking at Sara.“Still just you Sara, and that one time with Alex which I don’t really count.” She laughs “I haven’t had time to kiss someone.” She smiles and Sara smiles at her and there is a soft knock on the door. “Come in.” Ava says loudly and She sees Nora pop her head in the room.“Everything okay in here?” Nora asks “Yeah, I just got a little embarrassed by everyone looking at me.” Ava smiled “But were good right?” Ava says looking at Sara. “We are.” Sara says looking up at Nora. “Okay well come back downstairs and let’s finish this party.” Nora says Sara reaches up her hand and Nora reaches in the door and pulls Sara to her feet. They look at Ava who nods and waves them away.“I’ll be there in a minute I need to use the restroom.” She points at her bathroom with a smirk. Nora and Sara nod and walk out of the room closing the door behind them. Ava stays there for a few minutes realizing she must make a change. She has to start dating she may not think she has time, but she needs to make time because if there is one thing she needs to do, it’s move on. She cannot spend her whole life trying to not be with Sara. She stood up and went into the bathroom looked in the mirror for a minute and then went back to the party downstairs. The group is back to normal by the time Ava returns to the party, drunk charades apparently sounded fun. So, a lot of shots later Nate was trying to act out Star Wars and was failing miserably and everyone in the room couldn’t stop laughing because every thing that was shouted was no where near what it was supposed to be. Nobody asked Ava or Sara about what happened as long as they were not fighting nobody cared so much. The next day Pam and Randy woke up to find Ava asleep on the couch with Zari and Sara down on the floor right below them. Pam noticed Sara and Ava were holding hands and smiled. They walked through the house and noticed it was actually quite clean. They were impressed that somehow, they had managed to have fun and still cleaned up after themselves. Pam looked at Randy and smiled she was never prouder of that group of kids then she was right now. The next few days were spent saying goodbyes as Ray and Nora headed back to Boston and Charlie and Amaya headed back to the UK. Ava was the last to fly out Zari drove her to the airport and dropped her off. She asked multiple times on the ride if Ava was okay, and Ava spent most of the ride re-assuring that everything was fine, and she didn’t need to freak out. She promised to facetime her as soon as she got back to her room. Which is exactly what Ava did and Zari again asked if she was okay, and Ava told her if she asked her one more time she would spend the Sunday zoom call kicking Zari out of the call every time she logs in. That was the last time Zari asked her if she was okay.
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Ava had been back a few weeks at school when she finally worked up the nerve to text Drew and ask her if she was busy on Saturday or Sunday. She had a weekend pass, and it would be a good opportunity for them to maybe go to dinner. Drew responded and said Saturday for lunch would be great. So she made her way to town with Gary and Mona that Saturday Drew was picking her up at the bus depot and they were going to head out for lunch. When Drew pulled up Mona and Gary both made sure to wave at Drew as Ava jumped into the passenger side of the car. They made sure to take a quick picture Ava could only think it was like having her parents there. “Well, they are fun.” Drew said, “Did they just take a picture?” As Drew drove off Ava dropped her head down and then looked up shyly. “Yeah, they’re crazy, and they insisted.” Ava said. “Why did they take the picture?” Drew asked. “Just in case you’re some sort of serial killer and I don’t come back.” Ava mumbled and Drew laughed. “They realize I can just change the plates on the car, right?” Drew looked over at her with a smirk Ava dropped her head into her hands. “It’s embarrassing.” Ava whispered“It’s sweet they care about you.” Drew drove them to a nice restaurant on the other side of town, she said they had good food and it was a nice place. Ava enjoyed sitting with Drew and talking to her about anything but school. They talked about where they were from. Ava talked about Star City and Fresno. She told Drew about her friends. Drew talked about Arizona where she had grown up in Phoenix. They found out they had a lot in common, Drew was impressed by the fact that Ava was valedictorian of her high school class. Overall, the date went great, and both agreed they would like to have a second date. The next time they can go out together is about three weeks after that when Ava has another full weekend pass. She finds out that Drew is working her way through University of Denver. She is majoring in Secondary education. After they finished lunch, they head for a walk in a local park that Ava had seen was close by. They walked around just enjoying each other’s company. They stop and sit on a bench and just watch people trying to get as much time together as they can. Ava explained being at school is starting to feel a little suffocating and she was glad to see new things like nature. She went on the explain that was something she enjoyed about Star City. She could just jump in her car and go for a drive or take a run and not have to ask anyone for permission. The next time they were able to go out was two weeks later they met up this time and went to a small café and had coffee and small muffins. They had chosen this place because it was near another park, and they had enjoyed their walk last time and it was nice out. When they found a bench to sit on, they just talked about the last couple weeks since they had last seen each other. On there way back to the café Drew pulled Ava to a stop and went and stood in front of her. She was almost as tall as Ava when she pulled Ava closer to her she stopped to look for permission before her lips met Ava’s with a simple nod Drew pushed her lips to Ava’s. As their lips met ava moved her hand up to Drew’s shoulder and her other went to Drew’s waist and say there still. Drew tilted her head and deepened the kiss and when they pulled apart both just smiled and then Ava looked down. “You didn’t feel anything did you?” Drew asked.“I didn’t god I’m so sorry.” Ava said looking anywhere but at Drew. “Me either.” Drew said and Ava brought her eyes to Drew and took a deep breath.“Thank god.” Ava whispered. “Well, there we go then I guess we are just meant to be friends.” Drew smiled and Ava returned the smile. “I’d really like that. I really only have friends around here like Mona and Gary and well you’ve seen then. They are a lot.” She laughed. “That they are. At least they stopped taking pictures of my car.” Drew laughed. “Again, I apologize about that.” Ava says, “I mean I really would like to have someone to talk to away from all of this and that.” “Well, I mean let’s start now.” Drew says, “I know why I didn’t feel anything, why didn’t you?” “What do you mean?” Ava asks “Her name who is she?” Drew asks as she makes her way to a bench and sits down patting the spot next to her for Ava to sit. And Ava looks at her confused but site slowly next to her. “Mine is Stacy. I met her at a bar in Denver about six months ago and we have talked a little, but it just never went beyond that you know. And I want too but she isn’t sure she is wanting a relationship.” Drew says the last word sarcastically. “So, who is your Stacy?’ Ava thinks about it for a minute she takes a deep breath. “Sara.” Ava says in a whisper as if she said it to loudly Sara would hear it even though she over a thousand miles away. She looks at Drew who is waiting for more information “She is my best friend, the one I told you about.” “Oh, the one with the pretty eyes.” Drew says and Ava points at her and then points at her nose. “But I thought you said she was bi?” “She is that’s not the issue.” Ava says“So, what is the issue?” Drew asks Ava sits back on the bench and looks up at the trees around them.“She is my best friend and if it goes beyond that then we lose that. And then there is the fallout from that which is losing our friends our group is very much intertwined and they call us the captains like we are the leader you know. And if something happens then what happens?” “Wow you have really over thought this.” Drew says and Ava looks at her confused. “I let me explain really quick, you are jumping right to what if it ends badly, never once did you say anything about it lasting. You jumped right to the negative there doesn’t seem to be a positive in there at all. You have told me a lot about your friends and aren’t there two other couples in there.”“Yeah, but it’s different.” Ava says“Why?” “Well, this is going to sound stupid but like yes I am scared it won’t work and I know that is the main problem in my head because, Okay before I moved to Star City, I never had friends and when I say that I literally mean I NEVER had a friend before. And then I met Sara and the legends when we moved, and Sara was the first person to get to know me like really ask me questions about my life. So, we eventually made a pact a promise of sorts that we would always be there for each other no matter what. And in my mind, I keep going back to that promise and how if we don’t work out, we break that promise to each other and I honestly cannot do that it was the first time I had ever made that kind of promise to someone, and I just can’t bring myself to risk it.” Ava looks back at the trees. “I mean we have already crossed every line we could without basically you know...” “Wait have you had sex with her?” Drew asked and Ava looked over at her and chuckles. “No but believe you me I would have if I didn’t have super self-control.” Ava looked back at the trees “But…you’ve?” Drew asks for more information. “Oh, we have kissed multiple times.” Ava says quietly. “A number maybe a location?” Drew says ava looks back at her and smirks. “First time was in a closet (Ava holds up her finger) don’t laugh I know is ironic. It was seven minutes in heaven whatever, second time was in the hallway of the school kind of my coming out moment at school, third time was in an office after a little argument which I’m not going to lie was super-hot and the first time I had to show restraint. Umm then before I came to school she wouldn’t come and say goodbye to me so I went to her house and it just kind of happened and that was the second time I had to show self-control and I mean a lot because we may have been on her bed. and last time was new years and that one was well you know…” Ava finishes and looks over at Drew who is smiling at her. “What?” “You smiled the whole time you talked about her you never stopped. Do you have a picture of this Sara girl?” Drew asks Ava nods and pulls out her phone and goes to her favorite picture the one of Sara sitting on her lap last year both of them all smiles at the camera when her mother took the picture. She hands he phone over to Drew. “Wow you weren’t lying about those eyes and damn she is hot Ava.” Ava looks down with a big smile on her face. “Yeah, she is.” Ava said realizing that most of what she has said to Drew she hadn’t really ever said out loud to anyone before. “So, is she a good kisser?” Drew asks “Because I would like to make this clear quickly, I may not have felt anything in that kiss but you’re not too shabby Ava.” Drew grins at her and Ava blushes and laughs pushing Drew on the shoulder. “Yes, she is a very good kisser.” Ava smiles and Drew pokes her in the side. “Okay so look you can keep trying to date other people or you can figure out what to do about this Sara situation, but I can tell you right now that if you have feeling for her, they aren’t going anywhere because as cheesy as this sounds you cannot run from love. It always seems to catch back up to you.” Drew says“That was very cheesy.” Ava says laughing “Okay let’s go I’m taking you back now because you’re being mean.” Drew reaches out her hand to Ava and she takes it. Drew moves her arms to link arms with Ava as they walk back to the bus depot. It doesn’t take them long to get there as they stayed in the area today. “Do me a favor okay text me and keep me updated or call me if you need to talk about anything okay.” Drew lets her arm go and hugs Ava. “Thank you Drew I honestly feel a lot better just talking about it.” Ava moves in and kisses drew on the cheek and pulls back. “I hope it works out with you and Stacy too.” She smiles and starts to walk backwards away from Drew “Keep me posted on that too.” Ava waves and then turns to walk to in the front doors.
The next few weeks passed by in a haze because Ava did something she said she wouldn’t do she went and tried out for the track team on a whim. Maybe being even busier wouldn’t be so bad. Ava was still nervous about her knee and the long jump, so she tried something a little different she shot for one of her strength’s and that was long distance. Maybe they needed a 5000-meter runner. The only difference was she wasn’t running cross country it was the same distance but just all the track. So now here she was waiting anxiously outside of the main office of the track team for them to post the team list. “Nervous?” Tucker said as he walked up to Ava. “She shouldn’t be nervous.” Kendra said coming up behind Tucker. “I don’t know what I was thinking?” Ava mumbled and leaned against the wall she was standing by. Tucker and Kendra both moved to either side of Ava and leaned against the wall with her. “I’m glad you came out honestly, I looked you up and your pretty damn impressive.” Kendra said “Why didn’t you go for long jump?” Tucker asked, “Or at least High Jump?”“Since the MCL tear I really just turned my focus back to running I am kind of anxious about jumping again.” Ava said. As they were talking the coach came out and took a piece of paper and taped it to the outside of the door and Ava took a deep breath. Kendra pushed off the wall and smiled at Ava. “Come on.” Kendra put her hand out towards Ava. Ava looked at her hand and then at the door and shook her head. “I can’t.” Ava mumbled and looked back at the door. Tucker pushed himself off the wall and looked at Ava and smiled. “I got this.” He said and then walked towards the door. His finger traced down the paper and he turned around and looked back over at Ava and Kendra with no expression on his face. “Shit.” Ava whispered and then she looked down at her feet. “Well at least I tried.” Tucker made his way back to Kendra and Ava and looked at Ava. “Hey Ava?” Tucker asked and Ava looked up with a sad look on her face“Yeah, I know.” She whispered“You tried out for 5000-meter, right?” Tucker asked and Ava looked up and nodded “Well he put you down for the 3000-meter too.” Tucker finished and smiled, and Ava’s went wide.“Wait what?” She said in disbelief and Kendra and Tucker both smiled at her.“You made the team in two events.” Tucker said with a huge smile on his face, Ava pushed off the wall and Kendra hugged her quickly. “Welcome to the team doolie.” Kendra laughed “Now we have to come up with a nickname.” “Isn’t that what doolie is?” Ava asked.“No that’s just a term for this year all first years grow out of that I mean a nickname for track we all have one. They call me Hawk because I can fly.” Kendra laughs“Oh.” Ava says, “What’s yours?” Ava turns to Tucker who laughs.“They call him Lego.” Kendra laughs and Ava looks at Tucker confused. “Hey, don’t knock it okay you try building Hogwarts out of Lego’s” Tucker laughs and Ava burst out laughing. “Come on let’s go get some lunch to celebrate.” They all walk off.
The next two weeks went by in a blur because Ava was literally either eating, sleeping, studying, and running. She missed two calls with the legends due to trying to play catch up and she had sat down ready to jump on this week’s call. “Hey look who decided to show up today?” Zari said and Ava rolled her eyes as the other legends joined the call all excited to see Ava was on this week. “Don’t start z.” Ava mumbled, and Zari glared at her through the screen.“Hey school keeping you busy there Sharpe?” Sara asked.“Yeah, you are the one who said none of us can miss these calls.” Nate said as he held up a piece of paper. “It says here on the schedule, and I quote “DO NOT MISS A CALL OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES!” Nate slammed the paper down with a thud and got an evil smirk. “There are definitely consequences.” Zari said laughing.“Shit.” Ava mumbled “Okay guys remember I am limited to what you make me do because of where I am.” “Oh no see we have thought this out.” Nora said as she snickered.“I want you to know I tried to VETO.” Ray added “Oh, but Ray was out voted.” Sara said with a shit eating grin on her face that made Ava’s heart skip a beat. “Can I explain?” Ava asked“You can explain but there are still consequence.” Charlie chimed in as she sat next to Amaya on the screen.“Wait you have missed like half of these calls.” Ava said shaking her head. “Yes, but I had work and that is one of the only reasons allowed to miss the call.” Charlie added“But I have a good reason.” Ava pleaded. “Is it work? Or…” Nate held up the paper “A funeral, a wedding, family emergency, travel, and or being hospitalized?” Nate puts the paper down and stares at the screen. Ava is really regretting making that schedule. In her head it was really for Sara, Mick, and Charlie. Who had all managed to use every one of those reasons to miss calls. “No, it’s not on the list.” Ava mumbled. “But it should be.” She quickly added. “Dating can’t be on the list Ava.” Amaya said. “Wait I wasn’t…I haven’t... well maybe I did but that was like almost three months ago its isn’t why I missed the calls.” Ava explained“Excuse me?” Zari voice came through loudly. “You went on a date with someone?” Ava looked at the faces on the screen and the looks of shock were kind of weird. Why did everyone think she was in capable of going on a date. “Why is that such a shock to everyone?” Ava asks truly wanting an answer. “When, Who, and What?” Nora asks“Okay first off I need to say it had nothing to do with the last two weeks of missing calls. It was back in January, and she was just someone I met at a diner.” Ava said trying to keep her eyes on Nora’s screen and not looking at Sara’s. “But it turned out we figured out we were better friends so yeah that ended as quickly as it began. But that isn’t why I missed the calls.” Ava said. “Well then why did you miss the calls?” Sara’s voice came quietly, and Ava looked at her screen and saw something in Sara’s eyes something new she had never seen, and she couldn’t place it. “We have to add something to the list because it could possibly happen again but technically its travel, so I think its covered.” Ava said as she started to think and her eyes wondering up in thought. “Ava focus!” Nate yelled through the screen. “Yeah, sorry I was thinking.” Ava laughed and took a deep breath. “I made the track team.” The group was silent for a few seconds as they had known she had said she wouldn’t have time to do track, so it took a moment for it to sink in for all of them. “Ava that’s awesome!” Wally yelled. “Go Cap!” Jax yelled.Everyone started congratulating Ava and telling her amazing she is and how proud they are of her. “So, you’re a NCAA long jumper that is amazing.” Wally adds“Well, no I’m not.” Ava said quietly “Okay high jump then?” Wally asked and Ava shook her head. “I was still worried about my knee, and I know I shouldn’t be, but I still get worried that it could happen again, so I tried something new. Well sort of new.” Ava said“Wait, are you going to be one of those people that throw things?” Nora asked“NO!” Ava laughed “No I am running the 3000-Meter and 5000-Meter races. So, its basically like cross country but on a track.” She smiled and everyone cheered. “That’s why I missed the last two weeks I had some team meetings and had fittings for uniforms and well like team building stuff. But there might be some Sunday’s, I can’t make it or I can get on later. And I have to delay coming home for summer by like another week because there is Mountain West Championships, then NCAA Prelims, and then Nationals. And they want us to support people who make it or don’t.” She breathed out as she told them. “So, you could potentially go to Nationals?” Ray asked with a huge smile on his face. “Well, I don’t expect to make it that far but if someone on the team does then they will have some of go so we can support them.” Ava smiles.“Send us the schedule.” Sara says “Sure, I can do that.” Ava says, “some of the meets are on TV so maybe you can watch them online or something.” Ava smiles.“I have the schedule pulled up right here.” Ray says looking at his phone his eyes raise up to the screen. “You guys are going to Fresno.” He smirks“Oh, if there is one meet, I am going to win its that one!” Ava says laughing. The group dives into talking about all the random places Ava is going to visit and laughing about a town called walnut in California. After the call Ava went and got her laundry done and it was back to the grind. As the weeks went by Ava found herself back in California more than she would have liked. It was weird not having her normal cheering section, but she had told them not to travel. She had yet to place until she went to Long Beach, and she managed third place.College track and field was completely different from high school these athletes were the best of the best, but every meet Ava got stronger after the third-place finish, she managed to get another one in Iowa. She was one week out from the Fresno meet and her goal was just to place. She hadn’t been back to Fresno since her family moved to Star City and she wanted to basically give them the middle finger. She didn’t think it would be likely she would see anyone she knew it was just the fact it was Fresno.
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Ava arrived in Fresno on Thursday and her parents were able to travel down, staying with her Aunt Ruth in town so they were waiting at the hotel when they unloaded from the bus. Ava wrapped her arms around her parents glad to have them there for this particular meet. Being back in Fresno was defiantly bringing up some lingering feelings. This was a place where she felt invisible, and she was back competing in a collegiate meet. She had achieved so much since leaving this place, she had gone on to have successful high school career and was excelling in college. And again, in her mind she owed it all to leaving this place. Ava had gone with Pam and Randy to her aunt’s house which was not far from her old school and Ava decided she wanted to venture out there and clear her head. So, she grabbed her father keys and told him she was going to head over to the school when he asked her if she wanted company, she told him that she needed to do this by herself. It was like revisiting a place full of trauma, she needed to see it for herself that she had beaten these demons and the sadness the place made her feel. Ava ventured first to the school that would have been her high school had they not moved to Star City, and she noticed students walking around and just kind of sat in the parking lot watching them. She then went down the street to the middle school it was there that she was always made to feel less than. She got out and walked around the school she pulled on a door, and it opened it was after school and she didn’t see anyone around, so she walked in. The hallways seemed smaller as she walked her hands trailed along the lockers. The very same lockers she had sometimes been pushed into, she made her way to the cafeteria the same place where in seventh grade she had been tripped with a tray full of food landing flat on her face. She remembers the laughter that filled the room at her expense, and she clenches her jaw. She made her way to a specific classroom and turned the knob and found it to be unlocked and she walked in. She looked around the room it had been her science class the only class she enjoyed during her time here. The teacher she had was the nicest person she had ever met Mr. Johnson she remembered him. He had always been impressed by Ava and had always made sure she knew. When she was tripped in the cafeteria, he was the teacher who helped her up back on to her feet. He then took her to his classroom and helped her get cleaned up and Ava was able to open up to him about how she was always treated. He had even given her his lunch, so she had something to eat that day and then offered her his classroom anytime she needed to eat lunch there. She spent the next two years eating lunch in his classroom. If there was anyone, she could say she missed it was Mr. Johnson. She looked around at the classroom and sat in the seat she had always sat in when the door opened, and she looked up. In walked in a salty haired man who stopped in the doorway when he saw the woman sitting in his classroom. Ava’s eyes met his and he smiled brightly and took a few steps in the room. “Ava?” Mr. Johnson’s voice echoed in the empty room. “Mr. Johnson?” Ava asked almost confused there was no way that was him he was so much older than she remembered. “As I live and breathe. Ava Sharpe.” He smiled and made his way towards her she stood up and walked towards him with a smile. She didn’t hesitate and threw her arms around him in a hug, and he reciprocated the hug softly. When they pulled apart Ava took a couple steps back to the seat she was sitting in, and he sat down across from her smiling. “You grew up.” He smiled and she smiled back at him. “A lot taller than I thought you would be.” He laughed.“Well, I never hit six feet thank heavens,” She laughed “What are you doing here?” He asks motioning around the room.“Memory Lane?” She mumbled “Ava, this is not memory lane for you.” He said, “I was here remembered.” He looked down“Yeah, I do.” She saw him looking down “Hey, don’t be upset.” “I wish I could have done more is all.” He whispered. “You did. You made it bearable I was twelve and kids are assholes.” She laughs “This classroom was my favorite place you know.” She smiled as he looked up and met her eyes. “You gave me a safe place to go somewhere I didn’t have to hide.”“I just feel like it wasn’t enough.” He says pointing at her “But you look like you turned out ok.” He smiled.“Well, we moved to Star City up north and high school was much better. I had friends and shockingly was kind of popular.” Ava says with a half smirk and her eye half closed as if it was weird to say and Mr. Johnson started laughing. “Ava Sharpe popular, twelve-year-old you would faint if she heard that.” He chuckled. “Well, she would be shocked to know a lot of things honestly, like I became an athlete, I was accepted to the Air Force Academy, I came out, I was Homecoming Queen, Student Body President, and Valedictorian.” She watched as Mr. Johnson stood up and walked away and grabbed a piece of paper and brought it back to her and placed it in front of her with a pen. “What’s this for?” “Your Autograph Superstar.” He smiled, and she laughed out loud. “It got better like you kept saying.” Ava whispered as she signed the piece of paper and wrote those words below her name and finished with adding, “I’m not invisible anymore.” She handed him the paper and he looked at it with pride. “I have a student like you this year, I am going to show her this.” He said putting it down Ava looked at him curiously. “How bad?” She asked “Very similar to your situation she comes in her at lunch too and I try to help her she is a little more emotional than you. I can’t remember one time you ever cried but she does a lot.” He chuckles and Ava stands up taking flyer out of her bag and hands it to him. “What are the chances you know where she lives?” Ava asks “I mean I just thought maybe you could tell her about this track meet tomorrow and Saturday at Fresno State. I can get you passes to come to it, and I’d really like to talk to her.”“When does it start?” He asks “Tomorrow it starts at noon, but my event isn’t until four. But Saturday it’s all day starts at ten and my event that day is at one.” She says.“Are you able to come here tomorrow I can pull her from class, and you could meet her and talk to her and invite her to the meet. And I would love to come also.” “Yeah, I could do that our team meetup isn’t until eleven so I could ask my parents to let me take the car back to the hotel and drive her first thing in the morning.” She adds“Okay when you get here go to the office and they will give you a visitor pass.” He said as Ava stood and smiled, and they briefly hugged. As Ava walked out of the school, she saw the field where they had P.E. it was the high school practice field and she used to watch the football team practice sometimes. She walked over the field and sat down on the bleachers. She could close her eyes and recall just sitting there and listening to the coaches as they would tell them to ush harder to hit harder. This place hadn’t defined her it had been a part of her journey and if she could help someone who might be on the same journey know that things do get better. She was willing to do that because for a long time Ava thought that she was damaged because of this place but right now she was seeing she might actually be stronger because of this place. She just leaned back and enjoyed the breeze and silence around her. “You can do this Ava, show them what your made of.” Ava said out loud to the wind.“Because you’re a legend!” Sara voice cut through the silence and Ava jumped up and turned towards the voice. And her eyes went wide at the shorter blonde standing just a few feet away from her. “Sara what…?” Ava couldn’t finish the question as Sara ran and hugged her tightly and she melted into the embrace, and she could feel tears falling down her cheeks. And she started to cry because it was Sara, and she could fall apart with Sara, and she had been trying to be brave, but she felt like this place had some weird hold on her making her feel like she wasn’t good enough. Sara pulled away and looked at her seriously. “No!” Sara said as she brought her hands up and wiped the tears away from Ava face. “This place doesn’t get any more of your tears, or you pain do you hear me.” Sara was stern in her statement. “No more tears only smiles and kicking ass.” She smiled which caused Ava to smile and Ava leaned back in to hug Sara again and when they pulled apart Sara had that smirk on her face. “What?” Ava asked looking at Sara “I know that look, what did you do?” Sara raised her fingers to her mouth and let out a loud whistle and threw her hands up.“I brought friends.” Sara said smiling as she grabbed Ava’s waist and turned around. Ava watched as one by one the legends appeared walking through a small opening that led to the bleachers her, and Sara were on. Ava looked down at her and smiled and a tear fell down Ava’s cheek.“Happy tears.” Ava whispered and looked at the group headed towards them. Ava walked away leaving Sara standing as she approached the group and was enveloped in a group hug. The next day came and Ava found herself nervously signing in at the front office of the middle school and took a step back so Ray and Sara could sign in also. And then they walked out and started to walk down the hall to Mr. Johnson’s class. When Ava reached the door, she hesitated and to Sara and Ray who both gave her a smile as if to say it’s okay you can do this. When they walked in Mr. Johnson was sitting at his desk and he saw Ava with Sara and Ray and a smile came across his face as he greeted them, and Ava explained who they were. The three took a seat in his classroom waiting on the young girl that Ava had wanted to meet. When she entered the classroom with a paper in her hand and made her way over to Mr. Johnson, she didn’t even notice the three sitting in the room and She turned when the teacher pointed them out and she had a shy smile on her face as she followed him towards the three. They stood up to greet the young lady. “I am Ava, and these are my friends Sara and Ray.” Ava said as she shook the young girl’s hand. The girl looked between the friends confused and Mr. Johnson motioned for her to sit down, and she did across from the three. “I heard you have lunch here in the classroom with Mr. Johnson.” Ava said and the young girl who reminded her so much of herself looked down almost ashamed. She was awkwardly tall for her age like Ava was her hair just thrown into a ponytail for Ava it was like looking in a mirror. “Shannon?” Mr. Johnson whispered and looked, and she looked up at him and then to Ava and then back down. “It’s ok you can talk to her.” He added“Yeah, I umm people make fun of me and throw food at me.” Her voice was so low and sad that Ava felt it in her bones. “They put ketchup in my hoodie once.” Ava said and the girl lifted her head up and met Ava’s eyes and she smiled at her. “They once stole my backpack and somehow got it up the flagpole too.” Ava said. “They stole my backpack and did that too.” Shannon said in disbelief could this person across from her really understand what she goes through every day. “I just wanted to come here and let you know that it gets better.” Ava smiled “And I wanted to offer my friendship.” Ava added “I know I don’t go here but I would be proud to be your friend. And well I have something for you.” Ava pulled out a box with a bow on it. “But you don’t even know me?” Shannon said looking at the box.“I do.” Sara says and the young girl looks at her with a smirk “You are smart probably a straight A student, right?” the girl nods. “You feel invisible?” The girl nods again, and Sara leans in “You’re wondering why you have a crush on the school secretary Miss Turner?” Sara leans back and smiles as the girl’s eye’s go wide in shock. “Sara!” Ava growls and hits her on the shoulder. “What?” Sara laughs and points at Shannon who has turned bright red. “I'm right aren’t I?” Sara whispers and Ray drops his head down onto the table and Ava puts her head in her hands. “How did you know?” Shannon asked looking at Sara. “Two reasons, first off you should have seen your face when you saw Ava here.” Sara laughed as Ava hit her shoulder and looked at Shannon’s face tuning even more red if it was possible. “It’s okay Ava here doesn’t realize she is a ten.” Sara whispered causing Mr. Johnson to laugh out loud and quickly cover his mouth trying to muffle the noise. “Why did I bring her?” Ava said leaning into Ray’s side he didn’t raise his head and just moved it side to side. “Second reason I have eyes and Miss Turner is super cute.” Sara smiles“Sara, Jesus will you shut up.” Ava said looking back to Shannon “Wait I’m not done.” Sara adds“Oh, my good lord.” Ava says and puts her head down on the table mirroring Ray.“6 years ago, I met the most amazing person, and she was just like you all those things except she didn’t have a Miss Turner she had a Miss Larnerd. And I was fascinated by her, I had never met someone who was so smart but was afraid to show people and it took her a while to open up and kind of be herself. And I found out that it was because she had never had a friend before. She was afraid to be herself because she was worried if she was herself that I would stop being friends with her.” Sara said and Shannon moved her head to face Ray when he cleared his throat and looked up. “She liked Dungeons and Dragons, and even watched Dr. Who. She was way too smart for her own good. She liked to plan things and by plan things I mean she would get a three-ring binder and have separate sections for everything. She was very unsure of herself but the more she got to know us she opened up more and showed other sides of herself.” Ray smiled and looked at Sara“We have this group of friends we call ourselves the legends its cheesy we are well aware so don’t laugh. We have the most random friends and this girl who is exactly like you came in and fit perfectly in with us.” Sara added“We learned quickly that she would stand up for us, fight for us, and was intensely loyal. She made us a family and we call her Captain. Because she is one of our leaders, she has always been someone you can call if you need to talk no matter what its about. She hasn’t ever let anyone of us down.” Ray finished “She is also someone who makes choices for our group like she tends to be the tie breaker on a lot of arguments, like where are we going to eat or what movie we are going to watch. And she came to us last night with an interesting plan we have been a group of Eleven for a while now and well an odd numbers is kind of annoying and she said we need a twelfth man. A person who can even us out and we thought that sounds amazing.” Sara smiles and grabs another box and puts it on the table in front of Shannon and taps on Ava who raises her head up from the table and looks at Shannon with a smile. “You’re up Captain.” Ray says and puts his arm around Ava who looks right at Shannon. She grabs the second box that was just put on the table and hands it to Shannon.“Open this, Shannon.” Ava says. They watch her open the box and she pull out a shirt that has the word LEGENDS across the front and below it a bunch of names. “Sara, Ray, Nate, Amaya, Charlie, Nora, Wally, Jax, Zari, Mick, Ava, and Shannon.” Shannon looks up at Ava tears in her eyes.“There are rules to being a legend.” Ava reaches down and pulls a binder out and opens it up and starts looking though the binder. She pulls out a sheet and places it in front of Shannon. “We have a weekly zoom call, and you have to be on it. I'll give you my number so I can send you a link. Also, if a sporting event is in the area that you can attend has a legend in it you must attend.” Ava looks at Ray and he pulls out tickets from his pocket and hands a couple tickets to Shannon. And then hands one over to Mr. Johnson and smiles. “Who is competing at Fresno State?” Shannon asks looking at the ticket. “Well, our mighty Captain here.” Ray says putting his hand on Ava’s shoulder. “Shannon?” Ava says so the girl will look at her. “I want you to be there, and I can arrange for… I want to say Sara to pick you up but I’m second guessing that decision after her speech.” Ava laughs shaking her head. “Sara can pick you up tomorrow and bring you and even drop you off that night when the meet is over, we tend to go to dinner and well you have to come to dinner so you can get to know everyone. If your parents need to talk to anyone, we can have Ray here go and talk to them. He is good with parents, and I won’t have the chance to come back this way until the meet is over. But they can look me up online. I am on the Air Force Academy Website as a track and field member. And they can call me if they need too.”“Wait you go to the Air Force Academy?” Shannon asks her eye wide with excitement. “Yes, I do and as a matter-of-fact Mr. Johnson here had mentioned you might be interested in that route for later in life. Which is why I think he sees so much of me in you, we had long conversations about it when I ate lunch here in this room.” Ava motions towards Shannon and smiles. “So, I brought you this too.” Ava slides the box closer to Shannon, Shannon stands up and starts to open the box and lifts the lid and her eyes go wide, and she looks up at Ava.“How did…how?” Shannon couldn’t finish her statement“We travel with vendors but one of them is kind of special just for you. “Ava smiles and Shannon pulls out a couple USAF hoodies and t-shirts and at the bottom she pulls out a Blue tank top that has an U.S. flag on the right side and the letter AF printed on the front. “That is an official track top only the athletes and families have them.” Ava smiles and sees tears start falling down Shannon’s face. Ava stands up and moves towards Shannon. Ava takes her hand and lifts her chin so she can look at Ava. “Hey, I know right now there is a lot of feelings and its weird, but I need you to understand something. It is worth it. and it gets better” Ava finishes and keeps eye contact with Shannon who moves forward and hugs Ava. Ava can feel a smile come across her face and she looks over at Sara who jumps up and joins the hug pulling Ray with her who nods for Mr. Johnson to come over and he does. “We like group hugs by the way, so you better get used to this Shannon.” Ray says and everyone starts laughing. When they leave the school Ava feels like she could accomplish anything. She jumped in the car with Ray and Sara, and they head back to the hotel so she can meet with the team before they to the meet. The first day Ava runs the 3000-Meter race with the legends in the stands and places third. And has to head back to the hotel to get some rest and relax her body for the next day. The 5000-Meter was the race that Shannon and Mr. Johnson would be there for, and she wanted to be at her best. Sara and Ray picked up Shannon the next day and brought her to Fresno State track and field center. She had never been to a college before, and her eyes were wide in amazement as she walked into the stands. She was greeted by the legends who all had on their LEGENDS shirts the same as Shannon had on. But she showed that she had on Ava’s jersey under the shirt. She got to spend some time talking to Nora and Nate and really liked them and Mick kept buying her food and telling her to eat and she kept laughing at him when he would grunt. They had all their signs ready for when Ava competed and they handed Shannon the sign that said Once a Legend, always a Legend. They had all signed the sign and told her she was taking it home with her. Ava emerged from the locker room and looked for her friends and found them right at the finish line and was walking up to greet them when a voice called out to her, and she turned, and her eyes went wide. “Ava? Ava Sharpe?” her voice was familiar but Ava couldn’t place it but she was small and had a Fresno State uniform.“Yeah?” Ava asked her as she looked questioningly at the woman approaching her.Over where the Legends were sitting, they could see the woman approaching Ava. Mr. Johnson saw the two and his eyes went wide. “Oh no.” He mumbled and it got Nora and Sara’s attention.“What?” Sara asked him“That’s Kate Browning,” he said, and Nora and Sara looked at him confused “Who is Kate Browning?” Nora asked he cleared his throat.“Did Ava ever tell you about the girl who put Jell-O in her backpack?” He looked at them. “What?” Sara yelled and looked over to the two women and Zari grabbed Sara by the shoulders stopping her from moving. “Sara that was years ago and Ava is a big girl now look at her. She towers over that chick and remember she can defend herself now.” Zari says as Sara turns to her with anger in her eyes. “What if she messes with Ava’s mind right before her race?” Sara says through gritted teeth. Ava stood there as the girl approached her trying to place the woman wondering if she had met her at another meet prior to this. There had been a couple meets where Fresno State had been there, but they didn’t really mingle with other teams. “Looking good Sharpie.” She said and the nickname sent shivers down her spine. “Kate.” Ava mumbled as the realization hit her who was standing in front of her. She had bullied her all through childhood, of course she had to be here because the universe was against Ava. “I must say you grew up.” Kate said and smiled at her. “Sorry I would same the same but well you didn’t grow much, did you?” Ava said her face not showing any emotion. Kate started to laugh, and it threw Ava off why the hell was she laughing. “What event are you in?” She asked“Oh the 5000-Meter.” Ava mumbled “Why are you talking to me?” it just came out she couldn’t stop it just flew right out of her mouth. “I just saw you and I couldn’t believe it I was like I know her, and I haven’t seen you since gosh how long has it been?” She asked“Seven years almost.” Ava said“Wow really doesn’t seem like that long ago.” She said, “How have you been?” “You want to know how I have been?” Ava asks and Kate nods and smiles. “Well once I moved away from this horrible place and got away from bullies like you I did pretty damn good.” Ava said with anger in her voice. “Bully?” Kate asked as if she didn’t know Ava couldn’t believe this woman how could she possibly pretend like she didn’t know what she was talking about.“Yeah Bully.” Ava said, “You and your band of friends made my life hell.”“Ava we were kids just playing jokes.” Kate defended herself. “Hey Ava.” Shannon appeared next to Ava. Ava looked down and saw Shannon and smiled she was wearing her LEGENDS t-shirt and had on a hat on that said Beer Me. Which was completely inappropriate, but Ava knew it was Micks? “Oh my gosh who is this she looks just like you did when you were younger.” Kate said pointing at the girl. “This is my friend Shannon.” Ava said and looked at her and flicked her hat. “You cannot wear that home, or your parents will never trust us.” She laughed and Shannon broke out into a smile. “Ten four Captain.” Shannon said beaming and then looking over at Kate. “So, I just wanted to come over here and say that Mr. Johnson is here too and is excited for the race. And he told me to tell you…” she points at Kate “Let me make sure I get this right, if you don’t leave Ava alone, he is going to let Zari over there let Sara go and between you and me you don’t want that because MR. Johnson told her about the Jell-O thing, and she is pissed off.” Shannon finished and smiled. “Oh, and also he was wondering if some guy named Justin was here because he would like to point him out to Sara as well.” She looked at Ava “he told her about the switching of lunches. And she was furious.” She looked back at Kate whose eyes had went wide in shock. “Shannon do me a favor go over there and tell Sara to come here I would like to introduce Kate to her.” Ava said and Shannon nodded and ran off and went and spoke to Sara who was then wrapped up by another person standing over in the group Kate felt like she was being giving some kind of pep talk or something like a boxer who goes to his corner and his coach give them advice and they come back out swinging. Sara walked down the bleacher and slowly walked up her hands in fists. Ava looked at Sara as she was walking up and Kate saw Sara immediate relax with the look her hands relaxed own at her side and by the time, she made it to where they were she had a small smile on her face. She wrapped her arm around Ava’s waist.“Hi I’m Sara.” Sara reached out a hand towards Kate.“I’m Kate.” She took Sara hand to shake it, but the pressure Sara put behind the handshake made Kate wince in pain. Ava looked at Sara and nudged her hip and Sar dropped her hand down. “Are you here to mess with her mind?” Sara asked, “Throw her off her game?” Ava started shaking her head and laughed. “Sara she couldn’t do that.” Ava laughs and looks at Sara “She has no hold over me besides look at her, I could knock her out with one swing.” Ava looks back to Kate with a smirk on her face. “Well, this was fun, but I have friends waiting for me. Be good.” Ava says to Sara as she walks away towards the group.“So, I am going to say this once and only once if you ever see me on the street, I would make sure you run away quickly.” Sara raised her eyebrow and leaned in “And if I see you come near Ava again during this meet, I have a double black belt in Taekwondo and a black belt in jiu-jitsu I will literally kick your ass.” Sara said and she turned away walking back to the group. “Please tell me you didn’t threaten her.” Ava whispered into Sara ear when she returned to the group and stood next to Ava.“Okay I didn’t threaten her.” Sara looked at Ava and smiled.“Okay guys I have to go and get ready.” Ava said and everyone jumped up and hugged her wishing her good luck and when Shannon came up to her, she handed something to Ava. “What’s this?” Ava asked.“It’s a headband.” Shannon smiles, ava unfolds the blue cloth that matches her uniform and on the cloth was the word LEGEND. “I made it for you.” Shannon mumbled and Ava grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “I’ll put it on once I get down there.” Ava said and as she pulled from the hug “Best gift ever.” Ava smiled. Ava walked turned and walked down the bleachers and headed out to the warmup area on the field. “Suck up.” Zari mumbled as she pushed Shannon who just looked back and stuck her tongue out at Zari. “Sara come get your child before I hit her.” Zari said laughing. As the meet went on the group got ready because Ava’s event was getting ready to start she was going to run twelve and half laps around the track so they settled in and got ready for the race. Ava walked up to the starting line sporting the LEGEND head wrap with a serious look ready to run. By the time the race only had two laps left the group was still pretty tight Ava was running comfortably with the lead pack of seven and she knew she had another gear she could kick into. She felt good and was ready for when someone made the first move to start pull away and when a Fresno State runner started to increase her pace Ava saw it and slowly lengthened her stride the perk to being tall was, she didn’t have to kick into the next gear just, yet she had learned she could maintain a good pace just using her stride. So that is exactly what she did she followed the runner and the two of them started to break away from the group. By the time the front two started to break away from the group Randy and Pam had joined the Legends as they all watched Ava move forward with the front runner and stay right on her heels. Once they came around the last curve, they noticed the front runner was starting to slow a little and Ava started to move ahead of her and just kept her eyes forward when she passed the Legends she just had to stay in the lead for this last lap and she would win. The group behind her started to break apart has other runners started to push into their next gears. Ava patiently waited and when she glanced back and saw some runners starting to kick into their next gear, she decided it was time for her too. If she wanted to win, she needed to stay ahead of those who could sprint the last lap. Ava took off and didn’t look back, she wanted to make sure she earned that word that graced her forehead. She wanted to do this to prove to herself that Fresno was just a thing in the past. Star City was home that was where she belonged it was where she was meant to be. As she came around the last curve, she kept her eyes on the finish line not looking anywhere not behind in the stands no distraction this was something she needed to do for herself something she needed to prove to herself. She could hear the screaming as she approached the finish line and as she crossed the line and threw her arms up over her arms so she could breath, her body was screaming so she kept moving kept walking as the other runners came across the finish line she looked up at the final time and saw her name with a four second lead ahead of the next runner she finally looked up at her friends who were jumping up and down with their signs. She jogged over to the bleachers and jumped the gate and hugged her parents and when they let her go, she was embraced by Shannon followed by the legends, these group hugs had become their thing. Once they broke away from the hug Mr. Johnson quickly hugged his former student whispering to her how proud he was of her. This wasn’t a state championship or even a national championship, but this meet felt like winning a national championship to Ava. She had come back to Fresno and topped the podium and left everyone in the dust. If that wasn’t the middle finger to Fresno, she didn’t know what else was. They went out to dinner and Shannon was attached to Zari the whole time they had bonded over gaming and computers once Zari finally started talking to her. She offered to hack the high school data base and get any locker combo she needs. The group also gave her permission to create her own LEGEND league in Fresno. But she had to follow the rules, Ava added. As they were leaving the restaurant Ava was talking to Shannon and saying goodbye, making sure she had the link for the weekly zoom call. When the legends all gather around her and she stood up and looked around. “What?” Ava said looking around.“Consequences.” Zari said smiling. “Not here guys.” Ava pleaded Shannon looked around at everyone.“Captain here missed two Zoom calls which had she told us about track we would have let go but she kept the information to herself and was not excise from said calls. So, after contemplation we have chosen her consequence’s.” Sara said smiling Ava looked at her with wide eyes and dropped her head.“Okay what is it?” Ava mumbled. “You’ll see.” Sara said smiling she looked at Shannon “Come on kid you’re coming too.” “Wait no she cannot be involved in anything that could get her in trouble.” Ava said“Seriously Ava, we wouldn’t bring her is it was that bad.” Nora said as she rolled her eyesThey loaded up into cars and drove over to the middle school and they unloaded into the parking lot. Ava looked around she wasn’t sure about what was happening, but she didn’t understand how the school came into play. When Sara grabbed a bag out of the trunk and closed it handing it to Shannon, she motioned for everyone to follow her. They walked over to the front of the school where the flagpole was and stopped. “This seems to be a place both of you have suffered embarrassing moments, so this is the place to do something fun.” Sara said as reached out to Ray and he turned, and she reached inside a backpack he had on and grabbed a pair of plyers and another bag out. “Mr. Johnson knows we are doing this and already came here and took their bolt cutter from the janitor closet so this should stay up for a least an entire school day.” She said and handed the plyers to Ava and bolt cutter to Ava. “Cut the lock off Ava.” “What exactly am I doing here.” Ava asked as she cut the lock off the flagpole and the chain came loose. “Let the flag down.” Sara said and Ava quickly started to pull the chain, so the flag started to lower down. “Nate.” Sara mumbled. Nate stepped forward to let the flag some into his hands as it lowered so it didn’t touch the ground. Mick stepped forward and unhooked the sides from the chain and freed the flag. Mick and Nate stepped to the side with the flag to fold it so they could store it. “Sara?” Ava asked watching her twist some wire in her hands not sure what she was doing. “Shannon gives Ava the Pink bag inside the big bag gave you.” Sara motioned at Shannon who nodded and handing the bag to Ava. “Clip that onto those clips where the flag was.” Sara motioned and Ava did as she was told looking around at the others who just all had smiles on their faces. “Okay Ava now you can’t see what we’re going to do.” Zari quickly grabbed Ava and blindfolded her. “What the hell guys.” Ava yelled “Come here Shannon.” Sara said Shannon took a step forward and handed her a wire “Put this here and clip that there.” Shannon nodded as Right below the pink bag she clipped more clips under it. Once they were in place Sara stood up and grabbed another bag out and clipped another item to the pole. She pulled the pink bag off and a rainbow flag unfolded as the bag pulled off. Sara pulled the other bag off the bottom item which was a dark blue flag with gold writing on it. Sara grabbed Ava’s hand and pulled her forward and put the chain in her hands. “Okay raise the new flag.” Sara said and Ava started to pull on the chain as the flags went up the pole. “You have to tell me when the are on top.” Ava said, “Since I can’t fucking see.” She mumbled. “Okay there.” Sara said and took the chain from Ava’s hands she then attached three different locks to the chain and stood back looking at the flags flowing in the wind. “Consequences Ava.” She reached over and tugged the blindfold pulling it off Ava’s eyes. Ava looked up to see a Rainbow flag a top a dark blue flag that had gold writing on it. She smiled and looked around her and then at Shannon who was beaming. “Conquered by a Legend” Ava read out loud and smiled.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ava sat in front of her computer getting ready for a Zoom call with the legends they were supposed to make summer plans on this call. But she had bad news she was only going to be home for eight days this summer. She had opted to take some summer courses trying to lighten a class load for later years. But she had also started thinking about her Major as well. She was in criminal justice right now but seriously thought about switching to medicine. After meeting Shannon, she realized she enjoyed helping people and decided maybe being a doctor would suit her. She found biology fascinating and was good at math. She had taken some online quizzes recently and had scored well and MCAT was recommended for her. Which is the medical school exam that is required. So, she was giving it some serious thought, it was something that Sara was thinking about also. They talked at length about it recently and Sara agreed it would be great if they both could go to medical school. Ava had waived it off, but the thoughts hadn’t left her mind. As faces started to appear on the screen, she could help but smile when Shannon was there sporting her Air Force tank top, she had given her. They started talking about the summer and when it would be good to go to the beach. When it finally came time to talk about dates Ava had to break the news. “I have a scheduling issue.” Ava said and everyone went quiet. “I have a bunch of training during the summer so I will only be back for eight days this summer.” Ava could hear the groans from the group. “So can we do the beach trip during that time?” Ava asked“What are the dates?” Nora asked. “I will be there from July first through the eighth.” Ava said“I really hate your school have I said that yet?” Zari asked.“Yes, Z on almost every call.” Ava responded. “But this is something I have to do. But next summer it means I have almost six weeks home.” Ava smiles. “And Shannon did your mom get that package?” Ava asked and Shannon nodded and broke into a huge smile. “What package?” Nate asked.“Go ahead and tell them Shannon.” Ava said with a smile.“I will be staying with the Sharpe’s in Star City from the first to the eighth of July.” Sha announced holding up a plane ticket with a huge smile. “Shannon is coming to the beach with us!” Ava said, and everyone started getting excited and clapping.
“I can’t wait to see you guys again.” Shannon added.“We can’t wait to see you again kid.” Sara added. The call went on and they scheduled things around those dates and made sure to let Ava know to send her schedule for when she wasn’t in town so they could schedule calls with her. They decided they would have a summer pool party before Shannon and Ava left so that was penciled in. Overall, it was the usual shenanigans as everyone argued over random things. So, Ava’s summer break was scheduled out pretty much there was a four-day trip to the beach in the books and a pool party the rest of the time they would just meet up and hang out. Zari said she would take Shannon to the coolest arcade in town and Mick offered to go to. He had really taken a liking to Shannon and even smiled a few times on the call. School flew by for Ava as usual she managed to complete her finals and take the extra training classes she had picked up in June. They were classes she could do this year or next year and she wanted next year to be a little less hectic, so she opted for this year. Mona was going to be gone for a few weeks, so that meant Ava had the dorm room all to herself for a while. When July got closer, she managed to head to town and spend a day with Drew again and this time she brought Kendra with her. And the three had a fun day of shopping and getting their nails done. They talked about upcoming school year and just really spent time talking about nothing and everything. Ava let them know she was headed home, and Drew drilled her about Sara which she tried to divert the line of questioning and brought up Stacy. So instead, they listened to Kendra talk about her boyfriend Carter who was a runner at University of Colorado. The day before flying out Ava was packing, and her phone started to ring, and she saw Shannon’s name pop up and grabbed her phone and answered the call. “Hey there kiddo.” Ava said“Hey Cap, umm I’m packing, and I just realized I don’t have a bathing suit.” Shannon said. “Hey, no worries we can go get one when you get in town.” Ava laughed “Sara loves to shop so I’m sure it won’t be an issue.”“Can I ask you something?” Shannon asked“Sure.” Ava said and sat down on her bed to get comfy. “what’s up?”“I just… I haven’t really worn a bathing suit since I was little, and I don’t know if I would be comfy in one.” Shannon said“Hey, you don’t have to have a bathing suit. You can go to the beach in shorts and a t-shirt if you want.” Ava said, “We can just get you a specific outfit for the beach you know.” “That’s not weird?” She asked“Absolutely not.” Ava said, “If you’re not comfortable in a swimsuit we can go get you some board shorts or just basketball shorts.” “What if maybe I get a bathing suit but wear it under some shorts and a t-shirt.” She says“Shannon, you know you can be yourself with us. You wear whatever you are comfortable in. nobody is going to think anything about it. We just go and have fun and enjoy ourselves.” Ava said “Okay.” Shannon mumbled. “You are set for the airport tomorrow, right? You have a ride, and you know to be there two hours early.” Ava asked“Yeah, mom got your binder.” Shannon laughed. “She is kind of obsessed with it.” “Because it’s awesome!” Ava laughed. “Okay I’ll see you tomorrow at the airport ok.” “Okay bye Cap.” Shannon said.“Bye Kiddo.” Ava said and hung up the phone. Ava couldn’t help but love the fact that Shannon called her a lot. They had so much in common and after they had left Shannon had made a few friends and had facetimed Ava with them and told them she was the Legend behind the flags. So now they thought Ava was the most amazing person in the world. She had even called her when she found out she was coming to Star City to visit after Pam had called her mother. And her friends were so jealous they she was coming to hang out with the legends. So Shannon now had a group of four of her own legends which made Sara laugh because she said that was the original number they started with. Ava was headed to baggage claim she had to wait about an hour for Shannon flight to come in and she had told the gang to make signs for her this trip so she would feel special but as soon as she turned the corner there, they were holding signs saying welcome home captain. And when she got closed with that disapproving look, they all flipped their signs that all said Welcome Shannon, Bout Time KID, Our Tiny Legend, and Little Captain. Which stopped Ava in her tracks as she started to laugh as the group made their way over to her. They made their way over to a little café after getting Ava’s bag grabbing some coffees for the wait. Nate and Ray took Ava’s bags and went and put them in the car, so she didn’t have to sit with them forever. Ava was excited to see Shannon because she had said it was just going to be her and Randy and Pam who picked her up but of course they had to make a scene because the are the legends. Ava got a text saying she was getting off the plane and heading to baggage claim so Ava asked Nora to get it on video so they could send it to her mom. Ava walked toward the arrivals gate so she could get to Shannon before she hit the corner and saw the Legends. So, when shannon came walking down the long she saw Ava leaning up against a pillar and ran to her and huge hug. When they separated Ava looked her over in her out fit which was an Air Force Academy t-shirt, with jeans and Mick’s hat which she had somehow managed to hold onto after the meet. “You look like you have gotten taller in just three months.” Ava laughed“I did, I grew a good two inches.” Shannon said looking around “Where are your parents?” She asked“Well change of plans.” Ava said grabbing Shannon’s bag and motioning for her to walk around the corner where she saw all the legends she gasped and ran to the group that were standing there with all of their signs. Shannon made her way right towards Mick and Zari and jumped into their arms. Ava caught up eventually and the group surrounded Shannon in a huge group hug. “Okay guys let her breath we need to go grab her bag.” Ava laughed“Perfect.” Nora said as she turned off the camera looking at Ava. “Her mom is going to love that video.” Nora said. “Let’s get out of here what do you say kid.” Sara said and took her hand and led her to the rotating belt where bags were falling out and landing.The ride home was full of laughs and giggles, Ava and Shannon jumped in Zari’s car with Sara as soon as they were in the car Zari and Sara were drilling Shannon about, her new friends. Ava just laughed as she heard stories about how the unlikely friends bonded. The subject quickly turned to Sara needed to take her shopping for a bathing suit. When the pulled into the Sharpe’s driveway shannon was shocked at the size of the house. And Sara and Zari reassured wait until you see inside. Shannon was in awe of the house and finally started to wind down after a few hours. Pam said it was nice to have a youngster in the house again and Ava found it adorable. She never realized how much energy they must have had at that age and her parents invited eleven of them over on a regular basis. One was enough for Ava at this point. Shannon fit into the group like a little sister they all didn’t have but absolutely loved. She was a mixture of everyone really little things that Ava saw reminder her of every legend it was crazy in her mind for that to be possible. Ava made her way up to her room so she could unpack and then relax. She slowly put all of her things away grabbing a bag with a special shirt and hoodie for Sara and setting it to the side. She grabbed an envelope out of her bag that was full of letters she had written all year during her down time and when she was sad. She went into her closet with the envelope and grabbed a large purple keepsake box and placed it inside the box. She had lived with Mona for a while, but those letters were personal thoughts, and she didn’t want to take a chance of anyone seeing them at least this way she knew they were safe. As she came out of her closet, she heard a knock on her door. “Come in.” Ava said and Sara peaked in and smiled letting herself in the room and closing the door behind her. Ava turned to see her and sat on her bed. “Hey.” “Hi there. Sara said as she made her way over to the bed to sit next to Ava. “You know you’re pretty amazing right.” “Wow turning on the charm a little early Lance.” Ava giggled“Well, I am just saying what everyone already knows.” Sara smiles “You’re changing that kid’s life.” “We all are.” Ava mumbled looking down looking at Sara with her smile and gorgeous eyes and compliments was making her stomach do flips. “But it’s because of you.” Sara said and Ava shook her head and started playing with her hem of her shirt. “Here.” Ava said and reached back and grabbed a bag she had set aside for Sara. Sara opened the bag and pulled out a t-shirt and got a huge smile and then pulled out a purple hoodie. “I am going to have a rainbow of hoodies in my closet soon.” Sara smiled and Ava looked at her and smiled at her. “Maybe that’s what I was trying to do.” Ava smiled and looked back down at her feet still playing with the hem of her shirt. She quickly stood up to put some space between her and Sara. “We should head downstairs and see if mom needs help with dinner.” Sara pushed her shirt and hoodie back into her bag and followed Ava as she walked out of the room. The next day Sara came and picked up Shannon to go shopping to get ready for the beach trip. Sara had forced Zari who then forced Ava to go, so Ava called Nora and told her if she didn’t come, she would show up at her house and tell her parents she was living with Ray this year at college. So needless to sat Nora showed up knowing that if Ava followed through, she would be in so much shit. Walking around the mall actually was a lot more entertaining than Ava remembered it being, she hadn’t been there in quite a while and when you have a teenager with you its pretty entertaining. Sara took Shannon to a few stores trying on different outfits and pairing different options until she had a bathing suit and some cute shorts and a few tops. Sara said she looked to cute in a couple she couldn’t not buy them for her. The group sat down to have some lunch at the mall and were just talking about heading out to the beach and how none of them wanted to ride with Nate and Ray with their mix tapes. Which Ava found hilarious considering both men had two girlfriends’ sitting at the table. Sara kept looking away and then back to the table and she finally looked up and then looked at Shannon. “Hey kid isn’t that the girl from the store?” Sara motions over at a table a few rows over and Shannon looks up quickly and nods. “Yeah, she couldn’t reach the shirt on the top row.” Shannon said Ava glanced over her shoulder quickly and turned back to the table smiling. “See being tall has its perks.” Ava says. “Huh?” Shannon asks as she grabs her drink and start to take a drink of it. “She's checking you out.” Ava says, and Shannon chokes on her drink and all the women burst out laughing. And Ava hands Shannon a napkin with a huge smile on her face. “No, she isn’t.” Shannon chokes out while wiping up the spilled drink and her shirt. “Hell, yeah she is.” Sara says “She keeps looking over here and looking at you. Just watch but don’t make it noticeable. If you look up and then she looks down that means she was looking.”“Listen to her kid this is valuable advice from the great Sara Lance.” Zari says causing Nora and Ava to start laughing and Sara throws a fry at Zari. “She is probably looking at you or Ava.” Shannon says pointing at Sara and Ava. “No, she is looking at you.” Nora says sternly “She was at the last store too and she was watching you.” “Great she has been here one day, and she already has a stalker.” Zari says and Sara chuckles, as Ava looks over her shoulder and quickly turns her face back to the table.“Shannon she is coming over here.” Ava whispers and Shannon eyes go wide as the girl approaches the table.“Hi.” She said, “I just wanted to say thank you again for helping me with the shirt.” She nervously played with the hem of her shirt and Shannon just sat frozen not knowing what to say but Sara saw the fear and hit Shannon with her shoulder. “Oh, yeah, yeah umm your welcome.” Shannon managed to blurt out and smile. “This is Shannon.” Sara says as she smiles at the girl.“Oh, I’m Kara.” She says shyly she looks around the table and her eyes fall on Ava “I know you.” And Ava looks shocked she had never seen that girl in her life. “Umm I don’t think so.” Ava said“No, you were umm at my sister’s graduation you were the valedictorian,” Kara said. “Your speech was awesome.” Ava smiled and looked at her closely she didn’t look like anyone she knew.“Who is your sister?” Ava asked as Sara was taking a drink of her water.“Alex Danvers.” Kara said and Sara choked on her drink. Nora and Zari both covered their mouths to stop a laugh from coming out and Shannon just looked completely confused. “Is she here?” Nora asked looking at Ava who was definitely not wanting to see Alex Danvers. “Oh no she is at the police academy.” Kara said“Makes sense.” Zari said and Sara chuckled. “We all went to school with your sister.” Sara said, “Tell her we said Hi.” “Sure, she calls every other day. What are your names, and I can tell her you said hi.” Kara asks“This is Sara, I am Zari, that’s Nora and on the end over there is Ava.” Zari says with a smile. “Your sister and Ava there…Owwww” Zari yells as Sara kicks her under the table “Fuck Sara that hurt.” Kara looked at the two of them back and forth and then looks at Ava.“Oh god did you and my sister date?” Kara asked Ava“No!” Ava blurted out much louder than she intended. “They made out.” Zari said smiling“Zari!!” Ava yelled “Sara, kick her again.” Ava pointed at Zari and Sara kicked Zari“Oww fuck you, Sara.” Zari said.“She told me too, I was just following orders from the captain.” Sara smiled as Zari got more pissed.“You guys are Co-Captains.” Zari said through gritted teeth“Oh, right Nora kick Zari.” Sara said and Nora kicks Zari and Zari turns her head quickly and stares at Nora who is just laughing. “I hate all of you. Except the kid,” Zari mumbles looking at them.“Shannon kick...” Ava starts but is cut off by Zari“I will get up and leave right now.” Zari yells. Sara, Nora, and Ava start laughing. “Sorry they are umm…” Shannon says to Kara. “No, they are hilarious. Are you guys’ sisters?” Kara asks looking at them all. “No!” Zari says, “They are all assholes.” “NO, we are just best friends.” Ava says, “Kara if you would like to join us, please have a seat.” Kara nods and goes and grabs a chair and pulls it over to the table and sits next to shannon. They had wanted to leave after lunch, but Shannon and Kara were so busy talking that they stayed longer than they planned. Zari told Kara to give Shannon her phone number so they could call each other. Sara then invited Kara to the pool part stated it would be good for Shannon to have a friend at the pool party. On the way to the beach the group split into three cars Ava driving one, Mick driving and Ray driving. The girls ended up in Ava’s car trying to avoid Nate and Ray and Shannon opted to drive with Mick saying she hadn’t really gotten to spend time with him. By the time they got to the beach three hours later Mick complained that Shannon was texting the whole time. Ava found that hilarious because she figured she was maybe texting Kara and Mick actually seemed a little jealous. They checked into their hotel rooms this year Jax’s mom was on a different floor as the legends and told them it was so they could have space. They had four rooms between them Zari, Shannon and Sara opted to share a room leaving Ava with Nora. Mick was rooming with Wally and Jax and Nate and Ray had their own room. They got all settled in and unpacked and dressed for the beach and made their way down. They found a nice cozy spot off away from a lot of people the guys threw around a football while the girls laid around watching for a little bit. Finally, Shannon stood up asking if someone would go into the ocean with her so Ava jumped up and said she would. She took off her t-shirt she had on and untied the sarong she had around her waist. She then bent over and dropped her sunglasses on her towel and looked over and saw a stunned Sara looking at her mouth actually open in shock looking at Ava. Ava moved closer to Sara and took her finger and pushed her jaw up to close her mouth. “Eyes up here Lance.” Ava smiled and Sara’s eyes moved up her body and she turned a bright red color. Ava maintained eye contact with Sara and pulled her hair from the messy bun it was in and let her hair fall over her shoulders. Ava winked at Sara and turned walking away towards the beach with Shannon laughing. “Jesus Sara gawk much?” Zari asks and Sara shoots her a look.“Shut up Z.” Sara mumbles“You know you tend to do that a lot when Ava is in a swimsuit.” Nora says grabbing a book from her bag and pulling it up covering her face. “Gawk.” Nora adds and laughs “Well shit I’m not blind, did you guys see her?’ Sara says still watching Ava and Shannon in the water. “Take a picture.” Zari says giggling, Sara just grunts. Shannon ran into the water and jumps in as Ava watches her laughing, she slowly walks into the water and joins Shannon.“Mick said you were texting the whole way here?” Ava says when Shannon pops out of the water. “Yeah, Kara and I were having a meme war.” Shannon said smiling. “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure.” Ava said before dipping her hair down into the water.“Does Sara always look at you like that?” Shannon asks and Ava turns a shade of red and smiles she looks back over the direction of where Sara and the girls are sitting. “When I am in a swimsuit yes.” Ava says and looks back to Shannon.“Well, I mean why aren’t you guys like a couple?” “Well because we are best friends, and we chose not to cross that line.” Ava says it’s the truth honestly.“But you look at her the same way.” Shannon adds dropping down to float in the water.“What do you mean?” Ava asks“When we first got her, and Sara took off her sarong you looked at her the same way.” Shannon laughs “You just managed to hide it before she saw you. But I saw it.” “I did not.” Ava blurts out and splashes Shannon. “I know what I saw.” Shannon says and splashes Ava back. “Now I am going to pay attention to you when you see Kara in a swimsuit.” Ava added when she looked up seeing Ray and Wally making their way into the water she looked to Shannon “You better get ready here come Ray and Wally.” Shannon looks at her confused as Ava smirks and then swims away. Ray goes after Ava and Wally goes for Shannon and grabs her and picks her up as she is laughing and throws her into the water. Ray catches Ava and does the same. They have fun the next two days and make sure to take tons of pictures of their adventures for Shannon’s mother. The guys teach Shannon how to play volleyball and she catches on really quickly and joins in the game as Sara watches from the sidelines calling fouls and laughing at people who lose their footing. When she calls a foul on Ray for touching the net Ava finally has had enough and walked over to Sara looped her arms under her legs and around her back picking Sara up into a bridal carry walking towards the ocean. Everyone stops playing laughing at Ava and Sara. “You wouldn’t!” Sara said “Wouldn’t I?” Ava said as she got closer to the ocean and took steps into the water.“Okay I promise I’ll be quiet.” Sara pleaded and even tried to wiggle her way out of Ava’s arms, but Ava just looked at her smirking. “Sara, you asked for this we told you to shut it.” Ava keeps walking into the water“You wouldn’t throw your best friend into the water.” Sara wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck tightly. “And you can’t drop me if you can’t pull my arms off your neck.” Ava looked at her and smiled.“I was prepared for that.” Ava smiled and Took a few more steps into the water looked at Sara. “I’m taking one for the team.” Ava jumped in the water and came crashing down bringing Sara with her into the water. The Legends over on the beach started cheering and laughing as Ava came back up from under the water to see Sara popping up out of the water in shock. Ava started to laugh, and Sara was making her way towards her to jump back on her. “I cannot believe you did that.” Sara said as she grabbed onto Ava shoulder and tried to pull her down, but Ava moved and twisted grabbing Sara and pulling her back under the water with her. “Believe it.” Ava said as she popped back up. Sara shook her head and started laughing at her. “Ill get you back.” Sara said smiling. “You just wait.” She added and Ava made her way over to Sara and grabbed her wrist and pulled Sara close to her, their bodies pushed together under the water and Sara took a deep breath as Ava moved closer to her and brought her lips to Sara’s ear. “Bring it on Lance.” Ava whispered sending a fire through Sara’s body and when Ava pulled back to look at Sara, she smiled raising an eyebrow and let go of Sara’s wrist and dunked Sara under the water and swam away from Sara before she came back up out of the water. After four days at the beach, they head back home and get ready for the Pool Party at the Sharpe’s house. Shannon is in Ava’s room trying on different outfits having what Ava is calling a baby lesbian breakdown when she texts Sara. When Zari and Sara arrive Shannon is still trying different tops on that she had but cannot pick one and Sara goes into Ava’s closet. Pulling out a few tops and has Shannon try them on and finds a tank top that Shannon is happy with. The girls tell her to calm down and that it will be okay. They tell her multiple times that Kara seems really sweet and that she should just hang out with her and have fun that what the party is for.As everyone starts showing up Zari occupies Shannon with some video games in the living room which is good because she doesn’t even notice when Kara shows up and plops down next to her. When she looks up and sees her, she smiles, and Kara smiles back at her. Shannon finally gives up on the games and asks Kara if she want to head outside to the pool. Shannon takes Kara and shows her around the house, they walk and talk as Ava and Sara watch.“Were we like that?” Sara asks and Ava looks at her confused“Like what?” Ava asks “All confused and cute like that.” Sara says“Yes.” Zari says and both of them turn around and look at her “That is exactly how you guys looked. Shit sometimes you still look like that.” She adds and Sara pushes her away and looks at Ava blushing and walks away as Ava chuckles at her. Everyone is having fun at the party Ava is standing by the pool talking to Nora and laughing. Sara takes the opportunity for payback from the beach and quickly moves over to Ava and pushes her in the pool When she comes up from under the water, she is in shock at what had just happened. “Ha, payback Sharpe!” Sara yells and before she knows it, she feels a push and she is in the water. When she comes up, she looks over at the edge where Kara is laughing with Shannon.“Yes!” Ava screams “Kara is a legend by PROXY!” She yells and jumps up towards Sara and dunks her under the water laughing. Everyone bursts out laughing watching everything unfold. Shannon pushes Kara in the water which is followed by Mick picking up Shannon and throwing her in. Then Ray grabs Nora and tosses her in and Zari pushes Nate in after his failed attempt to grab her and throw her in the water. Then a massive water fight starts in the pool with everyone splashing everyone. A few hours later as after tons of pizza had been eaten Ava went looking for Shannon. Everyone was in the living room watching a movie some were at the table talking. So, Ava popped outside to look around and before she went into the pool house, she saw something move out of the corner of her eyes. She took a few steps back and saw Shannon pressed up against the outside of the pool house and Kara leaning in and kissing her. And she quietly turned and walked back into the house and grabbed Sara by the wrist and walked her into the bathroom away from everyone. She closed the door and turned to Sara who looked confused.“Shannon and Kara are making our by the pool house, what the fuck do I do?” Ava asked in a panic Sara starts to laugh.“Shit you scared the crap out of me. Is that all?” Sara says“Wait why are you laughing.” Ava says“You are freaking out because two little baby lesbians are making out on your back porch. It’s fucking adorable.” Sara said smiling at her and Ava take a deep breath.“Sara, I told her mother I would look after her.” Ava said“Ava, I don’t think she is going to go home and tell her mom she made out with a girl at a pool party.” Sara says and crosses her arms over her chest.“You are not helping.” Ava mumbles and Sara uncrosses her arms and takes a step towards Ava and grabs her shirt and Ava looks down at her shirt and takes a deep breath looking back at Sara. “Are you needing a distraction?” Sara asks and Ava rolls her eyes and grabs Sara’s hands and pushes them off her shirt. “We have talked about this.” Ava says quietly and looks up at Sara, and Sara takes a deep breath and nods. Ava turns around to leave the bathroom her hand is on the doorknob. “You looked fucking hot at the beach.” Sara says “I just… I wanted to tell you that.” She whispers and Ava stops and puts her head on the door leaning on it taking in a deep breath.“So did you.” Ava whispers and then opens the door leaving the bathroom, leaving a grinning Sara. Shannon and Kara eventually make their way into the kitchen where Ava is sitting at the table with Nora and Sara. They all follow the two as they grab some drinks and make their way into the living room where everyone else is watching a movie. When they sit down Kara holds Shannon’s hand. “That’s so fucking cute.” Sara whispers and Ava and Nora nod with big smiles on their faces. As the party wore down everyone started to head out and on their way home. Kara’s mom had come and picked her up and Shannon had gone to bed. Eventually it was just Sara and Ava sitting on the couch watching a movie. Tomorrow Shannon and Ava were both flying out, and Sara wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ava before she left. “I don’t get it?’ Sara says looking at the TV“What don’t you get?” Ava asks“Why is she kissing him he killed her mother?” Sara adds“Sara, she paid him to kill her mother.” Ava laughs and looks at Sara who looks confused.“What? When the hell did that happen?” Sara said snapping her head towards Ava. “Maybe you should try paying more attention to the movie and stop staring at people who are actually watching the movie.” Ava said as she stood up and started to walk away.“Wait where are you going?” Sara looked over the couch at Ava.“To bed, it’s late Sara.” Ava replied as she kept walking upstairs. Sara grabbed the remote and stopped the movie and covered up with the throw on the back of the couch. She laid there for an hour trying to fall asleep with no luck, there was this damn clock that chimed every thirty minutes and she hated it. She usually would have the spare room, but Shannon was in there, so she had no where else to go. When the clock chimed again, Sara sat up on the couch.“Fuck this.” She said out loud to the empty room throwing the blanket back over the couch she made her way upstairs and into Ava’s room. Ava was asleep when Sara quietly entered the room, Sara slowly started to walk over to the side of the bed Ava was not occupying and tried to slide in without disturbing Ava. She managed to slide in quietly and Ava didn’t move so she lay there looking at the ceiling lying next to Ava. Sara’s mind wandered to Ava in a swimsuit, and she smiled Ava had no idea how gorgeous she was. Sara was sure she was some kind of anomaly a person shouldn’t be able to make her feel the way she does around Ava. And here she was lying right to next to her so close she could feel the warmth radiating off her body. She rolled over and faced away from Ava doing everything in her power to fall asleep. Then she felt Ava move on the bed next to her and then she felt arms wrap around her pulling her closer until she felt her back press against Ava’s front. Ava’s hands wrapped around her stomach and lingered there. Sara could feel how close Ava was by her breath on the back of her neck and she could feel every fiber of her body fill with need and want. Sara tried to not move tried to not react to Ava everything Ava being wrapped in Ava. She felt Ava’s hand start to slowly move up her stomach sending goosebumps through her whole body, Ava’s fingers trailed slowly up into her shirt leaving fire burning with every inch she touched. Ava’s lips found her skin on her neck and Sara immediately reacted by leaning her head back so that Ava had more access. She could feel her fingers grasping over the fabric of her bra and tugging down as her lips painted a trail up her neck to her ear. Sara turned her head slightly to Ava whose eyes were darkened with passion her fingers brushing against her now exposed nipple under her shirt. Sara moaned at the feeling and Ava silenced her moan with her lips her hand cupping her breast causing another muffled moan trying to escape her lips, but Ava slid her tongue against the roof her mouth to stifle the noise. Sara opened her eyes to a bright light shining into the room and she closed them quickly, she could feel a warmth on her back she looked down to see Ava’s arm draped over her waist. She reached up to her chest and found her bra in place and groaned. It had been a dream, but it had been so realistic it wasn’t the first time she had dreamt of Ava, but it had been the most vivid dream she had ever had. She looked down at Ava’s arm and slowly placed her hand on it, Ava was holding her. Ava was leaving today but she could have this moment to keep to herself she could enjoy this feeling. She felt Ava start to stir and then quickly stiffen her body probably realizing the position she was in. Ava went to move her arm, but Sara tightened her hold.“Please just lay here and hold me longer.” Sara whispered holding Ava’s hand in place. She felt Ava’s body relax and her arm relaxed as well. “Ok.” Ava whispered and Sara tried to remember everything about the moment, the smell, the feeling, and tried to forget Ava was leaving. “Ava?” Sara whispered“Hmm.” “I’m going to miss you so much.” Sara said she felt Ava shift and pull her closer into her body and she could feel Ava’s breath on the back of her neck.“I’ll miss you too Sara.” Ava whispered in her ear and tightened her hold around Sara who leaned back and melted into Ava’s embrace. They both fell back to sleep in their embrace. When Sara left that morning after waking up Ava found herself in her room alone crying. She was getting ready to head back to school and all she wanted to do was run to Sara. Why was she started to get so emotional, she had come and left multiple times before and she had never cried. But today for some reason she was a wreck. Going back wasn’t exciting it wasn’t what she wanted if she could choose right now where she could be it would be in Sara’s arms. “Fuck.” Ava said to her empty room. “Get your shit together she doesn’t like you like that; she just finds you attractive.” Ava dropped her head into her hands. “She just wants to sleep with you that’s all, like everyone else. And then its over.” She mumbled “Just stop thinking about her, stop dreaming about her, stop fucking wanting her!” Ava’s voice was getting louder as she spoke her thoughts out loud. “She is your best friend get a fucking grip!” Ava took a deep breath and stood up and released the breath. She reached down and grabbed her bag and headed out of her room downstairs.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Ava was back at school and Mona and Gary were driving her crazy, so she called Tuck and went for a run, he started asking about her summer and she told him about the beach and about how Shannon was doing. Somehow, they managed to get on the subject of majors and Ava let him know she was thinking about switching her major. He seemed quite shocked about that information and when he started asking more defined questions it came out, she was thinking about going to medical school. Ava told him it was merely a thought, but she hadn’t made a definitive decision at this point, but she knew she would need to soon, she had just been looking at her options. The first half of the year was passing by quickly due to the fact of the extra classes Ava had opted to take. She rarely had time for much else, although Shannon kept her up to date on how her freshman year of high school was going. She also would let her know about how things were with Kara. Shannon always seemed to make Ava laugh when she really needed too. Ava was emotionally struggling this year she just couldn’t snap out of it. The zoom calls were the only real time she had with the legends at this point, she had some random calls but not many and she was actively avoiding personal calls from Sara. She just wasn’t in the right headspace and talking to Sara made everything worse. When October came and went with a blink of an eye attention started to turn to the holidays Ava would get her five days in Star City during Thanksgiving and she would get her almost three-week during Christmas, but she felt hesitant. Ava found herself aimlessly walking around town on a Sunday trying to possibly start Christmas shopping she was leaving tomorrow to fly home and was a little anxious about it. She made her way back to the small shop where she had bought Sara’s gift last year to just look around and bumped into Drew. “You are alive.” Drew said “I am.” Ava replied, and Drew looked at her concerned.“Are you okay?” She asked, “I have tried to call you a few times and text, but you haven’t responded.” “I’m good, I have just been crazy busy I haven’t had time to do much of anything.” Ava mumbled moving over to a bookshelf and looking some books. “You don’t seem ok.” Drew said following her. “I think I’m just homesick.” Ava said“Well, you’re going home soon aren’t you. I mean wouldn’t that mean you would be happy?” Drew added“You’d think that.” Ava mumbled and Drew grabbed Ava’s arm gently and turned her. “Seriously what’s wrong?” She asked“I…I don’t know.” Ava looked down at her feet and when she raised her head back up to look at Drew, she had tears in her eyes. “Come on.” Drew said wrapping her hand around Ava’s arm and pulling her out of the store. Drew pulled her into the nearby park, and they walked in silence for a few minutes until Drew found a bench and sat down pulling Ava with her. “I’m sorry.” Ava whispered and Drew looked at her. “Why are you sorry?” She asked“For this.” Ava said as she motioned to her tears now running down her face. “You don’t have to be sorry for crying.” Drew said, “May I ask why you are though?” “I don’t want to go home.” Ava said quietly“Why don’t you want to go home?” Drew asked“Because I don’t want to see her.” Ava said putting her head in her hands “But I do want to see her.” She added“Sara?” Drew questioned and Ava just nodded and then dropped her hands from her face“Every time I go home it gets harder and harder.” Ava said as more tears fell. “To see her?” “To leave, to leave her.” Ava said looking at Drew more tears falling. “I hate feeling like this.” “So, let’s talk about it.” Drew says nudging Ava who shakes her head. “No, I can’t.” Ava says quietly“Ava, it’s tearing you apart. You have to talk about it. You need to say it.” Drew pleads and Ava just looks at her. “What do you want me to say?” Ava asks“How you feel Ava.” Drew softly touches her hand “You need to say it out loud.” Ava just stares at her and then looks down. “I have to go.” Ava says grabbing Drew’s hand and squeezing it. “I’ll talk to you later.” Ava stands up and walks away as Drew watches her. Ava walks back to the bus depot and waits for the next bus; on the bus she just looks out the window tears still rolling down her cheeks. She couldn’t shake this sadness, but she was trying to. Nothing seemed to work every thought she had led right back to Sara. By some miracle or at least that’s what Ava thought Sara ended up sick over the Thanksgiving break. Ava was able to meet up with the legends and spend time with them. They kept randomly sending food to Sara making sure she was taking it easy. Ava didn’t even try to make her way over to her house she was almost feeling like herself again. Being around her friends allowed her to relax a little, she found herself having fun and enjoying being around everyone. But the time went too quickly, and she was back on a plane and headed to Colorado. So far, her year had sucked she was just going with the motions thank heavens she had a schedule to follow if not she felt like she would be aimlessly walking around not knowing what to do. The days started to blur together, and she just stayed on schedule she barely talked on zoom meetings. Everyone had reached out and she just kept telling them she was stressed with her class load. Ava made sure even with whatever she was going through that Shannon’s calls were always answered. At this point she talked to the youngster more than anyone else. She had heard all about the ins and outs of her freshman year and had already managed to send her Christmas gift to her. Every time they talked, she asked if she could open it early and Ava would say no. She finally ventured into the small town with Gary and Mona to do some Christmas shopping even though honestly, she had already ordered most on Amazon. But she felt like maybe getting out and walking around would help. It didn’t she walked around and barely paid attention to Mona and Gary talking and multiple times she was tapped, and she would just nod and smile and go back to whatever she was doing. Mona had left earlier in the day for her holiday break and Ava had the night to herself in the dorm room. Which basically meant she had way too much time to think. She had already finished her mid-terms so there was nothing to study. She looked down at her phone and her mind went to calling Nora she needed to talk to someone about what she was going through and Nora might be the only one she could trust to keep it to herself. She pulled up her contacts and hovered over Nora’s name and took a deep breath and hit call. “Hello.” Nora’s voice came through the speaker“I need to talk to you.” Ava quietly said. “Well, it’s about time.” Nora said, “Hold on let me go somewhere private.” Ava could hear Nora moving around until she finally heard a door close. “Okay I’m here.” “I…ummm.” Ava was looking up trying to not let tears fall she needed to get this out. “I am really messed up Nor.” Ava whispered“Ava, what do you mean?” Nora asked“I…I feel so alone and scared like I feel numb.” Ava’s voice broke as some tears started to fall. “I want you to know it’s okay to feel like this.” Nora says “But you are not alone ever. Do you hear me?”“Yes.” Ava mumbled out in between sobs.“Why do you think you feel like this?” Nora asks. “I…I” Ava starts to sob and can’t finish her sentence. “Ava, there is no rush take your time and find the words. I’m not going anywhere I’m here.” Nora says.“How is school?” Ava blurted out. “I just need to talk about something else for a second.” “Okay” Nora responded, “School is going well, I think I did good on the midterms.” “Yeah, that’s good me too, well I hope so.” Ava said, “I think you were right.” Ava added“About what?” “I can’t run from my feelings.” Ava whispered. “I have been avoiding her.” “I know, she thought she may have upset you.” Nora said“No, I just I am struggling with those feelings, and I feel like I have been trying so hard to keep them buried deep down that it’s just becoming hard to focus.” Ava said“So, let’s talk about the feelings Ava. If you talk about it maybe it will help.” Nora said“Nora, I want you to promise that this stays between us, nobody else knows not even Ray. I am still coming to terms with all of this and its hard to talk about and I need to know I have someone to talk to me about it when it becomes too hard.” Ava says. “Ava, I have technically known you longer than anyone else in the group by like two whole minutes.” Nora said sternly and Ava chuckled.“Wow already dropping truth bombs huh Nora.” Ava says laughing.“There she is.” Nora laughs “Ava, you can tell me anything and it goes to the grave, you know that, and I promise it stays between us and you can call me and talk about it anytime.” “Okay.” Ava takes a deep breath “I am really trying to say it but, I have never said it out loud before and I’m nervous.” “Take your time.” Nora says softly, Ava takes another deep breath.“Why is this so hard?” Ava asks“Because you have been pushing what you’re feeling down for a while.” Nora says, “Can I ask how long?” “Since Nyssa.” Ava whispered“Ava.” Nora gasped“I’m in love with her. I have always been in love with her. And I can’t tell her, I can’t lose her.” Ava began sobbing and Nora covered her mouth on the other side of the phone tears falling down her cheeks. Ava had been keeping this to herself for so many years, she knew she loved her but now she is sure she had misjudged the depth of the love. “Ava, when does your flight come in tomorrow?” Nora managed to say through her own tears.“Three.” Ava mumbled “I am going to pick you up from the airport okay, tell your parents you don’t need a ride.” Nora said clearing her throat and wiping her eyes. “Just me okay.” “Okay, I think I would like that.” Ava said quietly. “I want you to get some rest and I'll be at the airport.” Nora said“Can you stay on the phone a little longer with me?” Ava asked“Of course.” Nora said softlyNora stayed on the phone for another hour with Ava talking about anything and everything. Nora would ask some questions randomly about Sara but never pushed for answers. Nora had found out that Ava was afraid that Sara wouldn’t feel that way about her. She had told her how she felt when she kissed Sara. They talked a little about Shannon since Ava had been talking to her regularly. Nora went on about what it was like to live with Ray and even managed to get Ava to laugh once or twice. Ava was on the plane her nerves all over the place she knew she was going to be here for three weeks, and it was going to be hard to avoid Sara. Not to mention she had her annual birthday gift she had to give her. It had become a tradition and Ava couldn’t not do it, but she was going to ask Nora to go with her this year just so Ava wasn’t alone with Sara. Ava had thought long and hard about it and figured maybe is she wasn’t alone with Sara she could manage to make it through the three weeks, her goal was to re-evaluate her approach now. She knew she loved her, but she had to figure out when the best time to profess it would be, but she didn’t feel it was the right time yet. So, Rule number one don’t be alone with Sara. Nora picked up Ava from the airport and they were able to go to lunch and talk some more and Ava told Nora what she was thinking. Nora agreed but also told her she really needed to talk to Sara instead of avoiding everything. Ava assured it she knew that, but she also had to look at things from her side. She couldn’t profess her love and then fly out of state for six months she didn’t want that to be the way it happened. She thought maybe talking it over during the summer would be best mostly because it gave her more time to figure things out. Nora told her she understood but Ava needed to stop avoiding Sara and to be able to talk to her again. Ava agreed and said she would do better and not shut everyone out. Nora drove Ava home and stayed with her for a few hours just spending time with her, but she also wanted to make sure she was okay. In the coming days she would get to spend time with Zari and Nate doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. She finally started feeling a little better, Nora called her every night and talked to her making sure she was okay. Ava was happy to have someone to talk to about everything and the more she talked the more relief she felt. As if talking about it more made it more real and less like hiding. At the legends gathering the day before Christmas Nora never left Ava side and Sara kept her distance, she knew something was wrong with Ava. Maybe the last time they had seen each other she had crossed the line asking her to hold her and sleep with her. And she hated herself for it. But it was Ava and if she needed space, she would never disrespect her she would let her take the space she needed because Ava would let her know when she was ready to talk again. Nora met up with Ava on Christmas night to go to Sara’s house and Laurel was surprised to see Nora in tow this year. They both went up to Sara’s room she was equally surprised to see Nora but decided not to question it. Sara opened her gift which was as usual personal enough to bring tears to Sara’s eyes and she tearfully thanked Ava for the gift. Sara chose not to hug her this year something was wrong with Ava and Sara wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wouldn’t make eye contact and Nora never left her side keeping a hand on Ava at all times. And Sara wanted to ask but Ava explained they had to get back to her house before her parents threw a fit and they were gone. Sara stared at the framed picture of her, Shannon, and Ava with bright smiles from their beach trip. The frame was engraved and simply said Co-Captains for Life. The next few days went by rather quietly Nora and Ray had spent a lot of time with Ava. Wally and Jax had come by, and they all played some poker. Zari and Nate brought Mick over to visit and they sat down just talking about crazy stuff. The group had already planned the New Years Party which was taking place at the Heywood’s this year because his parents were out of town and his house was three times bigger than Ava’s and they had like eight rooms so there was plenty of space for everyone to sleep. Getting ready was nerve racking for Ava if she could she just wouldn’t go but she couldn’t let her friends down. She had to be able to be in the same room with Sara and be her friend it wasn’t that she couldn’t do that. She was scared of these feeling just exploding and her not being able to control it. She needed time to think everything through before she just put everything out into the open. Nora had been doing so well staying by Ava’s side at every event and basically being a bodyguard of sorts for her. Ava told her she wanted her to relax tonight and have fun and Ava would just make sure she stayed near her so if she needed her, she could just reach out to her. So, Ava sat on the couch talking to Zari and watching Nate fail at playing Mario Kart. Ava was worried about the hat pull this year there was still an odd number that meant one person would be without a kiss. And Nora had told her not to worry about it she would make sure it was taken care of. So, when the hat pull came and Ava was pulled as the odd man everyone laughed. This year was entertaining because the pairings were hilarious Ray and Nate had been paired Zari and Nora were also paired Mick got Sara and Wally and Jax were paired. Both Jax and Wally begged for Ava to step in for a kiss and she just shrugged saying can’t rules are rules and smiled chuckling. Ava made sure to have her phone out to record the kiss, so she had some video of Jax and Wally kissing great ammunition for a future wedding she joked with them. She made her way to the kitchen to get some water after drinking a little champagne. She grabbed the water and closed the fridge and standing in the kitchen with her was Sara.“Are you going to tell me what is going on?” Sara asked“Sara.” Ava said quietly. “No, I know I did something wrong and I’m sorry whatever it is I’m sorry. Please stop avoiding me.” Sara pleaded. Ava took a deep breath before she responded. “Please stop apologizing I just have a lot going on.” Ava said“I wouldn’t know because you wont talk to me.” Sara said“I can’t talk to you Sara.” Ava said and started to walk away from the kitchen and decided to just head to her room instead of back to the party. “Ava you can talk to me.” Sara said as she followed Ava up the stairs. “Sara.” Ava pleaded outside her door to her room. “I just cant okay.” Ava turned and walked through the door closing it behind her leaving Sara in the hallway. Sara took a deep breath and moved quickly bursting through the door and slamming It behind her. Ava quickly turned around at the door slamming. “Fuck that, Ava.” Sara said loudly “We have always talked to each other when something was wrong.” “Sara.” Ava said and Sara cut her off. “NO!” Sara yelled “You don’t get to do that remember no matter what.”“I can’t talk to you.” Ava said taking a step forward.“Well, I am not leaving until you do!” Sara said sternly Ava was getting upset now so she walked over to Sara to stand over her trying to make her point as she got closer to Sara. Ava came toe to toe to Sara and straightened up into her intimidating mode. “Let me rephrase that Sara I don’t want to talk to you.” Ava was getting loud.“Oh, so now you don’t want to talk to me huh?” Sara said as Ava moved forward, and Sara took a step back.“No, I don’t want to talk to you.” Ava kept moving forward and Sara kept moving back.“I’m not leaving until you do.” Sara said not backing down but still backing up until her back was to the door. “Talk to me Ava.” Sara yelled“No!” Ava said her eyes meeting Sara’s “I don’t want to talk to you Sara.” “Ava, please.” Sara pleaded still looking at Ava. Sara reached her hand up to Ava’s cheek, but Ava grabbed her wrist and pinned her arm against the door. “I don’t want to talk!” Ava said again sternly still holding Sara’s arm to the door. “Av…” Before Sara finished Ava had slammed her lips to Sara’s. “No more talking.” Ava said against Sara’s lips as she continued to deepen the kiss and Sara quickly reciprocated. Ava still had Sara’s wrist pinned to the door when she let it go her hands came to Sara’s waist as she leaned into Sara’s body pushing Sara against the door and their bodies connected causing Sara’s to moan into the kiss. Ava’s hands trailed up to the hem of Sara’s shirt and she started running her hands up Sara’s shirt quickly finding the bra covered breasts and squeezing causing Sara to pull from the kiss. Looking at Ava, whose eyes had darkened with lust, Sara wrapped her hands around Ava’s neck and pulled her back into a kiss and wrapped her right leg around Ava’s waist. Ava grabbed her leg and pushed her hip into Sara’s core causing Sara to moan loudly. Ava broke the kiss and moved to Sara’s neck trailing kisses down from her ear to her pulse point. She stopped there sucking and using her tongue to sooth the sting. Sara’s hips bucked into Ava’s causing Ava to moan. Ava grabbed the hem of Sara’s shirt and pulled it off exposing Sara’s bare skin her breasts covered in a black lacy bra. Ava looked at her for a moment and then her lips were back on Sara’s neck making their way down over her collar bone leaving a trail of fire on Sara’s skin as she made her way to Sara’s chest. Ava reached behind Sara and quickly unhooked Sara’s bra and pulled it off her shoulders letting the cloth fall to the floor. Her eyes went wide at the sight in front of her a topless Sara and when her eyes met Sara’s she leaned in and kissed her softly. When they parted Sara grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it over Ava’s head and Sara saw the lacy green bra and quickly reached to the back of Ava and unhooked the bra. She looked right into Ava’s eyes as she pulled the straps from her shoulders and the cloth fell down between them. Sara looked down and gasped, Ava was a goddess, Sara reached up and put both breasts in her hands and gently squeezed causing Ava to moan Sara quickly grabbed Ava and switched their positions pinning Ava against the door. Her lips meeting Ava’s And then trailing down to her neck, Ava threw her head back to give Sara more access. Sara quickly made her way to Ava’s breasts and quickly took one of her nipples into her mouth causing a whine to escape from Ava. Ava moved her hand to wrap around Sara’s neck and in her hair to hold her in place. Ava could feel every move Sara made in her entire body. She could feel the warmth rising in her belly. She needed Sara she wanted Sara and she wanted her on the bed. Ava pulled her away from her chest and guided her lips back up to meet her lips. She slowly started to guide the two of them towards the bed never breaking the kiss. Once she felt Sara’s knees hit the bed, she lowered her down onto the bed they broke the kiss. Ava reached down taking off Sara’s shoes and kicking hers off before slowly making her back up to Sara letting her breast trail across Sara’s stomach before coming to rest against Sara’s bare chest as she leaned down onto Sara’s body. Ava lowered her lips back to Sara’s as she moved her leg in between Sara’s legs and brought her knee against Sara’s warmth. Ava’s lips moved down to Sara’s neck and slowly made their way down her collar bone. One hand coming up to cup one of Sara’s breasts and her lips taking in a nipple in her mouth as Sara’s back arched into the feeling her hand wrapping around Ava’s neck pulling her closer as Ava sucked and flicked her nipple. Ava’s fingers played with the hardened nipple and Sara moaned again. Ava moved her knee into the warmth causing Sara hips to buck against Ava’s knee. Sara’s hands reached around Ava’s back pulling her closer as her mouth moved to the other breast. Sara’s nails dug into Ava’s back causing Ava to moan against the nipple in her mouth. Sara arched her back into the feeling. Ava trailed down leaving kissed down Sara stomach stopping to lick and kiss her abs. Her hands made their way to the waistline of Sara’s pants her eyes moved to look at Sara for permission and Sara nodded. Ava reached her fingers in and pulled Sara’s pants off. Leaving Sara with only underwear on. Sara pulled Ava back into a kiss and flipped them over to where she was on top, and Ava was on the bottom she quickly kissed down Ava’s collar bone moving her hands to both breast and caressing them with her fingers on each nipple pinching causing Ava’s back to arch to the feeling she moved her lips down Ava’s stomach and slowing at her abs the same that Ava had done for her. She reached the waistline of her pants and looked up at Ava who nodded, and she quickly removed Ava’s pants and kissed up Ava’s legs moving from side to side leaving soft kisses causing Ava to moan. Sara made her way back to Ava’s underwear and again looked to Ava for permission and Ava nodded. Sara grabbed the underwear by the waist and pulled them down, she quickly removed hers while discarding Ava’s. She moved her body back up slowly and her breasts slowly moving up Ava’s naked body leaving goosebumps. Ava moaned Sara’s name at the feeling. Sara brought her body to lay on Ava placing her knee in between Ava’s legs her bare skin feeling the wetness of Ava’s core. Sara’s lips met Ava’s again in a heated kiss and she pushed her knee into Ava’s warmth. Ava’s hips bucked at the sensation her hands grabbed for Sara’s shoulders to pull her closer. Sara repeated the motion and Ava whimpered. “Sara please. I need you.” Sara kissed her and moved her hand down towards Ava’s core she slowly brushed over her clit causing Ava’s to buck at the sensation. Ava’s hands tightened around Sara’s shoulders. Sara slowly slid one finger inside of Ava and started to slowly pull it in and out as Ava’s reacted, she sped up. Ava moaned at every thrust, and it was a sound Sara could hear for the rest of her life. Sara could feel Ava’s body meeting her thrusts and she slowly slide a second finger inside Ava causing the woman below her to moan loudly and whimper her name from her lips. Sara sped up and Ava kept saying her name as she built her up. Sara watched Ava the whole time as she called her name her fingers digging into Sara’s shoulders asking her not to stop. Sara built her to the edge and watched Ava fall over the edge she continued with her thrusting working Ava through her orgasm. Sara could see the tears running down Ava’s face and she took her hands and cupped Ava’s face wiping the tears and kissing her lips. She quickly moved to Ava’s side and pulled Ava into her chest pulling her close to her. Ava wrapped her arms around Sara and buried her face in Sara’s neck crying. After a few minutes Ava started to kiss on Sara’s neck and her hands pulled her closer her fingers trailing over Sara’s back she moved one of her hands in between them and her hand made its way down to Sara’s core. She pulled her face away from Sara’s neck and looked into Sara’s eyes as her fingers brushed against Sara’s clit and then moved down to Sara’s core. Ava never broke eye contact with Sara as she slid two fingers inside Sara who gasped at the feeling. Ava slowly moved her fingers in and out of Sara. Sara wrapped her leg around Ava’s hip and started to meet Ava’s thrusts with her hips. Her eyes never left Ava’s she wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck and continued to match Ava’s thrusts. Her lips spilled Ava’s name as they sped up, her moans coming more and more. Ava’s name falling off her lips as she began to reach the edge Ava curled her fingers and Sara gasped still eyes on Ava. A few quick thrusts and Ava’s name came loudly out of Sara’s mouth as she fell over the edge. Ava slowly brought her down and kissed her. Sara wrapped her arms around Ava, and she moved into Sara’s body and again buried her head into Sara’s neck. Sara reached down and pulled the covers over the two. Ava opened her eyes and felt, and arm draped over her, she turned to see Sara asleep next to her and her mind quickly recounted last night. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly lifted Sara arms trying not to disturb the sleeping woman and crawled out of bed. She found her clothes and went into the bathroom. She got dressed and looked in the mirror adjusted her hair trying to smooth it out. She looked around in the bathroom and found a pad a pen in a random drawer. She wrote something on the pad and pulled the paper off folding it in half. She took a deep breath and slowly made her way out of the bathroom. Sara was still asleep Ava looked at her for a minute wanting to memorize this moment. She walked over to the bed and placed the paper on the pillow and slowly made her way quietly out of the room. She went downstairs grabbed her keys and left the house and headed home. She didn’t cry she just thought about last night and everything she had experienced. She had never felt anything like that she had never experienced that kind of connection. She knew now she wasn’t numb; she was in love, and she was able to show and express it last night without words. And she hoped that Sara could feel it, and she hoped that Sara could give her time to find the words. She hoped she could wait for her. Sara’s eyes opened and she looked around getting her bearing remembering where she was, the night slowly cam e back to her as she sat up looking around the room for Ava. When she looked over and saw the note and opened it and saw the words. Her head dropped down; she closed her eyes trying not to cry. She laid back in the bed and read the words out loud to the empty room. “I’m sorry, I’ll call you when I am ready to talk.” Sara whispered and dropped the note on the bed. She wrapped back into the blanket and let the tears fall that she was trying to hold back. Ava sat at her desk in her bedroom writing a letter to Sara. She went into detail about every feeling, every touch, the electricity she felt, and the connection. She found herself closing her eyes and seeing her smile, her gorgeous blue eye, and her skin. Ava hadn’t meant for anything to happen, but she had needed to feel something she had been so numb and broken these past few months that when the moment arrived her body took over. She apologizes in the letter for not asking permission to kiss her but says she doesn’t regret it. When she finishes the letter, she folds it up and puts it in an envelope. She makes her way to her closet and finds her keepsake box and pulls the lip off sliding the envelope into the box. Ava moved back to her desk and pulled out her phone seeing a couple missed calls from Nora she also noticed a text from Sara. She opened the text and read it a slight smile forming on her face. I got your note and I fully understand, however it was the most amazing night of my life. I also wanted you to know I am taking the MCAT test on January 20th.Ava didn’t respond she moved into her alerts and set one for that date to remind her of its importance. Ava then sent a text to Nora asking her to come over and she scrolled through some social media before putting her phone away. She needed to get packed she had to leave tomorrow her flight was leaving fairly early in the morning. Ava was packing when Nora knocked on her bedroom door and came in. “Hey.” Nora said as she walked into the room and sat down on Ava’s desk chair. “You said you needed to talk.” “Something happened last night.” Ava said as she zipped up her bag.“What?” Nora asked as Ava took a deep breath and put her bag on the floor. Ava paced around for a moment wanting to make sure she explained everything correctly. “I…I went upstairs to grab some water and…” Ava moved to the bed and sat down. “Sara approached me.”“Are you okay?” Nora asked, “I mean did you talk to her?” “No, I kept telling her I didn’t want to talk but she wouldn’t leave me alone.” Ava mumbled “And then I decided to just go to bed thinking that I could just walk away but she followed me and refused to leave until I talked to her.” Ava looked down at her feet dangling over the bed. “Look I know you don’t want me to say anything to her about all of this but, if you want me to tell her to back off I will.” Nora said, “So did you just come home because she wouldn’t leave you alone?” Nora asked.“No, she kept saying I needed to talk to her, and I kept saying I didn’t want to talk to her and then…” Ava stopped looking up and taking another deep breath. “Ava, you can talk to me remember.” Nora quietly said and Ava looked up at Nora.“I slept with Sara.” Ava said“What?” Nora said as she stood up and came over to Ava and sat next to her on the bed. “Are you…I mean did she? I feel like my brain isn’t working right now. Are you okay is what I want to ask?” “It all happened so fast, I kept telling her I didn’t want to talk, and she kept saying she wasn’t leaving until I did talk. So, I got pissed and I walked up to her, and I was going to basically push out of the room but then I don’t know I just…I kissed her Nora.” Ava whispered the last words. “You kissed her?” Nora asked“Yes, I didn’t want to talk and I just I got so close to her, and it just happened.” Ava looks away “And then I didn’t want to stop so instead of letting my head get in the way like I always do I just kept going.” She finished and then looked back at Nora who had a concerned look on her face.“But you’re ok.” Nora asked again.“Yeah I am.” Ava looked at Nora and a small smile appeared. “I don’t regret it.” She whispered.“So did you talk to her?” Nora asked“No, like I said there wasn’t any talking just…” Ava smiled and looked down and then back up “No talking.” She raised her eyebrow.“Wow.” Nora said as she nodded “Okay so that was your first…” “Yeah.” Ava whispered“So how was it? I mean it can be awkward sometimes.” Nora questioned and ava looked at her and a shy smile came across her face.“Well, I always thought the feeling of kissing Sara was out of this world.” She paused closing her eyes “it’s nothing compared to last night.” Ava smiled as her eyes stayed closed, Nora hit her on the shoulder, and she snapped her eyes open and looked at Nora “What?”“Stop thinking about sex with Sara while I’m right here.” Nora said and they both laughed. “So…?”“Okay I think I am going to take some time to figure out my emotions and how I want to tell her how I feel. So, I am going to go back to school, and I was thinking I could maybe talk to her this summer, and you know maybe let her know I maybe want more. And go from there.” Ava said taking a deep breath.“Okay that is a good plan you should like set a date like a schedule.” Nora laughs “You like a good schedule.” She giggles and Ava hits her shoulder. “Don’t make fun of me.” Ava said“I’m not I am just playing to your strengths.” She snickered. “Come on let’s go get some lunch.” Nora pushed her and stood up.
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Ava had been back at school for about two weeks when she decided to call Sara. A reminder had popped up about her MCAT and she wanted to wish her luck and let her know she was okay. She felt like if she could just talk to Sara like she used to it would be easier in the long run when the summer came. Ava made her way to the track bleachers where she could have some privacy not wanting Mona to overhear this conversation. She put the phone to her ear and listened to it ring.“Hello?” Sara said breathlessly “Ava?”“Hey.” Ava said quietly. “Are you okay?” Sara asked she hadn’t spoken to Ava since that night and Ava had said she didn’t want to talk and now she was calling. “I’m okay. I just wanted to call and wish you luck on the MCAT test.” Ava said, “I um…I know your going to do great.” “I’m nervous.” Sara mumbled“Did you study?” Ava asked“Yes, I’ve went through the study book twice now.” Sara said.“Then you have done the work. You’ve got this.” Ava said“Thank you, Ava.” Sara said and ava closed her eyes to hearing Sara say her name. “Your welcome Sara.” Ava whispered it got quiet for a moment neither of them spoke. “Ava?” Sara asked “I’m here.” Ava whispered“Thank you for calling me...” Sara said “I…I missed you.” Ava didn’t respond she stayed quiet she wanted to say so much, but she couldn’t find the words she had lost her voice. “I missed talking to you.” Sara added and Ava took a deep breath. “I missed talking to you too.” Ava said quietly“I know things are weird…” Sara started but Ava cut her off before she could continue down that line of thinking. “I want to say something really quick.” Ava said and she could hear Sara hum on the line. “I don’t want to talk about what happened right at this moment; I want to just talk about anything else ok.” Ava would address new years when the time was right but not yet, she figured if they could get back to being just Sara and Ava, she would be able to work up to the let’s be more than Sara and Ava. “Okay, yeah, I’d like that.” Sara said quietly “Umm… How is school.” Ava laughed and Sara’s heart fluttered at the sound.“The same as usual trying not to fail.” Ava chuckled“Ava, you could never fail at anything.” Sara said and Ava thought to herself if you only knew.“Okay I’ll rephrase that I am trying not to punch someone.” Ava said.“That bad huh?” Sara asked“Sometimes.” Ava said, “But not today so far.” “It’s still early.” Sara laughed causing Ava to laugh.Ava had missed this she had missed talking to her best friend, she had pushed her away out of fear, and she was started to realize how wrong she was. They were on the phone for almost an hour talking about everything from school to friends, and family. They never talked about that night, they never brought up the avoiding or the not talking. Sara never asked her what was wrong or what had happened. Ava was grateful that Sara would respect her that way, Ava would bring it up when she was ready, and Sara knew that, so they went back to normal for now. By the time they got off the phone Ava felt so much better. She has needed to talk to her she had just needed to hear her voice and her laugh. She needed to hear Sara talk about nothing as if it was everything. Ava and Sara went back to calling each other once a week and Ava seemed to be a lot better. She still called Nora quite a bit every week when she would start to feel down. But Nora could tell her reconnected with Sara was helping and been most of the issue she thought. But there was still a slight sadness to Ava that Nora couldn’t pinpoint probably some deep seeded fear she had about everything. Ava started to see a therapist once a month after Nora mentioned it. Turned out the school provided this kind of help and Ava was grateful. Nora was the only one who knew about her therapy, and they talked at great lengths about the sessions. Ava told her the therapist had really explained that for some people love can cause a lot of deep seeded fear to come to the surface. Through therapy Ava learned she wasn’t just afraid of losing Sara she was afraid of rejection also. Her therapist was adamant this is why she probably hadn’t dated much. But they also talked about before Star City before she had friends and she quickly learned something about herself. Ava had thought she wasn’t good enough to be loved, and that was where he believed the root was. She had suppressed it for so long that she didn’t even realize it was there. She had a fear of being unlovable she didn’t think she was a person who could be loved. He said that is why she pushed so hard to avoid her feelings because she felt herself not to be worthy. Thankfully school flew by but as the summer was getting closer Ava was getting anxious and more nervous as they days went by. She had set a date as Nora had recommended, she knew regardless she would be home on the 4th of July, and they always had a party that day, so she planned to tell Sara by the 5th of July that was her goal. She spoke to her therapist about this and felt if she had set a date then she subconsciously was ready to take that step, he just asked her to make sure it was on her terms and not someone else’s. She reassured him she wanted to do this that she was so tired from running and regardless of if it worked out or if she was rejected, she needed to take this step. Ava hadn’t gotten to spend much time with Tuck so, when Tuck texted her and asked her to meet him, she quickly agreed. She hadn’t gotten to see him much this year since she didn’t try out for the track team having too much on her plate with the extra classes she was taking, and she really was not in a good headspace. Tuck and Kendra were both upset but the new girl who took her place was amazing even Ava had to admit she had gone to a few practices and was really impressed with her. “So, what’s up. You, okay?” Ava asked as she sat down smoothing out her uniform top. “So, I looked into something that you were talking about, and I found this.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a file and handed it to Ava. She took the folder and opened it her eyes going wide as she flipped through the pages. “Wait, are you serious?” Ava asked shocked still looking through the pages.“You can go right after you graduate. As long as you get accepted.” He smiles. “So, I printed out a schedule of some local testing for the MCAT nearby. There is one in a few weeks.” “I haven’t studied at all.” Ava looked up at him.“Ava you’re the smartest person I think I have ever met. I am sure if you put your head into a book for the next three weeks you would still pass with flying colors.” He chuckled.“I don’t know about this Tuck.” She said closing the folder and putting in her lap. “I mean I am really wanting to do it but at the same time why am I doing it?” Ava played with the corners of the folder in her lap. “Ava I am going to say this as nicely as I can. I think you would be an amazing asset to all of here but, as smart as you are and as amazing as you are. You are quite possibly the saddest person I have ever met.” He reaches for her hand and squeezes as she looks over at him. “I don’t try to be.” Ava whispers.“I know you don’t, but I can’t help but think the reason you want to change your major is directly tied to what causes you sadness.” Tucker adds as Ava drops her head down staring at the folder her fingers still playing with the edges. “It might be, I think a lot of it is being away from home and missing everyone.” She mumbles. “Everyone or someone?” He asks Ava brings her eyes to meet his, how does he know? how could he know? They had never talked about it. She had never even mentioned her but somehow, they were so much alike he knew. “Look I am not going to pressure you, but you made a clear point that you wanted to maybe go to medical school, and I think you should. Also, this summer you have some thinking to do.” Ava looked at him confused. “It’s the last chance you have to Step Left.” He spoke. “I’m not going to Step Left. Not after putting in two years here.” Ava said shockingly, that had never been on her mind. Yeah, she might be thinking about medical school but leaving the Academy wasn’t on her list of things to do. You had until you started your junior year to transfer or quit the Academy, because once your Junior started you were locked into four years of active military service. “Then schedule the MCAT. I called the bookstore and put a study book on hold for you with Mitch. He is holding it behind the counter.” He smiled and stood and turned to leave but quickly turned back around. “You’ll kick the MCAT ass, and you’ll get into medical school.” He smiled and walked off, leaving Ava with her thoughts as she opened the folder going through the paperwork again. Ava kept her zoom schedule with the Legends and made sure that any second, she wasn’t studying for regular classes she had her head in the MCAT study book. She hadn’t told anyone about the test and honestly, she wasn’t going to say anything about Medical School at all not yet. She wanted to pass first and then be accepted somewhere before explaining to everyone she had made this life altering change. In her mind the only major change was her active duty would be delayed by four years as she attended medical school but that was the only drawback to it. Ava found that she was quite knowledgeable with what the MCAT test was going to have on it. Thanks to advanced science and math classes she had taken in High School and the classes she was taking currently. She did fairly well on the practice tests, so Tuck seemed to be right Ava could take this test and pass even if she didn’t have months to study like she had for ACT and SAT. Ava found herself waiting in a large room with multiple other students getting ready for the test trying not to let her nerves get the best of her. She looked down to her phone before putting it away in her bag and saw a text from Tuck wishing her good luck. He was the only person who knew about this entire crazy plan she had. Ava listened to the test administrator explaining that results would be mailed in four to six weeks which was good that meant she would be getting him to Star City around the time the results came in. If everything went as she hoped she would be able to sit down and talk to her parents at that point and explain what her new plan was. The tests seemed to fly by, and Ava felt confident as she marked answers and answered questions. Once she was done, she met Tucker in town to have a late lunch and talk about the test and his upcoming meet at West Point in a week. And then it was back to the dorms, and back to studying again as she had finals coming up and some reports she needed to get submitted before deadlines. Summer seemed to sneak up on Ava even with her trip home looming in the future. Mona and Gary were constantly trying to get her to go out into town since they had passes almost every Saturday and Sunday but Ava pushed back, she had scheduled some random one day courses on Saturday’s leading to her trip. She knew Sara had taken the MCAT so, when Sara called her and told her she scored a 510 Ava was so excited for her. Ava still kept her secret though she didn’t want to tell anyone because she was still in the planning stages of this. She let Sara know when she was flying in and told her not to tell anyone because she wanted to surprise everyone. Ava was packing her stuff and getting ready to leave campus and head for the airport when she got a text from Sara basically saying she wouldn’t be there when she first got in, but she would be over later in the evening to see her as she had plans Sara let her know everyone would be at Nate's house that night. Ava shrugged it off not thinking anything of it, she quickly responded it sounded great and she would see her soon. She figured maybe she would take a nap once she got in anyways. She had only told Sara she is flying in today she was going to surprise everyone at Nate’s when she got into town. Ava was home before she knew it and it was six long weeks, she had worked hard all year to be able to have this break and she was looking forward to it. She was nervous though she knew seeing Sara for the first time since that night would be strange and scary, but she was determined to be cool, calm and collected. She felt like she was in a much better place now after therapy and having stopped avoiding her friends in particular Sara. She got home and fell onto her bed she was so tired not just physically but mentally as well. Her MCAT results could show up at anytime and she was super nervous about that it wasn’t helping either. Ava had taken her father’s new car to Nate’s house the night she flew in. She actually found herself a little nervous she hadn’t seen everyone since last summer and it had only been for a few days because she had a short summer break because of training she had scheduled. She pulled in and parked behind the cars already in the driveway and headed down to the basement door and leaned her head to see if she could anything. She heard laughter from the group inside and she took a deep breath as she opened the door quietly as to draw out the surprise. She knew there was a long hallway she could slowly sneak down before it opened to a large sitting area where everyone from the sounds of it were crowded around the TV.As she quietly walked down the hallway, she could overhear the conversation about what movie they were watching for movie night. She heard the group talking about how they should just wait for Sara to get there before they choose. Then the conversation switched to them wanting to surprise Ava tomorrow when she got home and how they should go buy silly string and attack her when she got out of the car. A smile crept across her face as they argued over silly string or glitter being thrown upon her arrival. She took a deep breath getting ready to make herself known and then took a step forward. “I vote silly string because glitter sticks to everything.” Ava announces as she appears out of the hallway causing the whole room to go silent in shock. “Holy Shit!!” Nora yelled and jumped up running towards Ava. “Ava!” Zari and Nate yell at the same time and jump up following Nora. Nora gets to Ava first and almost knocks her over when she wraps her arms around Ava. Followed quickly by Zari and Nate. When all of the sudden she feels the slam of Ray to the group now enveloping her in a hug and a final push when Mick joins in. “I missed you guys too.” Ava says breathlessly as she is being squeezed so tight from Nora and Zari in the middle of the hug. “What are you doing here?” Zari asked as she continued to squeeze Ava. “Being squeezed to death apparently.” Ava laughed as she tried to breath, the comment causing everyone to start to break away from the hug and Nora hitting on her shoulder. “Oww!” Ava yelled. “What the hell Nora?”“You lied to me!” Nora pouted and looked around “Where is Sara?” “First off yes I lied to you all because I wanted to surprise you guys, and secondly she texted me earlier and said she had plans and would meet me here later.” Ava said smiling as she could finally breath. “So, Sara knew you were coming in tonight.” Zari mumbled. “Yeah, I let her know so she could tell me where you guys were at.” Ava pushed Nora away from her as she was still pouting.“It’s good to see you, Ava.” Ray chimed in his smile still bigger than ever as he grabbed Nora and pulled her into his side, and she wrapped her arm around his waist. “It’s good to see all of you.” Ava said as she threw her arm around Zari and made her way over to the couch. “It’s nice to be home, and not have my hair in a tight ass bun.” She laughed. “How is school?” Nate asked “Same, it’s pretty tight schedule but going well.” Ava said“It sucks you can’t get the regular college experience.” Zari said grabbing a donut from the table in front of the group. “You know like parties and free weekends.” Zari snorted. “Well, you know I have never really been one for parties anyways and honestly I do get some Saturdays off, but I choose…” Ava is cut off by everyone.“To study.” Everyone but Ava says together and then burst out laughing as Ava gives them all a dirty look. “Anyways…” Ava starts “I am just excited to have time to be here with all of you. I feel like I have had nothing but short breaks.” Ava smiles as Nora plops down beside her and throws her arms around Ava’s shoulder and leans her head on Ava’s shoulder. “Well because you have, I think in the past year we have only seen you a total of 20 days. But we are glad you are home and for a longer this time” Nate smirks and taps Ava on her knee” Okay so back to it what are we watching?” he asks the room. Ava watches everyone as they debate between Avengers or Justice League, she hadn’t had much time to invest in movies so she hadn’t seen either movie and wouldn’t have cared either way. She just wanted to spend time with her friends. As she sat there Zari had her arm wrapped around Ava on one side and Nora had her head on Ava’s shoulder on the other, she just watched the boys going back and forth over what movie they should watch. While the boys were arguing Zari explained that Wally and Jax would both be in town next week they had delayed coming directly home and went Central City to see Wally’s older brother compete in some Strong man competition. When Ava’s phone started to ring, she reached down to see who was calling thinking it was probably Sara letting her know she was on her way. But when Ava saw Laurel’s name pop up, she was a little baffled. Ava stood up letting Nora and Zari know she be right back putting up her finger indicating one minute. “Hey, Laurel.” She barely got Laurel’s name out before the other girl started talking on the other end. “Wait Laurel slow down.” Ava stopped she hadn’t made it far from the group and the conversation on Ava’s side had already gotten the legends attention. “Oh god Laurel I’m so sorry.” The girl on the other end must have started talking again because Ava covered the phone and looked at the legends saying, “Oliver Queens Yacht went missing on the sea.” She whispered and everyone around her nodded and looked at each other shocked. “Laurel if you need anything just let us know.” Ava managed to say but then Ava’s face contorted almost in shock “Wait Laurel…wait…What did you just say?” Ava asked as her friends watched Ava’s expression change drastically. Ava felt nothing, everything just stopped no noise no sound the phone slipped from her hands and fell to the ground. Her friends rushed towards her and were talking but again she heard nothing. Nora picked up the phone and started talking and Ava felt everything start to fade slowly just Laurel’s words in her mind nothing else. They were echoing as she saw dark spots start to take over her vision and she could feel the weight of her body giving way before everything went black. All she could hear was laurels voice. “Sara was on the Yacht!” Laurel said frantically “Sara was with Oliver!” Laurel’s sobs coming through the phone. “Sara is missing!” When Ava opened her eyes, she saw Nate who was looking down at her, but he kept looking up at the group as the news hit them all. Trying to figure out what they needed to do to help. Ava sat up and looked around she didn’t say anything she just stood up and walked down the hallway back outside the tears had started falling. She could feel Nora and Zari following her, but she didn’t respond. She found herself passing the cars and stopping in the middle of the driveway and just standing there numb, in shock, unaware of what was going on near her. Nora and Zari were there in front of her quickly both talking but again she heard nothing just Laurel’s words echoing in her mind. She felt her body giving way again this time she fell to her knees and screamed. “SSSSSSAAAARRRRRAAAA!” the sound was visceral it came from deep down in her soul as if she felt it ripping apart at the seams. She let the pain take over she put her head in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably as Zari and Nora wrapped their arms around her and cried with her. Ava sobbed being held by Zari and Nora she didn’t know for how long because her world had stopped. Time didn’t move anymore she was here in this moment and the only thing she knew was that Sara wasn’t. She would never see Sara again, she would never hear her laugh again, she would never see that smirk or smile on her face that always made her smile. She wouldn’t be able to wrap her arms around Sara ever again and she could feel the weight again as the world started to go dark around her. Then she felt weightless as arms wrapped around her and when she opened her eyes, she saw Ray pulling her into his arms much like a groom carries his bride she buried her head into his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck and then everything went dark again.
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Day 1 without Sara Ava hasn’t moved from her bed she is curled up under her cover’s tears constantly flowing, every time she closes her eyes, she only sees those blue eyes. The eyes she will never see again causing more tears to fall as she tries to wipe the memories away but fails. She makes no attempt to move her body just stuck her mind in an endless loop over memories of Sara. Ava doesn’t register when people come in and out of her room. Some sit down in the room with her some lay next to her. Nate had wrapped his arms around her for a few hours at one point she is pretty sure he cried with her and fell asleep with her she could feel his warmth for a while she isn’t exactly sure how long he was there. Her mother also lays with her and keeps whispering in her ears “I love you” But Ava doesn’t respond. At one point she opens her eyes, and she is face to face with Zari who just puts her hand softly on her cheek as tears pool in her eyes, and again Ava closes her eyes and lets the memories take her back. When she opens her eyes again the hand is gone and so is Zari, she can still hear someone in the room but makes no attempt to look she knows everyone is just keeping an eye on her but moving isn’t possible she just stares at the same spot out the window she can see from her bed. Finally closing her eyes and letting sleep take her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Ava, you can’t say that you don’t even know him.” Sara says“I can have an opinion.” Ava mumbles“You don’t even know him.” Sara says“I don’t have to know him; I stand by my statement.” Ava adds and then closes her locker. “What do you even see in him?” “He is gorgeous.” Sara says“Yeah, and he is your sister’s boyfriend, so I am sure that isn’t right.” Ava says walking down the hallway.“I don’t think there is a rule anywhere that says I can’t find her boyfriend hot.” Sara says and looks at Ava who shaking her head in disbelief. “Just…” Ava stops in the hallway and grabs Sara’s forearm to stop her from walking. Sara turns and looks at her. “Just don’t do anything stupid ok.” Ava says and then turns and walks to her next class leaving Sara in the hallway rolling eyes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 2 without SaraThe only reason she has moved from the bed is to use the restroom, and she had made sure to only do that when nobody is in the room with her. Not wanting to take the chance of having to make eye contact with anyone. She is hungry but the pain she feels deep inside outweighs the need for food right now, and she doesn’t have the energy to eat her body screaming for sleep. When she opens her eyes, she is face to face with Nora who doesn’t say anything she just looks at Ava and slowly takes a stray piece of hair in Ava’s face and tucks it behind her ear. They lay in silence not saying a word not needing too. Nora knows Nora has always known, and Nora was right. She had said you can’t live your life without love. But how do you live your life when love shatters you when love is ripped away from you and you have wasted every moment for the past five years trying to safeguard that love. Ava hadn’t cried today she thought maybe she had no more tears but looking at Nora the tears return and slowly fall down her cheeks. Ava can see tears in Nora’s eyes, and she watches the first tear fall down Nora’s cheek. It’s too much and Ava closes her eyes again. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“I’m going to try and jump it.” Sara says taking her shirt off and throwing it to the ground as Ava’s eyes go wide at the sight of Sara in only a sports bra. Ava shifts her eyes to look anywhere but at Sara and as she turns her head to look away her eyes meet Nora’s who has a knowing smirk on her face. Ava shifts her focus back to Sara who is about to try and see if she can jump the high bar. She has nowhere to turn as all the legends are watching Sara getting ready to run down the lane and make her attempt. “Come on Cap.” Nate says laughing “She is never going to get over that bar.” Wally chuckles“You never know.” Zari chimes in. The group watches as Sara sprints down the lane and leaps up and is almost over the bar when her legs separate one foot kicking the bar as it falls into the pads with Sara. “Holy shit Sara, you almost cleared it.” Jax yells as Sara jumps up with a huge smile and Ava is genuinely impressed. Sara runs over to Ava who still has a proud smile on her face. “How’d I do Miss Sharpe?” Sara Asks and Ava does everything she can to not look at Sara’s breasts.“Honestly that was amazing I think you would have easily cleared six five. Your feet got in the way.” Ava chuckles as Sara pushes Ava’s shoulder, as everyone laughs. Ava leans in and whispers into Sara’s ear “You did really great for someone so… short.” Ava laughs as she turns, and Sara jumps on her back into a piggyback position. Ava and Sara laugh when Ava takes off running with Sara on her back. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Day 3 Without SaraAva still hadn’t eaten anything, and it was truly starting to worry Randy and Pam they weren’t sure what they needed to do. Their daughter wouldn’t talk to anyone she wouldn’t even look at anyone so Pam did the only thing she thought she could she made her way over to the Lance’s house. Pam took a deep breath as she knocked on the door hoping that she wasn’t intruding her daughter was at home and was safe and Sara was missing and possibly dead. Quentin opened the door and greeted Pam and motioned for her to some inside. Pam could tell he hadn’t slept much, and his eyes were red which she thought indicated he had been crying. Pam looked around the living room as she entered and noticed maps everywhere and pieces of paper strewn around the maps. Quentin motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen where she took a seat at the kitchen table, she sat down fiddling with her hands not sure how to ask what she needed to ask. “Would you like something to drink? Quentin asked as he started grabbing some mugs from the cabinet. “Some coffee maybe?” He added and Pam nodded she was still racking her brain for the words. Pam watched as Quentin started his Keurig filling both mugs with coffee and moving around his kitchen to pick up some items and put them in the sink. He seemed nervous about her being there, it wasn’t a mess, but she could tell he hadn’t really cleaned up after himself. She didn’t blame him she couldn’t imagine what he was going through. She has her daughter who was slowly slipping away upstairs in despair, but he had no idea where his was or if she would come home. He grabbed the mugs and walked over placing them down on the table and sitting across from Pam. “How are you?” The words flew out of Pam’s mouth, and she immediately hated them what kind of question was that? How could she possibly ask a question like that he isn’t good, and she can clearly see that. “Well, they are looking in some other places right now, so I am trying to stay hopeful.” He says not meeting her eyes but staring at the hot liquid in his cup. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but you know if you need anything please don’t hesitate to call us.” She says quietly and takes a sip from her mug as he nods. “I’m stuck here I can’t do anything, and I hate it. I…” Quentin looks over his shoulder as if he is checking to see if anyone is listening. “I’m worried about Laurel she hasn’t really spoken to me or anyone really.” He adds and looks at Pam his sad eyes tearing up as he quickly looks back down at his mug. “What brings you over today though?” He asks quietly. “Ava.” She says softly and he looks up at her. “I wish I had an update for her I know she is probably worried out of her mind right now.” He speaks“No, you don’t understand it’s bad Quentin she hasn’t eaten in three days, and I have tried everything I can think of to get her out of bed. Her friends haven’t left her side, she just lays there almost catatonic she doesn’t move she doesn’t speak she…” Pam can’t finish her statement as a sob comes out and she covers her mouth. “I’m sorry.” She looks up to the ceiling as if that will stop the tears, but it doesn’t. “You are going through something I cannot even begin to fathom and I’m here trying to ask a favor.” She mumbles. “Pam what is it?” Quentin says his voice is soft and full of concern.“I was hoping possibly Laurel could come over and try…I don’t know maybe try and talk to Ava at least get her to eat.” Pam says as she looks down at her mug.“She hasn’t really come out of her room. I mean I can….” Quentin is cut off by another voice. “I can do that.” Laurel says Pam and Quentin both look towards the doorway where Laurel is leaning against the doorframe separating the kitchen and living room. “Laurel, you really if it’s too much you don’t have too, I can’t even imagine what you and your father are going through.” Pam looks at her and sees bloodshot eyes no doubt from constant tears. “No, I want to its Ava.” She looks down at her feet. “I was the one who called and told her what happened, and I think I have an idea of what I can do to help. Well maybe it might help but it won’t hurt to try.” She walks in and grabs a mug and makes herself a coffee. “I’ll take a shower and dad can bring me over in a little bit. We both need to get out of the house he can sit and talk with you and Randy.” She motions to him as she is saying this. She grabs her mug and turns to walk out. “Laurel.” Pam’s voice stops her at the doorway, and she turns to face Pam and her father. “Thank you.” Pam adds. Laurel nods and leaves the room. Pam finishes her coffee making her way over to the sink cleaning the mug out and coming back over to Quentin he stands up and she pulls him into an embrace. When they part, she grabs her bag and walks out of the house and back to her car. The few minutes it takes her to get home she finds herself wishing and hoping this was the right thing to do. Maybe Laurel could be the one to get to Ava, she was out of options after this, and she didn’t want to have to call a doctor about this because she was worried about her health and wellbeing. Her mind starting to think about Sara, she had known that girl for six years and she knew how important she was to Ava they had bonded so quickly when they moved here. She had become a mainstay at their home, and they had always jokingly told her she was their spare kid. And she was missing, she felt the tears flowing down her face. Ava heard the door to her room open nobody had really been in the room today she hadn’t minded she was fine being left alone. She still hadn’t felt like moving and she figured her mother was in there just checking on her. She closed her eyes and expected arms to wrap around her as her mother usually would just lay next to her and try and convince her to get up. But instead, the dip in the bed was in front of her and when she opened her eyes, she was looking at green eyes. Laurel looked like she had cried just as much as Ava had, why was she here? Her sister was gone why would she come to lay with Ava? Ava felt the tears coming again as she looked deep into Laurel’s eyes as laurel reached up and cupped her hand against Ava’s cheek wiping away a stray tear from Ava’s cheek. She watched as Laurel got up and went and laid on her other side, where she started to pet Ava’s hair running her fingers through it. “Ava we are going to get through this.” Laurel’s voice was by her ear she could feel the warm breath breathing on her neck. “We need to take care of each other we need to be there for each other.” She continued, “Your friends need you.” They lay there and Laurel continued to run her fingers through Ava’s hair and Ava finally felt the need to move so she did she shifted and turned onto her back to Laurel propped up on her elbow next her. Ava looked directly at Laurel and moved to bury herself into Laurel’s shoulder pulling her closer to her. Laurel wrapped her arms around Ava and pulled her closer to her. “Every time I close my eyes, I can see her.” Ava’s voice was so quiet that Laurel almost didn’t hear her. Ava began sobbing again. “Me too Ava.” Laurel replied, “I know it’s hard, but we have to try and stay positive they are still out there looking for her.” She whispered, Ava pulled back to look Laurel in the eyes and that was when Laurel saw it. This wasn’t the pain of a best friend there was more in Ava’s eyes and almost as if she had given away too much Ava moved her face back into Laurels shirt. “I…” Ava’s own sobs cut off her words and she took a deep breath “miss her.” She finished and Laurel laid down to get more comfortable with Ava in her arms she continued to run her hands through Ava’s hair. “How long?” Laurel asked looking down to Ava one of her hands made its way to Ava’s chin pulling it up to make Ava look at Laurel with a confused look on her face.“Huh?” Ava managed to say not understanding Laurel’s question. “How long have you been in love with my sister?” Laurel asked her eyes not leaving Ava’s, she could see the immediate recognition in Ava’s face by the question and the gasp that came from Ava only confirmed her thoughts. As Ava buried her head back to Laurel’s shirt and Laurel could feel Ava’s sobs in her arms. Ava’s body was shuddering while crying all of the emotion coming out, she could hear Ava trying to catch her breath. Laurel was quick to grab one of Ava’s wrists to try and ground her. “Ava breath, just breath.” Laurel said trying to help Ava calm down and she could feel Ava trying to even out her breathing. “Look at me.” Ava moved to where she could see Laurel’s eyes “Deep breath in.” Laurel could see Ava struggle a moment but finally a large intake of breath “Okay long breath out.” And Ava released it by Laurels command. It took a few minutes and Ava had finally calmed her breathing down Laurel was still looking at her holding her wrist and making sure she was okay. “Since Nyssa.” Ava whispered and Laurel smiled and laughed to herself and grabbed Ava and pulled her back into her chest. “That’s why you punched her.” Laurel laughed as she spoke Ava pulled back to look at Laurel “No, I punched her because she was a bitch.” Ava said but then a small smirk appeared on her face “I gave her a black eye because I loved Sara.” She chuckled while Laurel looked at her in disbelief. They both laid back on their backs the sound of laughter died out as Ava leaned her head on Laurel shoulder and they both were looking up. “Okay you need to take a shower and eat something.” Laurel announced and Ava shuddered against her. “I mean it Ava I don’t know what’s going to happen but if they find Sara you need to be ready and if they don’t you cannot just curl up in this bed forever.” She props herself up and looks at Ava “If you promise me, you will shower and eat, I will give you something I brought for you.” Laurel reaches down and pulls a small bag from the floor next to her. She grabs Ava’s wrist again and pulls her into a sitting position and grabs a pillow from behind Ava. “What is it?” Ava asks watching laurel curiously. “You go jump in the shower and I’ll have it ready for you when you get out.” Laurel motions for her to go. “And take your time don’t rush the water will help, you’re probably sore.” Ava nods and starts to move off the bed gingerly. Somehow Laurel had the same effect on her that Sara did, Laurel being there had meant she cared for Ava and for some reason knowing that Sara’s favorite person cared about her was helping. “You’ll be here when I get out right?” Ava turned and asked before closing the door to the bathroom. “I’m not going anywhere Ava. I’ll be here.” She smiled at her Ava nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. Laurel jumped up and knocked on the bathroom door and hears Ava ask her what she needs. “I am going to run downstairs and get some water.” Laurel hears Ava say ok quietly and she heads out her bedroom door leaving it open. Laurel walks downstairs she makes her way to the living room so she can get to the kitchen and when she walks into, the living room she sees a room full of people. Her dad is on the couch with Ray Palmer and Nora Dahrk. Pam and Randy are sitting in the love seat and Zari Tomaz is sitting on Nate Heywood in a recliner. All of their eyes are looking at Laurel and she stops and looks at everyone and takes a deep breath.“She is taking a shower.” Laurel says and she hears the entire room let a breath out. Everyone in that room had spent the last two and half days trying to get through to Ava and somehow, she had. She saw Pam stand up and put her hand up. “We are going to take this one thing at a time. I am going to get some waters and some food and take it back up there and get her to eat and drink something. Then we will see if we can have someone else come in. Please just trust me.” Laurel says as she turns and goes into the kitchen. When Ava comes out of the bathroom her hair wrapped in towel and clean clothes on Laurel is sitting on her bed holding two waters and two plates with sandwiches and small container with snickerdoodle cookies. Ava makes her way back to her bed and sees the pillow on her bed with a t-shirt wrapped around it and she looks at it with her head tilted slightly as she sits on the bed across from Laurel grabbing a sandwich and slowly taking bites. “it’s one of Sara’s shirts.” Laurel says and looks at Ava whose eyes haven’t left the pillow. “She said you bring her hoodies that smell like you, and they help her not miss you so much.” Laurel looks at Ava whose eyes are filling with tears again. “I did this last night and it really helped me.” “Thank you.” Ava says as she swallows the bite in her mouth and puts the sandwich down on the plate. Laurel hands he a bottle of water which Ava takes and opens it takes a drink. Her eyes meet Laurel’s.“You know there are some people downstairs who want to see you right?” Laurel asks her. “I know but before they come up here, I need to talk to you about something.” Ava says “What is it?” Laurel asks“I have to Step left, and I wanted to talk to you about it.” Ava says“What does that mean?” “I…” Ava looks up and takes a deep breath. “I have the option to leave the Academy before my Junior year starts. Because once I start junior year, I am locked into four years of active service. And...” Ava looks back at Laurel. “I can’t see myself going back. Not now after all of this.” “Ava, you can’t change your life because of this.” Laurel says, “I mean what if they find her?” she mumbles. “Do you think I could leave if they found her. Even if they don’t find her, I can’t go back.” Ava takes another deep breath. “I had already started thinking about another option before all of this, but it would have just delayed my active duty. And now well, I could just transfer here and finish school near home. I just…I don’t know how I can leave everyone again regardless of the outcome.” Ava says and looks down. “Ava I am going to support whatever choice you make because ultimately it is your choice but are you absolutely sure this is what you want?” Laurel asks and Ava nods. “Mona my roommate is still at school I can have her pack all my things and ship them here. And…” Ava gets up and goes to her desk and pulls her phone out of her bag. “It should be here by now.” Ava says as she scrolls through her phone and looks at the screen. “I can’t look.” She whispers and walks over to Laurel and sits down across from Laurel. “What can’t you look at?” Laurel says and Ava hands her the phone and Laurel looks at the title of the email. “Ava, you took the MCAT?” Laurel looks back Ava who nods. “That’s the email with the link to the results, I think. I haven’t looked at it.” She says, “I wanted to…I was waiting for the results before I told anyone.” “Do you want me too?” Laurel motions to the phone and Ava nods and takes a deep breath. Laurel clicks the link on the email, and it brings up a page with Ava’s information. “Okay so what are were looking for what score?”“Well, I mean anything above a 515 is good Sara took it too you know.” Ava said and Laurel looked up at her in shock. “What? When?” Laurel asked “Earlier this year she scored a 510 which is really good so I was wanted to make sure I scored higher so when I told her I could rub it in.” Ava laughed at herself and then the thought Sara would never know rushed to the forefront of her mind. Laurel reaches over and puts her hand on Ava’s and smiles.“I am keeping up hope that you’re going to be able to tell her because you scored higher than her.” Laurel smiled and Ava looked up and a smile came across her face. “I did?” Ava said“Yeah, Ava it says here you scored a 525.” Laurel went to hand Ava the phone and Ava’s hand shot over her mouth as she took the phone from Laurel. “What?” “Oh my god I was just trying to score higher than Sara I didn’t think I would score that high.” Ava whispered as she looked at the phone. She looked up at Laurel who looked confused at Ava’s excitement. “The highest score you can get is a 528 Laurel it’s the equivalent of scoring a 177 on the LSAT.” Ava said and Laurel’s eyes went wide at that statement Ava had put it in terms Laurel understood. “Holt Shit Ava that’s awesome.” Laurel reached over and hugged Ava who hugged her back. When they pulled apart Ava took a screen shot and then put her phone down grabbing a cookie and eating it. She took a deep breath.“So that was my plan, I was going to finish the Academy and go to Medical school but now I am thinking of just stepping left and transferring back here to Star City.” Ava bit her lip in thought and looked back to Laurel. “I know that it’s crazy but when I realized how I felt about Sara I tried to run from it. I tried so hard to pretend I didn’t feel that way. I don’t have much time to date at the academy, but I tried, and it never went well.” Ava looked down. “So, I started thinking maybe I come back and I…. I don’t know. But now I’m just…I’m mad at her.” Ava looked hesitantly at Laurel. “Is that normal? Am I supposed to be angry with her?” “Believe you me I am. I have no idea why the hell she was on that boat. And unless we find her, we will never know why. But I can say I think it’s normal and I’m mad too. I feel like I am scared, hurt, angry, and broken hearted. All at the same time and it doesn’t make sense. I just want to find her even though I want to scream at her.” Laurel says “Can you not tell anyone about it. About my feelings I am still dealing with those myself. I mean Nora knows but, I’m nowhere near saying it out loud. I… Which seems completely stupid to say now because I feel like we have lost her already but if they do find her, I’m sure there is going to be recovery or something and I don’t feel like it’s appropriate to profess my possible feelings when she might need to focus on her health. And honestly if they don’t find her, I’d rather just no one know. So, I can mend this myself.” Ava finishes pointing at her chest. “Ava, I won’t say anything unless I feel like it needs to be said.” Laurel says “I do think you should tell her because I honestly don’t think there is anyone in this world that cares more about her than you do. Which is why I came when your mom told us you weren’t doing well.” Laurel says “Okay I tell you what I think you need to make a phone call or deal with the step left thing I’ll go downstairs and let everyone know you are okay. Just shoot me a text when your done and I’ll come back up here okay.” Laurel stands up and start to walk away and Ava stops her by grabbing her wrist and stands up to pull her into a hug. Laurel wraps her arms around Ava. “Thank you.” Ava whispers “For coming for caring.” “Ava, I have always cared about you, and I think I can honestly say after today I love you.” Laurel pulls away and looks at Ava. “Regardless of what happens we are going to be family ok.” She says and Ava nods and smiles. “Take care of your business I’ll be downstairs.” Ava nods as she watches Laurel leave the room. Day 4 Without SaraShe had gone downstairs yesterday and let everyone know she was going to be ok. She had made the phone calls she needed to make, and she was waiting on some paperwork for her to sign. She called Mona and told her what had happened and explained her choice. She had promised to stay in touch with her while Mona said she would send her personal effects home to her. So now it was time to sit down with her parents and tell them the choice she had made. She made her way down the stairs and moved her way into the kitchen where her parents were sitting at the dining room table with “Hey.” Laurel said as Ava entered the room. “Hey.” Ava replied and went to the kitchen counter to get a mug and fill it with coffee. “Are you hungry sweetie?” Pam asked looking at Ava and Ava shook her head.“Not at the moment.” Ava replied she made her way over to the table and sat next to her mother who leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “I need to talk to you guys.” Ava added “Ava, you don’t have to talk to us if you don’t want to.” Randy said Ava looked at her father and took a deep breath before speaking. “I left the Air Force Academy.” She blurted out a little louder than intended. “What?” Randy and Pam replied in unison. “I can’t go back not after this regardless of how it turns out. I had until this summer to choose if I wanted to step left without being locked into active duty. So, I chose to not return, I am going to transfer to Star City and finish mt degree there.” Ava said as both her parents looked on in shock.“But it was your dream?” Pam said“Sometimes dreams change.” Ava said, “After helping Shannon I realized I liked helping people and…” Ava stops looking up and taking a deep breath before continuing. “Sara and I had talked about medical school and well I took the MCAT test. I scored a… I was three points from a perfect score. So, getting into medical school shouldn’t be an issue.” Ava looked over at Laurel who was smiling and nodding.“So, you want to go to medical school?” Randy asked.“Yes, I was going to do it after the Air Force Academy but well like I said I can’t go back. I just can’t leave here.” Ava said. “Ava, if you’re sure about this and it is what you want to do then we will support you no matter what.” Pam said she looked over at Randy who nodded and smiled. Ava leaned in and gave her mom a hug. “Like I said I was already planning to do it, this just changed the circumstances.” Ava added. “I’m going to go back upstairs and take a shower.” Ava stood to leave and went over and hugged her father and walked over and kissed Laurel on the head and half hugged her and walked out. After her shower she picked up her phone and started going through messages. After about ten minutes she found herself exhausted and put her phone down. She grabbed the pillow with Sara’s shirt on it and curled up with it and closed her eyes. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“I don’t like feeling all these emotions, I don’t know how to handle this all.” Ava said“Thanks for not giving up on me.” Sara Smiled“Well, I did swear an oath.” Ava raised an eyebrow“Wait, are we actually going to kiss?” Ava's eyes went wide“I figured it would be best if I was the one who kissed you” Sara said“Pinky Swear.” Sara Said“Is Sara a good kisser?” Zari asked“Best I’ve ever had.” Ava replied“Ava, I just got named Homecoming Queen with my best friend. This is the best night of my life.” Sara said “This is the best night of my life too.” Ava whispered“I’m going to miss you so much.” Sara held her tighter“I’ll miss you too Sara.” Ava whispered"Ava." Sara moaned------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ava opened her eyes, and the voices were still echoing in her head, as if every moment was on constant replay in her mind. All of their moments all of their kisses every touch, her eyes, and her body on hers. She couldn’t close her eyes without seeing them like a constant reminder of her love that she would never have. But now was all she wanted if it meant Sara was there by her side forever like she promised she would be. If she had told her, if she hadn’t run from everything, she would have never gotten on that boat. Ava sobbed at the thought and closed her eyes letting the darkness take her crying herself to sleep smelling Sara with the pillow still wrapped in her arms.
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Day 5 Without SaraAva opened her eyes and saw Nora sitting at her desk. She looked deep in thought and occupied in whatever she was thinking about. “Hi.” Ava’s voice quietly mumbled, and Nora looked up to see Ava moving into a sitting position wiping the sleep from her eyes. “Hey there you.” Nora said softly and smiled“Is there a bunch of people here?” Ava asked“No just me and your parents.” Nora said softly“Good because I’m not ready to really…” Ava trailed off“They know Ava.” Nora said as she got up and moved over towards Ava “May I?” She motioned to the bed and Ava nodded. Nora sat next to her, and they both put their backs to her headboard and sat in silence for a moment. “I feel like if I had said something…” Ava started, and Nora stopped her.“NO!” Nora said loudly and sternly. “You will not do that! Do you hear me.” Nora turned and grabbed Ava’s chin and turned it towards her “You will not blame yourself for this.” “But if I had said something.” Ava said as tears started to swell in her eyes.“Ava, this is not your fault.” Nora said still holding Ava’s chin. “Say it.” “But…” Ava started and again Nora cut her off.“Say it AVA!” Nora loudly pleaded“It’s…. It’s not my fault.” Ava whispered and tears started to fall down her cheeks. Nora reached up and wiped them away. “Say it again.” Nora said“it’s not my fault.” Ava repeated. “I won’t allow you to do that. You don’t get to take the blame for a choice she made.” Nora said “It’s not my fault.” Ava said louder looking at Nora who pulled her into a hug. They stayed like that for a little while until Nora pulled away and looked at Ava and smiled. “Okay, take a shower and then come down and get something to eat.” Nora motioned for Ava to get up and Ava nodded and followed the instructions. Ava sat at the dining table and ate quietly as Nora sat across from her looking at a magazine. Her parents were in the living room sitting quietly, Ava noticed everyone was on edge and didn’t talk around her. She understood she was fragile, and she had probably scared everyone. But how is someone supposed to deal with this there was no answer not for Ava anyways. She looked up at Nora and then over at her parents and cleared her throat. “Ok, I would like to know how exactly the search is going?” Ava said and they all looked at her not sure what to say.“Ava, maybe it’s not the best time…” Pam spoke but was cut off by her husband.“What do you want to know?” Randy asked and Pam snapped her head to him and looked at him as if to say are you serious she isn’t ready for this. Ava looked at Nora who hadn’t said anything and she was worried they were keeping something from her. “What?” Ava said looking at Nora. “Tell me Nora.” Nora closed the magazine and looked at Ava.“They expanded the search area, and they found some floating debris last night but nothing else. They know they are in the right area but… Ava it’s a big ocean and currents are crazy and there was a storm two days ago so they could be anywhere.” Nora finished and Ava nodded at the information. “But they are sure the debris is from the yacht?” Ava asked and Nora nodded Ava looked at her father he took a deep breath and stood up and walked into the kitchen. He went over to a drawer and pulled out a pile of papers. Pam followed him into the kitchen. “Randy, I would prefer you not show her that.” Pam said and Ava looked up at them and Randy looked at his wife and walked past her. He moved Ava’s now empty plate and laid out in front of her a large map with marking all over it. Ava’s eyes looked over the map and she could see the words written on the map. She saw a trail of words that said debris, then small areas circled that said cleared. She looked at one point on the map where it said last known location almost dead in the center. “This is the information we have right now. Quentin came by early this morning to mark the debris areas for you. He knew that you would want to know everything once you were ready, so he has been updating us.” Randy said pointing at the map.“Ok.” Ava said looking at the map slightly overwhelmed. Her father pointed to an area on the map.“They are searching here today. This area it’s rough but they are thinking the way the debris was that maybe if there was a collapsible lifeboat the storm would have pushed it this way.” Randy said and Ava studies the map. Her fingers trace over the words and the location. They sat there quietly while Ava looked over the map watching her fingers run trails over the words written. Ava’s mind was racing there was so many miles of water they could easily be missed she knew this from her training she also knew that as the minutes ticked by the less likely they would be of finding them alive. In her mind that clock was almost out, knowing that unless they had water and food their chances were grim. She took a deep breath and folded up the map quietly and handed to her father. She stood up and walked over the counter and filled her mug with more coffee and returned to the table. “I need my phone?” Ava said loudly shocking everyone, she runs to her room as everyone watch in disbelief. When she comes back, she looks like she is frantically going through her contacts looking for a number. She grabbed the map form her father and unfolded it back on the table. “Ava what is it?” Nora asks. Ava takes a deep breath and looks at Nora. “Nyssa.” Ava whispers and Nora’s eyes go wide. “NO Ava.” Nora said and she stood up.“Her father has ships all over the sea. This area right here he could easily have them help look.” Ava said pointing at a small area that is close to where they are looking. “Ava?” Nora says“Nora, if they find Sara I don’t care! You get that right? We need to find her and if we know someone who can help then I don’t give a shit who it is!” Ava saysAva finds the contact she is looking for and taps call putting the call on speaker. “Hello?” Nyssa’s voice come through the phone; Ava closes her eyes asking the one person in the world she can’t stand for help is not easy but for Sara she could do it.“It’s Ava.” Ava grunts “What the hell do you want?” Nyssa says calmly Ava freezes the words stuck in her throat. “I’m hanging up.” The voice brought Ava back.“NO!” Ava yelled “No please don’t, it’s about Sara.” Ava says quickly“Well last time I checked…” Nyssa starts, and Ava knows where she is going with this so she stopped her before she could.“She is missing.” Ava blurted out“What?” Nyssa said“Okay so here is what I know.” Ava looks at the map “She got on a yacht with fucking Oliver Queen, and they sailed out. The boats last location was 46 degrees 37 minutes 05 seconds North 157 degrees 54 minutes 38 seconds west. There was a storm that they think it pushed possible debris and possible lifeboats further away from this location.” Ava took a breath and Nyssa was heard repeating her information. “Yes, so they are going through and searching a new grid at 52 degrees 50 minutes 13 seconds North 169 degrees 21 minutes 53 seconds west.” Ava finishes and Nyssa repeats the information. “Right look Nyssa I know your father does a lot of business on the sea and I know you don’t like me and that is fine, but I know…” Ava takes a deep breath “I know you care about Sara and all I want is to find her if there is anything you can do to help?” Ava says“I’ll call my father and see if he has anything in the area and let him know what’s going on. I also know a few of the captains myself I’ll reach out to them.” Nyssa said and Ava released a small breath and looked at Nora. “Thank you.” Ava said“How long has she been out there?” Nyssa asked “Five days.” Ava replied“Ava…” Nyssa starts, and Ava stops her“I know. I know.” Ava says “But, please Nyssa we can’t give up. I’m just asking for them to look around.” “OK. Is this a good number for you?” Nyssa asked “Yes.” Ava replied “Okay I will keep you posted if I hear anything.” Nyssa said and then hung up the phone. Ava dropped her phone on the table and sat down trying to control her breathing. Ava was tired of crying, so she was determined not to cry today. Of all people she had to ask for a favor why did it have to be that psychopath. Ava lowered her head and rested it on the table and just tried to regulate her breathing. “Ava?” Nora said“Yeah.” Ava replied not lifting her head.“Are you ok?” Nora said quietly and Ava lifted her hand up in the air with a thumbs up. “I have a question.” Pam says“What’s that?” Ava says head still on the table“Why do you and this girl you called not get along?” Pam asks and sees Nora eyes go wide as she tries to avoid eye contact with Pam. Ava slowly raises her head and looks at her mother.“Because I punched in the face a couple times.” Ava said rather nonchalant“Ava!” Pam yells “When did you get into a fight?” “Five years ago.” Ava replied, “really doesn’t matter right now does it?” “Is that when you had that black eye?” Randy asked looking at Ava as she nods.“You said that happened at practice.” Pam said angrily “Okay.” Ava threw up her arms “Why the hell are you yelling at me about this now? It was five years ago mom.” She looks between her mother and her father.“You lied to us.” Pam said looking at Ava“Mom seriously I was fourteen.” Ava said standing up and taking her mug and putting in the sink. “And at this point if Nyssa can help find Sara nothing else matters. Not the fight, not the fact she is a psychopath stalker. And just so you know I hit her because she grabbed Sara, she physically grabbed her, and I stepped up. I don’t take it back and I don’t regret it, and yes I lied to you and for that I am sorry, but I am not dealing with that right now.” Ava finished and walked out of the room leaving Pam, Randy and Nora standing there. Laurel and Quentin stopped by later that day and Ava quickly explained what she had done. Quentin was so grateful he hugged Ava and made his way to the kitchen to sit with Randy and Pam leaving Laurel and Ava in the living room. Ava motioned for her to sit down on the couch.“I can’t believe you did that Ava.” Laurel said quietly“I had to do something Laurel even though believe you me it wasn’t an enjoyable experience.” She said. “But I mean its Nyssa.” Laurel said“And if she can find Sara than its worth it.” Ava said, “I mean it’s just more people out there looking for her and that’s all that matters.” Ava’s phone started to ring, and she quickly answered it putting it on speaker as soon as she saw it was Nyssa.“Hello.” Ava said“Hello.” Nyssa said quickly “I was calling to update you.” “Great, I am here with Laurel and Quentin.” Ava says as Quentin enters the room. “You’re on speaker go ahead.”“Okay I spoke with my father, and we have at least four freighters traveling through the area. He agreed to have them change their routes a little. He is hoping that this could help the authorities who have been spotted in the area working on the search. I spoke with one of the captains of the freighters and he agreed to make sure to communicate with the search party what area they hit so they can mark it off their grids.”“Nyssa thank you so much.” Laurel says“There is a little more.” Nyssa replies “I called in a couple favors from another company we do business with who are a little further south. And they are working their way up towards the coordinates. So that is three more boats are out there hitting some areas. They are tracking where they go so, they can let our freighters know." Nyssa finished her statement. “Nyssa.” Ava says“I do care for Sara; you know that I do Ava. But I am not in love with her, and I can’t even begin to imagine what you are going through.” She finishes and Ava stiffens, and she looks up at the people in the room Nora and Laurel are well aware of this information, but her parents and Quentin are not. Her eyes meet her mothers who is looking at her hand over her mouth, her father’s eyes are just wide, and Quentin is looking more in disbelief that anything.“Again, Nyssa thank you so much and please keep us posted.” Laurel said and grabbed the phone out of Ava’s hand and upon hearing Nyssa say goodbye she hit the end button putting the phone down. “Ava?” Pam said Ava’s eyes were still on Quentin and she looked over at her mother whose eyes were wide now. And Ava got up and ran out of the room upstairs into her room. Ava closed the door and went over to a wall and slid down into the sitting position her breath was uneven she was starting to have a panic attack. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to catch her breath tried to slow it down, but she was failing. Did Nyssa basically just tell everyone in the room how she felt about Sara? What the actual fuck, how the hell does she explain this. She was still trying to catch her breath when Laurel walked into her room quickly followed by her mother. “Ava.” Laurel said getting down on her knees in front of Ava. She grabbed Ava’s hands, “Ava, take a deep breath in.” she said, “Look at me.” Ava’s eyes moved to meet Laurel’s. “Good okay deep breath in Ava.” After a few attempts Ava finally pulled the air in. “Okay good now breath out,” Laurel said. They did this a few more times until Ava could relax a little.Pam stood above Laurel and Ava waiting as Ava got her breathing under control. Once she could breathe her eyes left Laurel’s and moved to her mother’s, she followed her mother as she moved to sit in the desk chair behind Laurel. Laurel quickly took a seat next to Ava still holding her hands. “Did I hear that right Ava?” Pam asked and Ava eyes filled with tears as she nodded, she waited to see her mother’s response, but her eyes seemed more concerned than anything else. “I…She doesn’t know.” Ava mumbled looking at her mother. “That makes a lot more sense now.” Pam whispered, “How these last few days have went, I understand now.” Pam said. “You’re not mad?” Ava asks“Ava why would I be mad? You came out when you were fourteen. I expected you to fall in love with a woman.” Pam smiles. “But It’s Sara?” Ava says“Ava you’re choosing to love someone I already see as a daughter why on earth would I be mad?” “I just thought?” Ava mumbled “I don’t know I thought you would be upset.”“Have you had sex in here?” Pam asked looking around the room motioning towards the bed. “MOM!” Ava blurted out loudly, and Laurel chuckled and Pam full on belly laughed causing Ava to chuckle.“It’s okay sweetie I know you’re a virgin Nora and Amaya told me that last year.” Pam said “Ummm.” Ava said “Wait what?” Laurel asked, “Sara always said you were.” Ava looks at Laurel“This feels weird talking about this in front of my mother.” Ava says looking at her mother. “Sweetie I am no saint, and I would prefer you be open with me especially after these last few days I prefer no secrets.” Pam said sternly. “I mean it. I don’t need details, but I want to know what’s going on with you in your life. These past few days if I had known I could have approached this so much earlier I could have handled it differently.”“Okay saving details yes I have now had sex.” Ava said, “And no it was not in this room or even this house.” “Who?” Laurel asked and Ava looked at her and then back to her mother. “I…don’t know if I should say.” Ava said looking back to Laurel. “Okay when?” Laurel asked “New years Eve.” Ava said still looking at Laurel and then back to her mother who looked like she was thinking and then it clicked in Pam’s mind she knew she turned and looked at Ava.“You slept with Sara.” Pam said in disbelief and Laurel snapped her head to Ava. “Wait what?” Laurel said, “Ava, I thought you said she didn’t know.” “She doesn’t.” Ava said “Were you drunk?” Pam asked “NO!” Ava replied, “No its kind of complicated.” “Uncomplicate it for us because we are confused.” Laurel said. “Well, my therapist said I should talk about this more, but he didn’t exactly tell me to tell my mother.” Ava says she hadn’t noticed Nora had walked in.“You have a therapist?” Pam said angrily and Ava snapped her eyes up to her mother and realized she hadn’t exactly shared that information with her. “Ava is full of surprises.” Nora said and everyone turned to her standing by her door.“Oh yes please let’s make this a party “Ava says and drops her head to her knees. “Ava?” Pam says Ava looks up at her and then to a spot on the wall in the room. “Okay, Okay so let’s see I have spent quite a few years keeping this in so I might as well. I have felt this way for a long time and basically, I kept it to myself because I thought that it would ruin our friendship, so I just kept it to myself. Over the years Sara and I have kissed a few times like we always ended up in some situation where it ended in a kiss. And well I just kept thinking that it was nothing, the way I felt when I kissed her. Until I kissed other people and it was different it was…” Ava trails off looking for the word. “Crappy.” Nora says“Okay we’ll go with that, and then well last year there was this thing that happened she came in my room. And mom before you say anything no, we didn’t kiss or have sex nothing happened. Anyways she was having trouble sleeping downstairs and Shannon was in the spare bedroom. Sara got into bed with me while I was asleep and I guess during the night I rolled over and…I held her and when I woke up she asked me not to stop and…”Ava closes her eyes and takes a breath “And I realized I liked it I wanted to hold her every day, but I still was scared so I didn’t say anything I went back to school and I couldn’t stop thinking about it I couldn’t stop imagining a life without holding her and loving her and I avoided talking to her I tried to push her away and I ended up pushing everyone away and I closed myself off from everyone.” Ava said pointing at Nora. “That’s when she called me.” Nora said and Pam and Laurel looked at Nora. “She called me and told me everything finally admitting to it. And asking for help. So, I recommended she get a therapist and when she came home, I helped her when she was around Sara. I wasn’t keeping her from her it was something Ava asked for she just wanted a buffer because she was afraid, she might say something she wasn’t ready to say. She wanted time to work through everything and I told her I would help her and be there for her. But on New years Eve she went upstairs at Nates house to get s drink and Sara cornered her. ““She wanted to know why I was avoiding her and…” Ava looked at Laurel “I was so scared that if I told her I loved her she would reject me. I wasn’t ready I was trying to figure out how to navigate it myself. Trying to figure out if I would lose my best friend. And it scared the shit out of me. So, I just told her I didn’t want to talk to her about it and that I just needed some time. But she wouldn’t listen she followed me up to my room and basically, we started to fight, and I kept telling her I didn’t want to talk, and she wouldn’t listen so…. I…. I stopped her from talking.” Ava finished and then slowly raised her eyes to her mother slightly embarrassed and quickly putting her head down on her knees. Ava sat there completely embarrassed she had just basically told her mother how she lost her virginity. This was not something she had ever planned on telling her. As she sat there, she could hear a laugh starting across from her and when she looked up her mother was laughing, and it caused Laurel to start laughing and Nora just looked confused but had a smile on her face. “My daughter…” Pam started laughing to hard to complete the sentence.“What is so funny?” Ava asked she didn’t understand why it was funny.“You stopped her from talking.” Pam said and continued to laugh, and Ava rolled her eyes.“You know Zari and Amaya once told me you didn’t know when someone was flirting with you. And you were oblivious to when someone liked you. And to hear you say you did that just…I am so proud.” Pam said and kept laughing. “This is the most embarrassing moment of my life.” Ava said and then dropped her head back to her knees.“Oh, sweetie we are all grown here.” Pam said“Yeah, well nobody else is talking about loosing their virginity to their mother in this room.” Ava retorted. “Can we please talk about something else.” “How about the first time you kissed my sister?” Laurel asks looking at Ava with a raised eyebrow.“No.” Ava said, “Not with her in the room.” She pointed at her mother. They sat up in the room talking about random things. Laurel told her story about her first kiss, when Pam dropped the bomb, she once made out with a girl in college while Ava stared at her in shock. Nora talked about her first kiss; they spent the time just talking about random things after that. It was good for Ava and Laurel to be able to talk about other things and get their mind off what was going outside of the room. Day 6 Without SaraAva was asleep when her phone started ringing she looked up at the window and it was still dark. She grabbed her phone and saw the caller I.D and didn’t recognize it the phone showed it was three in the morning who the hell would be calling her right now. “Hello?” Ava said her voice sleepy“Ava?” Nyssa’s said. “Nyssa?” Ava asked and she sat straight up in her bed her heart beating so fast she through she was having a heart attack. “We found them, we found Oliver and Sara.” She said“What?” Ava yelled “Are you serious?” “The ships that were moving north found them in a inflatable.” Nyssa said “Nyssa.” Ava said, “Are they alive?” Ava felt every millisecond as if it was years she just needed to know. Just say it Nyssa. Just say it her mind was screaming. “They are.” Nyssa said Ava jumped out her bed and started scrambling for shoes. “Okay where are they taking them?” Ava asked.“Ava they are trying to get close enough to life flight them to anchorage. Can you get Laurel and Quentin? I don’t have their number and I think they will need to be here. It may be about six or seven hours before they can get them close enough. “Ill go there right now and we will fly out on the first flight available.” Ava said “No just go to the airport to the private plane section and tell them Nyssa sent you and I’ll have a jet ready for all of you.” Nyssa said“Nyssa, you don’t have to do that.” Ava said“Take what I am offering Ava.” Nyssa said, “I’ll get it setup. get there by 6AM and they will be ready but that way we can let them know where they are taking her if your still in the air.” “Okay, okay, I’ll head over to their house right now.” Ava was moving frantically through her room when she stopped suddenly. “Did they tell you how they were?” She asked quietly“They said it wasn’t pretty but they were alive and they needed to get them to the hospital. There is a doctor on board the ship and from I know he has them hooked to some IV’s because they are severely dehydrated.” Nyssa said.“Will you be there?” Ava asked“Where?” Nyssa replied “In anchorage.” Ava said“I don’t think you and I should be in the same room. Not so good for our faces.” Nyssa chuckled. “Nyssa if you want to be there, please come. I…You… you saved her.” Ava said“You did Ava.” Nyssa said “And I will keep you posted if I can be there at some point. I am in London right now but If I can make the trip I will. But for now, get the Lance’s and get on the plane. Go get your girl Ava.” “Thank You Nyssa.” Ava said “Your Welcome Ava.” Nyssa said and ended their call. Ava ran out of her room and into her parent’s room explaining quickly what had happened and her dad jumped up and grabbed his wallet shoving money in her hands and a credit card and told her to go and get the Lance’s and just keep them posted on what was going on. He hugged her and Pam hugged her, and she ran out of the room. She grabbed her car keys and drove to the Lance’s and started knocking on the door. Nobody was answering the door, so she Banged on the door until it finally opened to a barely awake Laurel who looked pissed off. “What the hell Ava!” Laurel yelled “Get dressed Laurel.” Ava said running past her into the house looking around “Where is your dad?” Ava turned back to Laurel. “He is asleep like most people at this time in the morning.” Laurel retorted slamming the door. “Laurel! Nyssa called they found her!” Ava yelled and it was like a light switch went off in Laurel she was trying to figure out why the hell Ava was at her house at three thirty in the morning. “Oh my god!” Laurel ran back upstairs and flew into her father’s room. “Dad, dad.” She was shaking him“What Laurel?” Quentin asked “Dad wake up they found her.” Laurel said and Quentin jumped up and grabbed his phone and looked at Laurel. “They didn’t call.” He said. “Nyssa’s boat found her.” Ava said stepping in the room. “She called me first and told me they are trying to get close enough to anchorage to life flight them both there. She is sending us a jet to pick us up. And my dad gave me money for hotel rooms.” Ava finished. Laurel and Quentin both looked shocked at the information they had just heard. “You’re sure their alive?” Quentin asked“Nyssa said they were pretty bad, but they were alive.” Ava said, “look get dressed and we can talk about this in the car I need to call Nora and tell her to get dressed.” Ava walked out of the room and Laurel and Quentin hugged each other. Laurel went and grabbed a bag and threw some clothes in it. She ran to Sara’s room and grabbed some clothes for her too. By the time she made it back to the living room she caught the end of Ava’s conversation. “Okay we will pick you up in like twenty minutes okay.” Ava said with the phone to her ear. “Yeah, well just let us see what’s going on and then I can give you an update. Okay, yeah I will see you in a few” Ava finished and hung up. She looked at Laurel and looked at the bag and her eyes went wide. “What?” Laurel asked“I didn’t grab anything I just jumped in the car and came here.” Ava said, “I… maybe I should run home and grab some clothes and a jacket.” “We can run by your house and then go get Nora okay.” Laurel said, “We have time you said six, right?” Ava nodded “Okay so were good Ava.” Laurel threw her arms around Ava and hugged her.
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Ava spent the whole flight fidgeting she had no idea what to expect she was trying to mentally prepare herself for worst case scenario. She knew the situation was a fragile one, just because Sara and Oliver were alive it didn’t mean they were ok. She had the crazy notion while waiting on the plane to google possible outcomes from severe de-hydration, or over exposure to the sun. The google results did not do her any favors just scared her more. When they were getting ready to land in Anchorage the pilot called Ava to cockpit. “Ava, I just wanted to let you know Miss Al-ghul booked you at Captain Cook, she booked the king suite for all of you. Your luggage will be taken there and places in your room. There will be a car picking you up and taking you right to the hospital. They arrived about thirty minutes ago via helicopter.” The pilot said. “Thank you so much.” Ava said and she retreated to the cabin and sat down snapping her seatbelt across her lap. Ava then explained to Quentin and Laurel everything, once the plane started to descend, she closed her eyes. They were going to see Sara and she needed to be strong if not for Laurel and Quentin but for Sara they had no idea what they were walking into. When they were walking down the stairs from the plane, they saw a man open a door to a Black SUV. Ava walked up and shook his hand and asked where they were going. And they were on their way to Alaska Regional Medical Center. Ava just stared out the window her hand in Laurel’s, nobody spoke everyone was just in their heads. Ava watched as they passed cars, she would feel Laurel randomly squeeze her hand and return the squeeze to reassure her she was there. As they started to pull into the emergency room entrance the car hadn’t even completely stopped and Ava was out the door pulling Laurel with her. They rushed into the room and stopped looking around, Ava pointed at a desk, and they quickly made their way over to the desk. A woman sitting behind it didn’t look up she was busy typing something into the computer in front of her. Laurel cleared her throat and the woman put her finger up implying for her to wait a moment. Laurel looked at Ava with an angry face. “Look I can see your busy, but we just flew here from Star City my sister was lost at sea and they said she is here!” Laurel rambled out at the woman who snapped her head up. “You’re the family of Sara Lance?” Sha asked and Laurel nodded the woman stood up and motioned for them to follow her. She took them down a long hallway to a door and opened the door which led to a small room with a table and several chairs around it. A large window across the room had a view of snowcapped mountains They looked at her confused and then looked back at the nurse. “We want to see her.” Laurel said“She is in surgery right now.” the nurse said and motioned for them to move into the room. “A doctor will be in here shortly to give you an update.” Once they were all in the room, she closed the door and left them there alone. Ava moved over to the window and looked out at the mountains. She couldn’t help but think how Sara would love this view, and she closed her eyes taking a deep breath. Quentin and Laurel sat down, and Ava remained standing her arms slowly crossing over her chest. The three of them waited in silence for the doctor to come in, much like the silence in the car on the ride here they all sat quietly thinking possibly dreading what was coming.The door opened and a man in a white coat entered he has sark hair and dark eyes holding a file in his arms and looked exhausted. He made his way into the room and put down the file and took a seat.“Hello, I’m Doctor Raatko.” He held out his hand to Quentin and then Laurel. He held out his hand to Ava and she shook it, that names sounded familiar she didn’t know where she had heard it before. “I am Quentin, this is my daughter Laurel.” Quentin said motioning to Laurel. “And this is Ava.” Ava nodded and the man looked at her curiously.“My cousin said you are pretty tough?” He said and Ava looked at him confused.“You must be mistaken because I don’t think I know your cousin?” Ava replied.“Nyssa is my cousin.” He said and Ava’s eyes went wide. “I flew out here from California as soon as they found Oliver and Sara.”“Wow, she is pulling out all the stops, isn’t she?” Ava mumbled and took a seat.“She is a very passionate person. When she found out they didn’t have a neurologist she called me and put me on a plane.” He opened the file on the table. “So, lets talk about what we know” they all nodded. “So firstly, she should be out of surgery soon there was a lot of infection and swelling from burns and rashes. So, they have went in and cleaned and drained quite a bit throughout her body. She had at least two seizures on her way here on the helicopter. She will be having a Brain MRI once she is out of surgery, I need to look and see if there is any infections or noticeable damage. Severe dehydration which based on how long they were out there doesn’t come as a shock, but they had to have something to have survived that long. The main thing that we are worried about are the seizures and kidney function right now. Now these both can be monitored closely as we go. But I will tell you that as of right now she is in a coma.” Laurel immediately puts her hand over her mouth to quiet the sob that tries to come out. Ava just looks down at the table trying to stop the tears from falling and Quentin hasn’t taken his eyes off of the man. “But she could wake up?” Quentin asks“Yes, of course in this situation her body was probably trying to protect itself in a way, she has infection on her skin and once I get a look at the MRI, I might be able to see if there is anything wrong in the brain. She could have had a stroke, or the infection caused the coma. But I’ll know more a little bit later, so I do not want to sit and speculate.” He spoke. “We just have to be patient right now while we try to get all the answers and see what we can do to help.” “Thank you Doctor Rattko.” Ava whispered not looking up. “You’re welcome, Ava.” He said and he stood and grabbed the file and shook Quentin’s hand and turned to leave. “Wait!” Laurel blurted out “What about Oliver?” the doctor turned back“His family hasn’t arrived yet. I was told his mother and sister are on their way.” He said.“But is he ok?” Laurel asked.“I cannot say much but I can say this, we are facing a very similar problem with both people who were found.” He looked at her in the eyes and she understood he was in the same situation as Sara. He then turned and walked out of the room closing the door behind him.Ava dropped her head into her hands and let the tears falls as Laurel stood up and went over to the window with tears falling down her face. Quentin just sat at the table quietly not moving just staring with a blank expression. She was alive but they didn’t know how bad, or if she could get worse, and possibly even not make it. They sat in that room for at least two more hours pacing back and forth waiting on an update. Eventually Quentin made his way to the cafeteria and returned with something to drink and some chips. Nobody had really said anything at this point there was no need too. Finally, the nurse from earlier came into he room and closed the door behind her. “She in in the ICU.” She said and they all looked at her. “She can only have two visitors at one time.” They look at each other. “Laurel, You and your father should go.” Ava said “No, Laurel I want you to take Ava.” Quentin said.“You’re her father. You should be the one going.” Ava said and stood up. “I can wait a little while longer you need to see her.” She finished. “Ava, I…I need more time so I would like for you to go. So, I can prepare myself.” Quentin says honestly, he takes her hand in his and squeezes it. She turns and looks at Laurel and they nod at each other and move towards the nurse who turns and escorts them out of the room. Ava and Laurel follow the nurse down a couple long hallways until they enter into a room that has rooms that are lined with glass doors. Most have curtains closed and you cannot see the people in the rooms. The nurse starts to slow down and moves towards the room directly across from the nurse’s station. She reaches her hand out to the door and slides it open stepping inside and Laurel stop and grabs Ava’s hand. They both stand outside of the room for a minute Laurel takes a deep breath in and Ava squeezes her hand, and they look at each other and Ava nods at her. The first thing you see are all the tubes, so many you can barely see the person under them. The only visible skin is an angry red and pink color. But most of her skin is covered in bandages. Ava and Laurel are just standing inside the door they haven’t moved they both are frozen looking at Sara who looks so small in the bed she could be a young child. Both trying to maintain their breathing when the nurse looks back at them.“You can come over here.” She motions to them and Ava squeezes Laurels hand again and they both take a few steps closer.The first thing Ava notices is her freckles on her face she can barely see them with all the tubes running everywhere. Her head is covered in bandages she also has an and she is on a ventilator the tube running out of her mouth to a large very loud machine next to her bed above her head. She lets Laurels hand go and takes a step forward on Sara’s right. As she approached the bed she looks from her feet to her head, her eyes fill with tears. She wants so badly to just make everything better; she wants to make her pain go away if she is feeling any. Her mind wanders to if a person can feel pain in a coma. Her eyes land on her face right there on her chin where that adorable dimple is. Ava lets her tears fall silently. She looks up and notices Laurel is across from her doing the same thing.Ava looks down and notices that Sara’s fingers are not covered by bandages, but they are that angry red and pink color. She looks at the nurse and then down to her hand and then back up asking the question with her eyes.“Yes, you can hold her hand.” The nurse says without needing to be asked. Ava reaches down slowly, and her fingers touch the skin, it is warm to the touch she moves her fingers over each exposed finger testing the feel. She slowly slides her hand under the exposed fingers and slides her thumb over the top of the finger and slides it back and forth across the knuckles. She doesn’t want to grip the hand or move it just in case it might hurt Sara. The nurse moves a chair over towards Laurel who has also taken a hand in her on the other side of the bed who then takes a seat. Then the nurse brings a chair over to Ava who then also takes a seat. Laurel and Ava just sit there listening to the machines and holding Sara’s hands. Ava moves her eyes to look at Sara’s finger she lowers her face down and places a soft kiss to Sara’s knuckles and then looks back at her face. Ava moves her seat a little forward to be closer to Sara doing her best to adjust her hand as to not move Sara’s and clears her throat.“I…I don’t know if you can hear me Sara but we’re here. Laurel and Me we’re here. And your dad is too.” Ava said, “So you keep fighting okay.” Ava looked over to Laurel who leaned in.“Don’t you dare give up on us. You made it here, so you just keep fighting.” Laurel said. The door to the room slid open again and the Doctor walked in and was followed by Quentin once Ava saw Sara’s father, she jumped up so he could come take her place at Sara’s side, but she motioned for her to stay so she slowly sat down. He walked over by Laurel and squeezed in between her and Laurel and reached over and kissed Sara’s cheek and whispered something that Ava nor Laurel could hear. And then moved back closer to the end of the bed. The Doctor Raatika took a step forward and cleared his throat and they all turn towards him. “I have time to review her MRI that was completed, and we have already started the antibiotics needed to work on the encephalitis this isn’t something to be afraid of it was expected. We are treating her a viral infection in the brain. All the tubes you see are draining abscess’ and we are watching her kidneys closely they are functioning but not how we would like.” Dr Raatika finishes. “When will she wake up?” Laurel asks Ava knows he can’t answer that question.“We can’t say honestly her body is in a protective state she could wake up in an hour or in a month. WE have to focus on what we can control right now which is the infection and get her kidneys function to normal.” He says.“You, said she could’ve had a stroke? Were you able to determine that with the MRI?” Ava asked.“Yes, we did see indicators of a transient ischaemic attack.” He replied and Laurel looked at Ava.“A mini stroke.” Ava said to Laurel who took a deep breath.“Could that have caused the Seizures?” Ava asked and he shook his head in a “No” motion“I believe it was the infection that caused that. And the fever she had, since regulated her temperature she hasn’t had another one and we are hoping she won’t. But we can never be sure, as I said we will be watching her closely.” He finished and Ava nodded looking back to Sara. Doctor Raatika turned to leave, and Quentin followed him out of the room. Ava and Laurel sat in the room just holding Sara’s hand and every now and then looking at each other. This was Ava’s life now; she wasn’t leaving Sara until she was awake if it took months it didn’t matter. Regardless of anything she had made a promise long ago that she would always be there for her forever. The three of them worked on a schedule on when everyone could be in the room until Sara was moved from the ICU. Quentin was the first to head to the hotel and get some rest, Ava had fallen asleep with her head down on the side of the bed next to Sara’s hand which she still had in her hand. Laurel stayed awake while Ava slept. They decided that when Ava wakes up Laurel would stay awake. Doctor Raatika had said she was in the ICU for at least five days while they kept her under observation. He also told them to talk to her that studies showed its better for the person in the coma to hear voices. So, Laurel found herself talking to Sara while Ava slept. When Quentin arrived in the early morning hours Laurel woke up Ava and told her to go to the hotel and get some rest or take a shower and then come back. Ava agreed as long as Laurel promised when she got back, she would then and get some sleep. Ava thought this would be a good opportunity to update the legends of what was going on with Sara. Nyssa had made sure they had a car there round the clock, so Ava sent a text to the driver, and he was at the door of the hospital by the time she walked out. The hotel was intense and had a lot of wood everywhere, but it was beautiful, Nyssa had gotten them a suite, so Ava headed up the elevator the floor she was on required a key card, so she swiped the little card Quentin had given her. When the doors opened to a hallway she stepped out and turned left to the only door she saw. When she walked in, she was impressed by the suite it had a living space, and a small kitchen a hallway that led to two doors on either side which was the bedrooms. Each bedroom had a bathroom attached. She went over to the bed where her bag had been placed and pulled her laptop out. She looked at the clock and it was around seven in the morning. She sent a text to their group chat calling for an emergency Zoom call and waited for responses. Once everyone had responded except Mick who Ava thought was possible, he was still asleep. She popped open her laptop and logged in waiting for everyone to join the call. Faces started to pop on her screen, and she waited until everyone was online. “Hey there Director.” Nate said and Ava made a face.“Are we back to that nickname?” Ava asked“Yes, Nora and I had a talk a couple days ago and we decided that it was a good title for you since you are in charge of this organization.” He said Ava took a deep breath she was not about to argue about this right now. “How is she?” Shannon asked quietly “Okay, this might be hard to hear and for me to say so…” Ava took a deep breath “Sara is in a coma.” Multiple people on the chat just closed their eyes some audibly gasped and covered their mouths. Some just wiped the tears that started to fall down their cheeks. “So, it’s bad.” Ray asked“It’s very serious but they are administering antibiotics and they went in and cleaned a lot of her abscess, but some were inside, so they had to have drains put in. She is on a ventilator right now and they are keeping an eye on her kidney function. Her kidneys are working but just not at normal parameters. She has an infection in her brain and the meds they are giving her should help with that.” Ava said“Okay so I mean this is survivable?” Zari asks wiping her tears away.“Yes, it is. It’s just her kidneys are a big concern and making sure the infection goes away. Then after that its just waiting for her to wake up.” Ava said“How does she look?” Nora asks“It’s not pretty they were out there exposed for five days so her entire body is burnt. So, the area where the blisters were is the only places, they are worried about, but the rest should heal like a normal sunburn it will just take longer than usual. Right now, she is pretty swollen and like I said the drains so a lot of tubes.” She finished. “Do you need anything Ava?” Asked Wally and she shook her head.“I need to tell you all something though and I need you to not get mad at me about it.” She waited and saw most nod, so she continued. “I made a phone call a couple days ago when I saw the search map and I realized this person could possibly have connections to help in the search. So, I need you to know now that I got Nyssa involved.” She heard several members starting to say something, and she held up her hand to stop them. “I need you to know right now that I am not going to listen to anything you have to say. Believe me it was a hard phone call to make but it was for Sara. And Nyssa’s help and the contacts that she had were the ones who actually found her. Then she sent a private jet for me and the Lance’s. And she also set us up in a hotel. So, at this point Nyssa has been instrumental in finding Sara. I do not regret the choice I made. You all know me well enough to know I would never make a choice like that unless it was important.” Ava finished and took a deep breath. “Is she there?” Zari asked“No, we spoke earlier, and she might attempt to come but at a later time she is in London working. She told me she would let me know if she would be able to come.” Ava said “Are you okay?” Shannon asked and Ava got a slights smile.“As long as Sara is alive, I am better than I was yesterday.” Ava replied.“How are Quentin and Laurel?” Nate asked“They are doing about what you would expect right now we are just glad she is alive.” Ava said“You promise if you need anything you will let us know.” Ray said and Ava nodded.“Will someone let Jax, and Mick know since they weren’t able to make it on the call?” Ava says and she gets multiple nods in return. “Okay I am going to log off now so I can take a shower and head back to the hospital. If anything changes, I will send out a text.” “We love you.” Nora says and smiles and then Ava hears everyone starting to say the love her and she smiles. Then a bunch of “Tell the Cap we love her too” coming from everyone and Ava nods. “I love you guys too.” Ava says and she logs off the call.She leans back in her chair and closes her eyes for a moment thinking about all the things she needs to ask. When can they move her home is a good question, but it might be to soon to ask it? Maybe she should bring a book with her to read to Sara. She leaned forward and stood up heading for her bag and pulled out some clean clothes and headed for the shower. Day 2 Sara in a comaAva hade made a trip to a bookstore before returning to the hospital where she was able to get something to read to Sara. When she arrived at the hospital both Laurel and Quentin decided to head back to the hotel. Laurel needing to get some rest and Quentin needing to make some phone calls to work. Ava sat there at first not sure what she should do in the silence of the room. She listened to the monitors and watched Sara’s chest move up and down with the ventilator. Every now and then a nurse would come in and look over everything make some notes on her chart and then quietly leave the room. Ava finally moved closer to Sara she sat down in a chair next to her bed, she reached down moving Sara’s hand to lay in hers gently. “I... I gave everyone an update, I tried to be strong and be positive, but I need you to know I’m scared.” Ava started to run her fingers across Sara’s knuckles. “Nate called me director. I really don’t understand where that nickname came from? I mean Nora used to kid with me back in senior year with it, but it never stuck. I…I think they are nervous and maybe scared too. Because you’re the captain, you have always been Cap. I think they are trying to avoid calling me that right now. I don’t know that’s how I am explaining it to myself. I got some books.” She stood up and grabbed her bag pulling out some books. “I hate to say I don’t think they are anything you might read. More my forte you know but I am going to read them to you, so you’ll just have to suffer.” Day 3 Sara in a coma “High in her hidden turret, concealed by oak trees on the steep hillside and disguised by its improbability on top of a supposedly normal house, the conversation was not going the direction Tempest had hoped.” Ava read from the book in her hands when laurel walked in.“What are we reading today?” Laurel asked making her way over to kiss Sara on the cheek. Pulling back and looking at Sara’s machines. “The Raven Thief.” Ava replied holding the book up. “Your in a good mood?” Ava asked looking up at Laurel. “I finally slept for longer than four hours.” Laurel replied Ava smiled. “And now it’s your turn.” Laurel said taking the book out of her hands. “Seriously I want you to go and sleep in a bed and get some rest. ““Laurel I am okay really; I mean I can take a nap on the couch.” Ava pleaded“No.” Laurel grabbed her arm to make her stand. “Ava, you need some proper sleep. IF anything changes, I will call you. If you don’t answer I will literally have someone, come in the room and wake you up okay. Go get some rest.” Laurel finished and Ava went to say something, but Laurel stopped her. “NO! GO!” Laurel said pointing at the door. “Has anyone every told you, you’re super bossy?” Ava asked with a smirk on her face and Laurel rolled her eyes.“No Ava I have never heard that before.” Laurel said sarcastically. Ava went and grabbed her jacket on the couch and walked out of the room sending a message to have the car meet her. She made her way downstairs and the car was already waiting which she had become accustomed too. If this is how Nyssa travels its very accommodating. Back at the hotel she jumped in the shower and put on some clean clothes and laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and turned over and closed her eyes. Ava opened her eyes, and it was still daylight out, “Crap” she thought to herself she must not have slept long if it was still daylight. She reached over and grabbed her phone and looked at the time and sat up in bed. “Shit!” She said out loud to an empty room. It was five thirty in the morning she had slept for almost eleven hours. “Fucking Alaska” She mumbled and jumped out of bed. She sent a text to Laurel letting her know she was getting ready to come back to the hospital and texted the driver to be downstairs in about fifteen minutes. Day 6 Sara in a coma“After spending his weekend in bed, Michael woke up Monday morning with a throat full of glass shards.” Ava said and stopped as she heard Laurel gasp. “What book is that?” Laurel said as she walked in.“The Harbor.” Ava said and held up the book. Laurel shook her head and walked over to give Sara a kiss on her cheek.“Her skin is starting to look better.” Laurel pointed at her face and Ava nodded in agreement. When the door opened and Dr. Raatika walked in, and they both looked up to see him. “Ladies.” He greeted and they both stood up as he moved over to Sara to check some tubes and vitals. He wrote down some notes on the chart and then put it down. “So, some good news, we are going to be able to move her from ICU down to a regular room for observation.” Laurel and Ava looked at each other and smiled. “When?” Laurel asked“Today, kidney function is back to normal, and everything is healing well including the few lacerations she received from what we believe was the accident. So now we can move her downstairs.” He said smiling. “This is a good thing.” “Thank you so much.” Laurel said, “So now all we are waiting on is her to wake up.” He nodded and quietly left the room. “We should let your dad know.” Ava said and she grabbed her phone and sent Quentin a text. “He might be asleep so this way he will see it when he wakes up.” Ava shows Laurel the text and she nods in agreement. “Hey, there wont be limits anymore so we can all be here at the same time if we need to be too.” Laurel said. “Nate and Ray have been asking if they can come up here?” Ava mentioned “Maybe now once she is in a regular room it would be ok.” Ava said “Yeah, I mean I don’t know why not, and they need to get here before school starts because they wont have time after.” Laurel said and Ava nodded. “Plus, maybe it’s good for to hear their voices you know.” “That’s what I was thinking maybe…” Ava stops and looks over at Sara. “Maybe it would help.” She turns back to Laurel. Three hours later the daunting task of moving Sara down to a new room was taking place. Laurel and Ava made sure to grab anything they had in the room they had been in for almost a week was picked up and coming with them. Ava sent a message to the legends to let them know she was finally leaving the ICU. Once they were in the new room, they realized it was a pretty good size and a lot more private. There was a long couch and some chairs in the room. Ava thought for sure Sara was in this room because of Nyssa. It looked almost like a suite. But after everything that had gone on Ava was not about to argue with Nyssa about anything. Sara was there and she was alive and that was all that mattered, Ava noticed the room was much quieter without a ventilator making noise. That was the best part of the move Sara no longer needed the vent so they were able to remove the tube coming out of throat. Once they were settled in Ava pulled out the book she had been reading and continued from where she left off. “Where was i?” Ava said out loud.”“Glass shards.” Laurel said laying down on the couch and looking up at the ceiling. As Ava nodded and started to read.Day 10 Sara in a coma“The three men cam stumbling into town shortly after ten a.m., babbling of dark shapes and eerie scream and their missing buddy Scott and other missing buddy Tim.” Ava read as Laurel burst through the door causing Ava to nearly drop the book out of her hands, she jumped up so quickly. “Jesus Laurel what the hell?” She yelled“Oliver woke up he is awake.” She said and Ava sat down slowly.“Is he okay?” Ava asked “Yes, he is awake and talking.” Laurel said“Did he say what happened?” Ava asked “No, he was getting tests done and we left the room but once they are done, I’ll go back and find out.” Laurel blurted out the words and looked around “Where is dad?” “He went downstairs to get some coffee.” Ava replied“Okay I am going to go tell him.” Laurel turned and then stopped looking back to Ava “This is good it means maybe Sara will wake up soon.” She turns and leaves. Ava turned to look at Sara and took a deep breath. “I wish you would wake up. I miss you.” She mumbled and picked up her book. “Okay back to One step too far.” Ava continues to read for at least an hour she had made it through about 4 chapters. When Laurel and Quentin made there way back into the room Ava looked up and put her book down. Laurel walked over and hugged Ava who was stunned at first but then returned the hug as they separated Laurel grabbed her and pulled her over to the couch where all three of them sat down. “We talked to Oliver.” Quentin said and motioned for Laurel to take over. “He explained that the boat had a faulty pump or something and they weren’t able to repair the issue. He put Sara in the inflatable and tried to help the captain and the crew fix the issue. The boat went down, and he swam away towards the inflatable, but he never saw the crew again. He floated for a while on a something that came off the boat that stayed afloat. Somehow Sara managed to get to him when she saw him floating and pulled him into the inflatable.” Laurel stopped and took a breath. “He said when he got in the boat he saw three bottle of water an some food packs not much but enough. He said he asked her when she grabbed them, he said she said that you told her about water survival after some class you took. And that water was important, so she had run and grabbed water and shoved them in her pants just in case. That lasted three days, and they lost their food during the storm. But after the storm they were in water that they could get fish and shrimp with the canopy by scooping it in the water. At some point they scooped up a turtle. And Oliver went to throw it back and Sara stopped him saying that you said drinking turtle blood could act as a water substitute if it was all that was available.” Laurel stopped talking looking at Ava who was staring at Sara as she spoke her eyes had never moved, clearing her throat. “I honestly thought it was such a neat class. And I rambled for twenty minutes about it and…” Ava stopped “I thought she wasn’t even paying attention. I remember having to call her name out and ask if she was still there.” Ava looked down at her feet. “Ava what were saying is that the things she did because you told her saved their lives. Oliver literally said Ava saved our lives.” Quentin said. And Ava looked at him and then back to Sara. “I just want her to wake up.” Ava mumbled. Laurel put her arm around Ava’s shoulder and leaned her head on her shoulder. Ava tilted her head to rest on Laurel’s. Day 13 Sara in a coma“It’s like all those quiet people, when they do lose their tempers the lose them with a vengeance.” Ava read and Laurel started laughing from over on the couch laying down scrolling through her phone causing Ava to put down her book and look back at her. “What?” “You were one of those quiet people and then you kicked Nyssa’s ass.” Laurel chuckled as she said Ava rolled her eyes and turned back towards Sara. “You’re sister has lost her mind.” Ava said and she saw Sara move her arm and froze for a second. They had seen some twitches her and there and they always made Ava hold her breath. She watched and when she saw nothing else, she looked back at her book trying to find her place. “Dammit I lost the page I was on.” She said as she thumbed through the book.“Ava.” A small whisper from Sara caused Ava to jump up out of her seat and freeze standing. Looking at Sara. Laurel looked at Ava and sat up on the couch Ava held her breath she knew she heard it she wasn’t imagining it. “Ava?” her small voice said again, and this time Laurel heard it and jumped up running toward the bed to look at Sara. Ava and Laurel stood still neither of them dared to breath for fear the moment would pass and she would slip away again. They watched as Sara slowly opened her eyes it almost looked as if it was painful. Laurel and Ava both took a step forward their eyes on Sara. He eyes looked as if they were adjusting to the light in the room.“Sara?” Ava said quietly and Sara looked over at the tall blonde and almost looked confused at the sight. “Where is Ava?” Sara asked looking at Ava. Ava looked over at Laurel concerned. “Sara?” Laurel said and Sara eyes moved to where laurel was standing and had the same look on her face. “Laurel is that you?” Sara asked “You…” She looked back at Ava and then back to Laurel “You got older.” Sara said and then looked back at Ava. “Ava?” And Ava nodded slowly to her, and Sara’s eyes filled with tears. “What happened what’s going on? Why are you older?” Sara asked almost pleading for an answer. “I am going to get the doctor okay and maybe he can find out what’s going on.” Ava said and quickly leaves the room. Ava rushed over to the nurse’s office and told them Sara was awake but seemed confused and she asked for them to page Dr Raatika and get him here as soon as possible. The nurses jumped into action one coming right into the room and the other picking up the phone to call the doctor. Ava pulled her phone out and called Quentin who happened to be coming around the corner towards the room at that time. “Hey.” He said as he held his phone out towards her. “She woke up.” Ava blurted out and he quickly turned around and walked towards the door disappearing into the room. Ava stood at the nurse’s desk for a moment her mind a mess right now. What else did she need to do; she was awake, and something was wrong. It was like she knew who she was but not this old. Did Sara have amnesia or something? She needed the doctor to get here before she spiraled out of control with confusion. The nurse hung up the phone and said he would be there in ten minutes. Ava nodded and walked back to the room quietly entering back into the room. Sara tried to ask questions she didn’t seem to understand what was going on. Quentin tried to explain but the shocked look in Sara’s face showed that she just didn’t understand. Sara met Ava’s eyes and while Quentin was talking to her Sara just kept her eyes on Ava titling her head in confusion. Ava just stood there trying to be strong trying not to breakdown hoping the doctor would hurry up and get there and explain what the hell was going on. Oliver had woken up with no issues he wasn’t confused he knew who everyone was he didn’t seem to think they were all too old. Laurel sat down next to Sara and told her she would answer any questions she had. Ava stood in the room away from the bed and listened most of the questions were simple how old they were, what happened, why was she in the hospital, and if Oliver was okay. Since she had learned he was on the boat with her. Finally doctor Raatiko showed up and he started to ask Sara questions while he did an examine. He finally took the time to explain what he believed was going on. “It’s called PTA or Post Traumatic Amnesia, its something that happens after a traumatic brain injury. It is like a state of confusion. She might ask the same questions more than once and that is okay.” He looked at Sara who had tears in her eyes. “It’s not permanent Sara.” He said reassuringly. “For mild cases this may only last twenty-four hours for more severe cases it could be a couple weeks.” “But she will get better?” Quentin asked.“I believe so yes.” Dr. Raatiko explained “Just give it time and give her time.” He smiled wrote some things on her chart and then made his way to leave stopping at Ava and looking at her. He leaned in “She will be ok.” Putting his hand on her shoulder and squeezing lightly. “Ava.” Sara said and Ava raised her eyes to meet Sara’s who was holding out her hand to her. Ava made her way over to Sara and took her hand.“Hey you.” Ava said quietly“You grew up.” Sara said and Ava smiled and looked at her eyes looking over Ava. “We all did.” Ava quietly replied. “Wh…What’s the last thing you remember?” “You, punching Nyssa.” Sara laughed and Ava rolled her eyes which caused Sara to stop and smile. “You still do that.” She pointed at Ava.“Do what?” Ava asked sitting down in the free chair next to Laurel.“Roll your eyes when I say something funny.” Sara said and raised her eyebrows. “Most of the time I do it when you say something stupid.” Ava replied. “Jerk!” Sara said and then laughed.Sara spent the next hour just asking a lot more questions and laughing at some of the answers. Ava was glad to hear her laugh and smile even though she mentally thought it was six years ago. Ava found herself deep in thought, what didn’t she remember right now. She recalled the nasty breakup of her parents and then quickly apologized to her father who told her not too. But she didn’t remember anything with Ava beyond the fight with Nyssa. Sara finally gave in to exhaustion and fell asleep leaving Ava, Quentin and Laurel sitting in shock. Ava was trying to figure out how to navigate this new development. The doctor said it was only temporary so eventually she would recall everything but until then the questions she had were kind of hilarious. She asked about the legends and was impressed by most answer the one that shocked her was Zari and Nate dating. She laughed a lot at that one when Ava told her. And in Ava’s mind the only thing she could think was Sara was laughing she didn’t care if she had to tell her every moment of her life if she could just to hear her laughing. Sara was alive and this was a world that Ava could manage. The next day Sara was mostly resting but when she was awake, she was agitated all the time it seemed. A nurse had stopped by and let them know that it was normal for this to happen. Sara managed to snap at all three of them at some point. Quentin just took it and Laurel more or less got irritated with her. Ava on the other hand didn’t know what to do so when she was left alone with Sara, and she woke up Ava mentally prepared herself not wanting to cause more upset. “You’re a lesbian?” Sara said looking at Ava who looked at her rather shocked by the statement, and then it dawned on her where Sara’s mind was. They had and argument and then the whole Nyssa situation happened. In Sara’s mind she was still in that timeframe, and they hadn’t discussed Ava’s revelation. “Yep.” Ava answered, she figured short answers maybe wouldn’t get a bad response from Sara. But she was wrong.“Yep?” Sara asks loudly “I mean don’t you want to talk about it with me?” She asked looking at Ava like she going to punch her. “Sara, we have talked about it. You just don’t remember the conversation.” Ava replied quietly. “Well tell me what we talked about.” Sara insisted and Ava looked at her taking a breath.“Okay.” Ava said “Well we talked about how scared I was, and you told me it was nothing to be afraid of. And then you honestly asked me about every girl in school and if I thought they were good looking.” Ava finished and with a smile. “And then…we just moved on; we never really made a big deal of it.”“Well, how did you come out?” Sara asked“To who?” Ava asked and Sara looked at her curiously “To our friends.” Sara said looking at her like she should have known that answer. Ava on the other hand was not sure how to word this since it directly involved locking lips with Sara in the hallway at school. “So, that’s a weird story that involves Lance.” Ava mumbles and Sara motions for her to continue. “Okay umm... so he asked me out and this was after like tons of guys kept asking me out and it was getting annoying. But it was Lance and well we weren’t fans of his so I umm showed him why I couldn’t go out with him.” Ava smiled and tried to leave it there. “Showed him?” Sara asked eyebrow raised. “I…I may have kissed a girl in the hallway.” Ava mumbled and looked down and Sara started to laugh.“Oh my god I wish I could remember that. Who did you kiss?” Sara asked looking at her and Ava’s eyes moved up and she hesitated in answering the question. “Who was it?” Sara asked again seeing Ava’s hesitance.“Maybe we should talk about something else.” Ava said and looked down. “Oh, come on I am trying to remember you have to tell me. Was I there did I like root you on?” Sara asked giggling and Ava leaned back in her chair. “You were definitely there.” Ava said her eyebrows raised.“So?” Sara asked, “Fucking tell me already.” Sara said in an angry voice, there it was the irritation Ava had known she would probably see. “Fine.” Ava said and looked up not looking at Sara “You! I kissed you.” Ava blurted out. “Holy shit!” Sara said covering her mouth. “Was it good?” She added and Ava rolled her eyes and started to blush and chuckle.“Of course, that would be what you asked?” Ava said shaking her head“Well?” “Yes, Sara it was a good kiss.” Ava said quietly and Sara laughed.“Well as long as it was good, I guess that’s cool. Was I mad?” Sara asked and Ava shook her head “no” and Sara nodded and smiled. They talked for a while just talking about high school. Ava wished she had her journals so she could give Sara more information. She told her what she could remember and then they just talked about current things going on. How everyone was in college where they all were. Ava figured if it would help that was all that mattered, she would answer any questions Sara asked. They were laughing about a story Ava had just told about Wally and Jax trying to ask out girls to prom. When the door opened, and Oliver rolled in sitting in a wheelchair. Ava hadn’t seen him since the first day when she walked Laurel to his room and saw him hooked to all the machines. Ava had made it point not to go and see him. Sara had gotten on the boat with him and she didn’t know why and deep down she felt like maybe Sara was maybe dating him. Ava did not care to see that. She more or less wanted to punch Oliver at this point much like she did with Nyssa. She looked over at Sara who had a curious look on her face as the man wheeled into the room. She didn’t know who it was based on the look on her face. “Oliver.” Ava said looking at Sara and she looked over at Ava and nodded at her. “I’ll leave the two of you to talk.” Ava stood up and started to walk past Oliver who stopped her by grabbing her wrist and looking up at her. “Thank you, Ava.” He said and Ava kept a straight face and nodded then turning to leave the room. As she closed the door, she saw Laurel coming down the hallway.“Hey, is she asleep?” Laurel asked“No, Oliver is in there.” Ava said looking down. “I really didn’t want to be in there with that.” She motioned towards the room. “Ava, we have no idea what is going on between them.” Laurel said. “I asked Oliver and he wouldn’t answer.” “Yeah, not answering, that kind of implies what the answer is.” Ava mumbles. “I am going to go downstairs and call my parents. “Ava turned to leave, and Laurel grabbed her by the wrist, and she turned back quickly. “Ava, everything is going to work out.” She said and pulled Ava into a half hug. “I sure hope so.” Ava said and turned and walked away. Ava went downstairs and went into a small café near the hospital, she didn’t call her parents she just wanted to get away from everything. She had just spent an hour with Sara telling her stories from high school and it was weird. She didn’t tell her about kisses they had shared or that night. The night she dreams about on a regular basis. Ava felt like those were precious moments and she wanted to let Sara remember those herself. She didn’t know how she felt about them so they only perspective she had was her own. She can remember everyone breath of every second of those kisses as they have played over in her mind for years. Ava began to wonder if Sara might have felt the way she did when they kissed. Did she get the same feeling? Did she feel that when she kissed other people because Ava knew now that so far it had only ever had been that way when she kissed Sara? Not that she had a lot of experience but in her mind why kiss people when it didn’t come with that feeling. The next few days were much of the same asking random questions and Sara getting irritated easily. Ava sat back and chimed in when needed to fill in gaps if Quentin and Laurel didn’t know how to explain something that had happened. Oliver kept coming by and checking on Sara, Laurel explained that he wasn’t allowed to walk around because of the neurological concerns. If Sara had wanted to get out of her bed, she would have to roll around in a wheelchair also. The nurses said in the next few days they would start working on getting her out of bed. Sara slowly started to remember some things here and there and they were In random order. She remembered the hallway kiss and told Ava how it had shocked her. They had a laugh over Ray pushing Lance against the locker. She asked if Ava still had the recording and Ava had responded she did on a memory card somewhere packed away. And then one day Sara just looked at her and said simply I remember. Ava knew that meant Sara was back and she remembered New year’s.
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Sara managed to start moving around in the room but got tired easily, she also had headaches that tended to cause the irritability and anger. Ava tried everyday not to loose her head when Sara would snap at her or Laurel. Quentin had flown back to Star City as he was needed back at work, Laurel and Ava spent most of their time with Sara and they both tended to leave when Oliver came to see Sara. Laurel and Ava were sitting at the café by the hospital drinking coffee, Ava had her head down in a book she had started to read to Sara but hadn’t finished because she woke up and Ava wanted to finish it and find out who the killer was. Laurel was just people watching when she decided now was a good time to talk to Ava about feelings. “Ava?” Laurel asked to get her attention and Ava looked up at her. “When are you going to tell Sara?” “Tell her what?” Ava replied.“That you love her.” Laurel said watching people pass by. Ava took a deep breath and closed her book and put it on the table. “I…I had a date planned you know.” Ava said, “But this all happened.” “Right but she remembers now, and she is doing well. The nurses said they may even discharge her soon.” Laurel said“Wait when are they thinking that’s going to happen?” Ava asked and Laurel looked over at her. “I overheard them talking about it today at the nurses station. They said the doctor will do another MRI and hopefully release her sometime next week.” Laurel smiled “I think she has pissed all of them off.” “Yeah, I saw her yell at one of them and I truly thought that lady was going to punch her in the face.” Ava said, “And I would have let her Sara yelled at her because the Jell-O flavor was gross.” Ava snickered“You’re avoiding my question.” Laurel said raising an eyebrow and Ava let her shoulder fall a little and leaned back in her chair. “Laurel I don’t know honestly.” Ava says looking around and then back to Laurel “All of this and now Oliver is here I mean she seems to have made her choice.” “Ava, she doesn’t know how you feel?” Laurel turned towards her. “What if you tell her and she chooses you.” “And what if I tell her and she doesn’t?” Ava asks “That is something I have to live with. Me. No one else I have to have my heart broken again and pick up the pieces and I lose Sara forever.” “Why would you lose her forever?” Laurel asks and Ava snorts at the question.“I would love to stay and watch her be happy with Oliver.” Ava says sarcastically and Laurel tilts her head. “Ava.” Laurel grabs her hand. “I…”“Exactly, you don’t know.” Ava says and takes another deep breath. “Let’s just focus on helping her get better and maybe get out of here and back home. And then we can figure out the rest okay.” “Okay.” Laurel says giving up Ava takes a sip of her drink and picks her book up and goes back to reading. “I still think she would choose you.” Laurel mumbles and Ava eyes her over her book. The next couple of days go the same as this one. Oliver comes in and Laurel and Ava go take some time to themselves they also venture around town finding some cute little stores and small restaurants. They just go about everything day to day. Sara is getting stronger on her feet and absolutely hates being a wheelchair all the time. Ava found herself sitting next to her and reading to pass the time as she slept or talked to Laurel. Ava and Laurel had picked up her up a replacement phone and she was able to talk to pretty much everyone and let them know she was dying of boredom in the hospital. “So, are you ready to talk about it yet?” Sara asked and Ava looked up at her, putting her book down on her lap. “What do you want to talk about?” Ava asked she smiled“Well, I would like to talk about that night.” Sara said and Ava got visibly nervous, and Sara noticed. “Why did you leave?” “I…I wasn’t ready to talk yet.” Ava said looking down and playing with her hands. “I just…I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.” Sara said quietly. “Why are you sorry?” Ava asked“I shouldn’t have let it go that far. I obviously pushed you to far. I had no idea that would happen I actually thought you were going to hit me.” Sara chuckles looking away and then back to Ava whose brow was creased. “I wouldn’t have hit you.” Ava said kind of shocked Sara would think she could ever do something like that.“You were really mad.” Sara said“I was but, I would never hit you.” Ava said“I should have stopped it.” Sara said looking at Ava whose mind was screaming just ask her find out.“Do you regret it?” Ava asks nervously. “Do you?” Sara asks quietly, and Ava looks down, playing with her hands again her thoughts causing her a headache. She takes a deep breath in and looks up at Sara making sure to meet her eyes. “No.” Ava says sternly. “If I didn’t want to do it, I would have stopped it from happening.” Ava keeps eye contact with Sara who looks down. “I feel like I took something from you that you were saving for someone else.” Sara said. “Sara, I…” Ava starts and is interrupted by Laurel bursting in with Nate and Ray. “Look who I found!” Laurel loudly announces as Ava and Sara snap to look at the door. Both quickly put on huge smiles and Sara starts to move to get out of the bed and Ava is right there to help her. They make eye contact and smile at each other. Sara gets to her feet and is able to hug her visitors. Ava takes the opportunity to go get some air. That was becoming an intense conversation one she wanted to have but at the same time she was thankful it was interrupted. She made her way downstairs and walked out the main doors to the hospital and took a deep breath in and a long breath out. She decided to take a walk. After a while Ava found herself somewhere she didn’t recognize, she had walked much further than her and Laurel had walked prior. She pulled out her phone and called her car and told him the cross streets she had stopped at. When he showed up, she jumped in and asked him to take her to the hotel. Maybe she would go get a shower and take a nap. Just to relax a bit and no she wasn’t avoiding that conversation with Sara. Or maybe she was. She had almost said something, and fate intervened by way of Nate and Ray. And almost immediately the fear of rejection was in her mind. The fear of losing her was there in the forefront. But Laurel was right, what if she did choose her, she needed to stop running from it and face it head on. She either gets the love of her life or she doesn’t, and she had to stop avoiding the issue. It was well past the date she had set for herself it was nearly August. When she woke up, she could hear voices in the living area of their suite, and she rolled out of bed from her nap and headed to the kitchen area where she was greeted by Nate and Ray. She hadn’t seen them since the night they found out about Sara. She was greeted by bear hugs from both, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Hey director.” Nate said as he let her go and she rolled her eyes. “Missed you guys.” Ava said and went and grabbed a bottle of water. “How was your flight?” “About how you would expect.” Nate replied“Hey, I hate that Nora couldn’t come.” Ava said looking at Ray“She worked really hard to get that internship, she really wanted to come up here, but I understood.” Ray said“I get it.” Ava replied “So, you quit the Academy?” Ray mumbled and Ava made her way over to the couch and sat down motioning for Ray and Nate to follow. “I had to make a choice; it wasn’t easy but…” Ava watched them as they sat down. “I mean things weren’t going well with me mentally even before all of this happened, so I think it was the best thing to do.” “So, are you going to start school in Star City?” Nate asked“I haven’t really had time to think about any of it honestly. But that was my plan. Except I may have to take a semester off because I think I missed the transfer deadline.” Ava replied.“I mean you could probably help with Sara’s recovery.” Ray said his smile bright. “I cant believe we almost lost her.” Nate said quietly, Ava and Ray looked at him. “But we didn’t buddy and that’s all that matters.” Ray said and Ava nodded“Yeah, we need to make a rule for her no more boats.” Nate chuckled. “Did you tell her that?” Ava said with eyebrow raised. “No.” Nate said “Good when you do I want to be in the room.” Ava laughs“Why do you say that?” Ray asked“Well honestly since this whole waking up and brain amnesia stuff, she easily loses her temper.” Ava looks at them and then plays with the label on her bottle. “I mean anything could set her off, the doctor says it should go away but it’s been very…” Ava looks for the words. “Trying.” Ava says and chuckles taking a drink of her water. “She seemed to be in a great mood today.” Ray said“I’m glad because yesterday she got so pissed off because her food wasn't hot, I thought she was going to throw the tray at the nurse.” Ava laughed and Nate and Ray both laughed. “But she's here, she's alive.”“Right, and by the way nice place you guys have here.” Nate motions around him. “Nyssa.” Ava says “We have a driver, this place to stay and even Sara’s doctor is her cousin. I mean she really just shocked me with everything she did.” Ava said and she saw Nate make a face. “I wish it was anyone but her.” Nate replied“I know trust me I know but, at the same time I’m grateful she helped.” Ava said“Yeah, well I’m not signing the thank you card.” Nate mumbled and Ava chuckled. “Wait, am I supposed to send her one?” Ava asked sarcastically. “So, what are you doing tonight?” Ray asks“Oh, I am going to head over and pick up some books from the bookstore and go back to the hospital and switch out with Laurel. You guys should go to dinner or something. We rotate in and out so tomorrow night I can go with you guys.” Ava said smiling. “That sound like a plan to me.” Ray said as he watched Ava get up. “Well, I’m gonna get ready and head out. You guys just hang out here and Laurel will be back soon.” Ava said as she smiled and walked away. Ava made her way to the bookstore and picked up four books, two of them were comic books. Sara had come across one in a waiting room not to long ago and said it was interesting, so Ava thought why not get her some to read. As much as Ava liked reading to her Sara tended to get bored with the thriller books that Ava was reading. By the time she made it to the hospital Laurel was actually outside waiting for the car. “Hey, I’m headed over to that Italian restaurant to meet Ray and Nate, do you want me to get you something?” Laurel asked “No, I’m good but thanks for the offer.” Ava replied as she gave her a hug. “Have fun those two are entertaining.” Ava smiled and walked into the hospital and Laurel nodded and jumped in the car. “Hey, I brought these books for you.” Ava said walking in and seeing Oliver sitting in a wheelchair on the side of Sara’s bed. “Hey Oliver.” Ava mumbles.“Ava.” He said Ava looks around the room and then back to the two.Ava looked down and saw the two were holding hands and then took a few steps to be on Sara’s other side and laid the books down on her bed next to her. “Hey, I am going to head back to my room I’ll come visit later.” Oliver said and Sara nodded. “Bye Ollie.” Sara said as he rolled out as Ava’s eyes followed him out of the room. “He is getting discharged soon.”“Oh.” Ava said and turned back to Sara. “He just came and told me the news.” Sara said. “Are you and him?” Ava started to ask using her hands to explain the rest the question putting them together. “I don’t know I mean…Maybe.” Sara said and Ava rolled her eyes. “What Ava?” Sara crossed her arms across her chest. “You don’t approve? Again?” Ava moved towards the door and put her fingers to the bridge of her nose, Sara is so easily angered now it was becoming hard for Ava to keep her cool.Ava took a moment to think, she wants Oliver and not her. Her mind went to an angry place she didn’t know how to word what she wanted to say. That was not the answer she was hoping for. Sara obviously didn’t want her she wanted Oliver and Ava had lost her chance. She took a deep breath.“It’s not that I…” Ava started as she turned back to Sara. “Oh, that’s exactly what it is, you don’t approve.” Sara said, “Just like with Nyssa and Sam.” “What?” Ava says, “I mean those are horrible comparisons” Ava said.“What is this?” Sara asks motioning between the two of them. “I mean why are you even here?”“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” Ava asks in shock“I am.” Sara says“You’re my best friend Sara.” Ava says looking at her.“Are you?” Sara tilts her head. “Because I mean sometimes you are, and then sometimes we are something different. And then we’re best friends again.”“Sara?” Ava says but Sara cuts her off. “Oh, I know we can’t talk about it because you never want to talk about it.” Sara grunts “WE kiss you don’t want to talk about it. WE hold each other and you leave and act all kinds of weird and WE don’t talk about it, and then I try and talk to you about it and WE sleep together, and WE DON’T TALK ABOUT IT!” Sara gets louder. “You want to talk about something?” Ava says getting louder and standing at the foot of Sara’s bed. “Let’s talk about the fact you got on a boat and died.” Ava says“I didn’t die.” Sara said holding up her arms motioning to herself Ava starts to shake her head.“What more of a sign do you need to tell you being with Oliver is a bad idea. The boat fucking sank Sara.” Ava said “And we thought you were dead. I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! For FIVE FUCKING DAYS” Ava yelled.“What I want to do in my life is none of your business, who I date, who I sleep with, none of it is your business.” Sara yells as Ava lowers her head and looks down. “I think you should leave.” Ava looks up at her in shock.“Are you asking me or telling me?” Ava asks gritting her teeth doing everything she can hold back the tears. “Telling you!” Sara says looking at Ava. “I see…Okay.” Ava says and turns to grab her stuff and walks to the door, but Sara’s voice stops her. “You know I have a question before you leave.” Sara says sternly“What Sara?” Ava says not looking at her. “Why didn’t you ever kiss me, except that night I mean when we were arguing.” Sara asked and Ava felt the tears falling now she didn’t want to look up, she didn’t want to look at Sara not now. She just wanted to leave and get as far as she could away from Sara. She didn’t want her; she had made her choice. “Because you never asked me too.” Ava said opening the door and walking out quickly, as quick as her feet could take her. The tears falling uncontrollably, she just needed to get as far away as possible.Ava hadn’t lied in all the time since their agreement Sara had never asked her not unless she was just messing with Ava. Most of the time when she was doing something wrong, and she knew Ava was looking at her like she was going to get in trouble she would whisper kiss me and they would laugh. But Sara had made it clear, her life and choices were no longer Ava’s concern. She knew Nate and Ray had gone to meet Laurel for dinner, so she rushed into the hotel throwing everything in her bag not even caring if it was folded or not, she was just ready to get out of there. Oliver won, he got the girl and Ava was left broken and she wasn’t about to be broken in front of anyone. So, Ava called the car to take her to the airport she was leaving. Sara wanted her gone so she would leave because Ava loved her and if she was causing her pain then she would step away. She knew this could happen she knew that there was always a chance where she ends up alone, her heart might be broken but someday maybe she would be able to breathe again without it hurting. Ava made two phone calls on her way to the airport. She called her parents and then she called a friend. She jumped in the waiting car, and it took her to the airport, she walked to a sales counter and bought a ticket. She went through security and waited patiently to board the plane. Before they called her boarding class, she looked at her phone. Multiple missed calls from Laurel, Nora, and Nate. She swiped across the screen deleting the notifications, she opened a text and sent it to Laurel, and it simply said. “I am doing what she asked me to do. I’m sorry.” And with that Ava stood up and walked towards the person taking tickets and disappeared into the long hallway that leads to the plane. As Ava walked got off the airplane, she looked for the signs for baggage claim and headed in that direction. She walked through the airport and noticed all the glass windows and huge steel white beams it was a beautiful airport. Nicest one she had ever been in if she was honest with herself. She managed to get to baggage claim and wait for her bag. After a few minutes she finally saw it drop down on the carousel she reached over and grabbed it once it was within arm’s length. She headed for the pick-up area and waited patiently. “Shit Ava, sorry about that I had a hard time finding a place to park.” The voice from behind her called out. “You didn’t have to wait long, did you?” Ava turned to see Amaya walking up and Charlie making their way up looking irritated behind her. “No, I just got here a few minutes ago.” Ava said “Well, if this idiot over here hadn’t driven in circles, we could have met you at baggage claim.” Charlie said pushing Amaya and moving in to embrace Ava. “How was the flight?” “Long.” Ava responded breaking the hug, and Amaya stepped in and hugged her. “I bet.” Charlie said. “Look guys thank for letting me come out here I…” Ava started but stopped as Amaya broke her embrace. “Ava, you don’t have to say anything.” Amaya said seeing the pain in Ava’s eyes.“Just, Thank you.” Ava replied.“Anytime!” Charlie grabbed her bag from her “You’re going to love London.” Charlie said smiling and started to lead the other two woman away. Amaya linked arms with Ava and pulled her with her following Charlie. “So, we’ll talk about it later, right? Amaya asked knowing maybe was not the time to pry. “Yeah, that works. For now, I’m starving and tired.” Ava laughed “Not sure which order to put those in honestly.”
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The thing about London that Ava was learning to love was all the parks they had. Ava had been in London for two weeks now and had found a good running route she enjoyed, and she usually ended up in a park enjoying the view for a little while. She enjoyed the solitude and the time to think, even though thinking tended to lead to crying. She hadn’t checked messages the only thing she had done was send Nora and email to communicate with the legends she was traveling and wouldn’t be on family calls once they had resumed. She had learned from Amaya that Sara had been discharged and was back in Star City with her father and Laurel. So, since she was discharged, she had arranged for zoom calls to resume but Ava was not ready for that. She hadn’t explained why or where she was traveling to the Legends and had asked Amaya and Charlie to not say anything. She needed time away from everyone she needed time away to clear her head. Ava did online therapy twice a week with a therapist in Star City, she made sure to call her parent twice a week. She would text Shannon and check up on her, but she never gave details about where she was or what she was doing. But she wanted her to know she was still there if she needed to talk. Today was the first family call since everything had happened, and Ava was in the kitchen when Amaya joined. Ava could hear everyone loud and clear, she listened to them ask Sara questions about her recovery and how she was doing. Shannon talked about the beginning of her sophomore year and how she had made the debate team. The conversation went well until the subject of Ava came up and she looked at Amaya who just stayed quiet as everyone started talking about where they thought she was. Mick had said she probably was in Mexico which Ava shook her head at over hearing. Wally said she probably chose to go back to the Academy which was debunked by non-other than Sara because she had been in contact with Mona who said Ava didn’t come back. Ava wondered why Sara would have called Mona but didn’t let the thoughts linger to long, she couldn’t think about that she couldn’t read into what she was saying. Her therapist was trying to help her stop over analyzing everything. The conversation turned to school, and everyone had their things to say Sara was glad they were allowing her to return, and she hadn’t missed much. Wally said he was taking some business management classes at night which Ava was proud to hear. And when the call was over Amaya closed her laptop and went and sat with Ava at the table.“It was good to hear Wally is taking some night courses.” Ava said smiling“You know you cant avoid them for too long.” Amaya said“I know but right now I just I need some time.” Ava replied, “But just a few more weeks and hopefully I can jump on.” Ava smiled. “I spoke with Sara the other day.” Amaya said“Oh.” Ava said“Yeah, she said… She said you guys got into a fight and she told you to leave.” Amaya blurted out. “You haven’t really talked about anything so I thought I would ask.”“She is telling the truth that is what happened.” Ava said“So, you decided to come here all the way to England?” Amaya asked and Ava took a deep breath. “I know there is more to the story Ava.” “Yeah, well that’s it. She told me to leave, and I did. But I knew she would end up back in Star City and I needed some space and time so I came here so I could have that.” Ava said“Ava, I know you’re not telling me everything.” Amaya said“What do you want me to tell you?” Ava asked “Why you are running from Sara.” “Because she… SHE died…and it broke me. And I…I need time to fix me.” Ava said “And I cant do that if she is coming around or I can run into her. I needed to be far enough away that I could do this on my own.”“Okay, I am not going to pressure you into any other explanation. But I know there is more you aren’t telling me.” Amaya said. “But when you’re ready, I’m here.” “Thanks, you Maya.” Ava smiled Before she knew what she had done Ava had agreed to go to Liverpool with Charlie and her band. Charlie said she could be a stagehand and just help get everything setup and prepped for their concert. Ava was excited to travel somewhere outside of London the ride there however was awful. Jammed in a van with six sweaty guys and Charlie up front with the drummer who was driving, was four hours to long. Once they arrived at the hotel, they would be in for the next two days everyone went to go take a nap, but Ava was not tired, so she opted for a walk. They were staying at a hotel near the University of Liverpool, so Ava walked towards campus and ended up in front of the huge brick building that was University of Liverpool admissions. She stepped in the building and went to speak with the young lady behind the desk. Ava spent twenty minutes with the woman who gave her multiple pieces of paper explaining what she needed to attend college in the UK. Ava had told her about her grades and test scores. The woman was adamant that Ava would meet any criteria that they had based on what she was saying. She even gave her some information on their medical school. She said the most important part aside from being accepted was the student visa that Ava would need. Ava left the building feeling optimistic she had wanted to find out more about attending school in the UK just in case she decided to stay and possibly attend school here. She needed to start getting back on track, she had literally put everything on hold in her life and she felt better like she could start making plans again. She started walking back towards where the hotel was but saw a small park and took a slight detour. She found herself sitting on a bench watching some kids play cricket. A game that made no sense to her as an American, but she loved watching the kids laughing and playing. Her mind traveled back to a conversation with her therapist last week. He said that she had allowed herself to get so wrapped up in her fears of loss and rejection that she had forgotten how to stop and enjoy life. She had fallen so far down that dark hole of despair that she had started to feel like she wasn’t worthy of someone’s love especially Sara’s. And she had let it consume her, sitting here with a smile on her face just enjoying what was going on in front of her was one of the first times she felt like she was smiling in a year. Ava pulled out her phone and looked at the time it was seven at night which meant it was, as she thought hard it was eleven back home. She looked up a contact and pressed send and waited to hear the voice she was hoping to hear answer. “Ava?” Shannon said.“Hey there.” Ava said with a smile.“Where have you been? I have bee freaking out.” Shannon said. “I know, I’m sorry. I just I needed to take care of some stuff.” Ava said.“Ava, Mick said you left the Academy, and I got your email about traveling and stuff but, what’s going on?” she pleaded, and Ava kept her smile just hearing Shannon’s voice, she had missed her this kid had become like a sister to her. “I’ll tell you everything ok. But I need you to keep it to yourself for now. Please.” Ava said. “Okay hold on.” Shannon said and Ava could hear some moving around and then a door close. “I was on the couch in the living room watching TV with Blake.”“Who is Blake?” Ava asked“Oh, this new kid from school, super nice and super smart but his family life not so great.” Shannon said. “So, he ended up here last night. Mom let him sleep on the couch and they had a long talk this morning and she said if he needs to stay here, he can.” “You’re awesome you know that right.” Ava said, “And so is your mom.” Shannon laughs and she hears Ava laugh too. “Well, he is the newest Fresno Legend. So, we are up to seven now.” Shannon said. “Well look at you Cap.” Ava said proudly. “How is school?” “Going great actually we had our first debate competition last week and we did pretty good. We didn’t win but we were up against a really good school. But we noticed we keep getting better and were trying to play to our members strengths.” Shannon said.“I wish I could come to one of the debates.” Ava said.“Well, you’re traveling right? So maybe drive this way. Mom would let you stay here you know that. She loves you.” Shannon said. “It’s not that simple.” Ava said “I’m no t exactly in the country at the moment. So, driving on over wouldn’t be possible at the moment.” “Oh my god! Mick was right you’re in Mexico, aren’t you?” Shannon asked shocked“NO!” Ava laughed “He just wants a reason to go to Mexico and try and find me.” “Well, if you’re not in Mexico where are you?” Shannon asked. “That’s what I will tell you but only if you keep it to yourself. Only a couple people know where I am, and I really mean that Shannon only my parents and who I am staying with know.” Ava said, “And I will explain to you why once you agree to keep it to yourself.” Ava finished. “So, I cannot tell anyone. Not even Nora or Sara or Zari?” Shannon asked“I need this kept between us. I know I am asking a lot but, If its too much I wont say anything about where I am or why, and I will just keep calling you once a week to check in.” Ava took a deep breath. “I just, when I left, I didn’t mean not to call you and I don’t want you to think I gave up on you or anything. I meant what I said, I will always be here for you, and you will always have a friend as long as I breath.” “I know Cap. Oh wait Nate said you’re Director now.” Shannon chuckles. “I don’t get that nickname at all?” Ava says rolling her eyes“It’s almost like a promotion. Like a small step above Captain, Nate said you deserved because you kept everyone in line when Sara was making…let me get this right he said, and I quote -Dumbass idiotic choices that caused pain and or suffering to the group as a whole… I am pretty sure there was more but that kind of summed it up.” Shannon laughed. “Well, he isn’t wrong.” Ava said“Okay how about this, you don’t tell me where you are. I trust you and if you're safe than that’s all that matters. And you don’t have to tell me why you went. I already know why.” Shannon said“Oh, really then why did I leave?” Ava asked she wondered if Shannon really knew. “Because a boat sank.” Shannon said quietly “And that’s okay but you better start calling me again.” “You make me sick with how intelligent you are.” Ava said laughing. “I have an idea; I won’t tell you where I am, but I will send you picture and if you figure it out, I will not deny it.” Ava smiled.“Okay but they have to be weird obscure picture because you cant make it obvious like sending a picture of the Empire State building and I immediately guess you’re in New York.” Shannon said“Deal.” Ava replied. “Okay I should get off the phone I have somewhere I have to be. But i'll call you in a few days.” “Okay, director.” Shannon smiled as she heard Ava snort. Ava hit end on her phone and put it back in her pocket she stood up and started walking out of the park and back to the hotel. Helping out Charlie’s band was exhausting unloading and setting up a stage was way more work than Ava ever thought it could be. But she overall had a blast. While she was loading up the band’s equipment, she had a huge smile on her face. Charlie’s band had a pretty big following and the fans loved them. Ava now felt like she understood Charlie a little more, she had this passion and she followed it regardless. Ava had been back in London a few weeks it was October now and the days and weeks seemed to have flown by. Amaya and Charlie kept her busy, but she made sure to Call Shannon once a week. She had sent multiple pictures and Shannon had guessed tons of places but never said England. Her favorite guesses was when Shannon was adamant she was in Italy because Ava had sent a picture of race car. Ava had found a really nice little coffee spot near their flat and had decided to go sit and read a book sipping on her coffee as it was actually a pretty nice day out. Amaya had to work today, and Charlie was in Glasgow for the week. Ava found herself lost in her newest novel of murder and suspense when she heard her name and looked up to see someone standing at her table and she froze in shock. “Nyssa?” Ava whispered looking at the woman across from her, she had defiantly grown up since they last saw each other. She was in a nicely pressed suit her dark hair falling across her shoulder and her dark eyes piercing into Ava.
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“Nyssa?” Ava whispered looking at the woman across from her, she had defiantly grown up since they last saw each other. She was in a nicely pressed suit her dark hair falling across her shoulder and her dark eyes piercing into Ava.“What in the world are you doing in London?” Nyssa asked “Oh, I uhm…I “Ava stopped trying to explain and smiled “Please have a seat she motioned to the chair across from her. Nyssa nodded and pulled out the chair and took a seat looking at Ava curiously. “Is this awkward? I feel like it is.” Nyssa mumbled looing down at her suit running her fingers down her front to straighten the jacket. “Well, I mean I’d like to say it isn’t but…yeah it’s kind of is.” Ava said smiling “So again, I ask what are you doing here in London?” Nyssa asked, “I just assumed you went back to Star City with Sara when she was discharged.” Ava thought for a moment how exactly does she respond, what words would make sense, how did she explain this. “Amaya and Charlie live here now, and I am just visiting for a while.” Ava said and Nyssa tilted her head and looked at Ava for a moment and her face seemed to soften. “Oh” Nyssa said, “I take it things didn’t end well with Sara.” Nyssa asked“Nothing started with Sara.” Ava replied quickly. “But I thought that… you were.” Nyssa started to say, and Ava cut her off. “You weren’t wrong Nyssa.” Ava said she closed her eyes for a second and then opened them again to see Nyssa who genuinely looked sad for her. “I was…I mean I still am.” Ava looked down at her drink “She chose Oliver.” Ava takes a deep breath. “Ava, I am so sorry.” Nyssa said and Ava looked up at her and smiled. “I came here to figure out some stuff. And you know some space.” Ava said “I never got to thank you, everything you did. I mean if it weren’t for you.”“Ava I truly didn’t mind I mean it’s Sara and I know if you had the means you would have done the same thing.” Nyssa said and Ava chuckled.“Yeah, she has that effect on people, doesn’t she?” Ava smiled and Nyssa smiled. “That she does.” Nyssa added “I’m sorry did you want a drink I could get you something.” Ava asked“No actually I am meeting someone.” Nyssa said as she looked over Ava’s shoulder and her smile got bigger as she waved at someone.Ava turned to see a dark hared woman waving back at Nyssa. She was breathtaking and Ava couldn’t stop looking at her eyes as she got closer the were amazing. She had never seen anything like it before one eye was green and the other blue it was subtle difference, but it was mesmerizing, and Ava was utterly speechless. As the woman approached Nyssa stood up the greet the woman as they embraced Ava had not stopped looking and Nyssa started to laugh as the woman looked at her with a smirk.“Are you dating someone else behind my back?” The woman said, and her voice was sultry Ava was transfixed by the woman. When Nyssa snapped her fingers in front of Ava, and she blinked.“Oh my god I am so sorry. I just wow your eyes are amazing.” Ava blurted out and then covered her mouth. And stood up and the woman’s eyes followed her as she stood up and impressed by the blonde beauty. “Ava this is Lena, my girlfriend.” Nyssa said. “Hello, it nice to meet you. Again, I am so sorry.” Ava said feeling like an idiot.“Oh, you’re Sara’s Ava.” Lena looks at Nyssa and she nods.“I am not Sara’s anything apparently.” Ava snorts and sits back down. Nyssa motions to Lena and they both sit across from Ava. “Sorry.” “Why are you apologizing Ava?” Nyssa asked“Well, that was kind of rude I kind of just stared at your girlfriend and then I was kind of short just then. I’m a mess.” Ava said and looked down. “You said Sara chose Oliver?” Nyssa asked and Ava looked at her and nodded “Did she tell you that.”“I asked if they were a thing and she said yes pretty much and then we argued. and I told her, well I kind of said a boat sinking should be enough of a sign that she shouldn’t be with Oliver. And that was It, she told me to leave, and I did.” Ava said, she hadn’t planned on saying any of it, but it just came out. “I see.” Nyssa said and looked at Lena“Have you spoken with her since you left?” Lena asked and Ava met her eyes and felt calmer somehow. “no.” Ava said quietly. “There really isn’t anything to talk about. She made her choice and so here I am roaming around London.” “Ava.” Nyssa said “So” ava cut her off, “How are things going for you?” Ava said looking at Nyssa pleadingly, Lena put her hand over Nyssa’s and smiled as Nyssa looked at her. “We are going out for drinks tonight with some friends you should come out. It would be good to get to know someone who knew Nyssa when she was younger.” Lena said causing both Ava and Nyssa to laugh.“She doesn’t know our past, does she?” Ava said pointing at Lena and looking at Nyssa. “What?” Lena looked at Nyssa confused“Well, Ava and I weren’t exactly friends.” Nyssa said and Lena looked at her perplexed. “I do know she has a mean right hook.” Ava said chucking and then taking a sip of her drink.“What?” Lena asked“In my defense she has a mean right hook as well.” Nyssa said eying Ava and smiling. “You got a few good hits in.” “Well?” Ava said and chuckled “I still don’t take it back.” She said smirking. “I wouldn’t want you too honestly I needed it.” Nyssa said smiling. “I learned a lot about myself after that and I have you to thank for it.” “Well, if you ever need me to hit you again just call.” Ava snorted“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nyssa said“Is someone going to possibly explain this to me?” Lena said. “We were fourteen.” Ava said “And in love.” Nyssa added and Ava’s eyes went wide, and she looked at Lena.“Not with each other.” Ava replied quickly motioning between her and Nyssa.“With Sara?” Lena asked“Yeah” Ava said.“Well, you’re both adults now and your not fighting now so why not join us for drinks tonight.” Leans pulled a pen out of her purse and grabbed a napkin from the table and wrote an address down on it. She handed it to Ava. “Bring Amaya and Charlie if you want” Nyssa added smiling. “Charlie is out of town, but I’ll see if Amaya wants to come out.” Ava said looking at the napkin. “Great so we’ll see you tonight.” Lena said smiling. “WE have to go we are meeting some friends on the other side of town. It was lovely to meet you, Ava.” The three stood shaking hands and the couple left Ava standing there. Ava sat down looking at the napkin and thinking could she possibly be friends with Nyssa and her girlfriend. Nyssa seemed genuine in her concern and the way she looked at Lena she knew that look she knew she looked at Sara that way Nyssa was happy and in love. Ava decided to head back home and wait for Amaya to get home and tell her what happened. Ava actually wanted to go out and meet them it was nice to be around people she missed her friends and maybe this would be helpful going out and possibly meeting new people. Amaya came home from work and Ava was waiting for her. Ava jumped up from the couch and followed her into the kitchen watching her grab a water and Amaya looked up at Ava.“I had a run in today you’re going to be shocked about.” Ava blurted out. “Okay.” Amaya said slowly closing the fridge and looking at Ava leaning against the counter and waiting for Ava to talk. “Okay lets sit down because I feel like we should sit for this conversation.” Ava says motioning for Amaya to follow her back to the couch. Once they are sitting Ava grabs her water and takes a drink.“Ava?” Amaya asks“I ran into Nyssa today.” Ava said and put her water down. “Thank you for not saying that while I was taking a drink.” Amaya says laughing she puts her drink down. “Where I mean…how…Shit I don’t know what to say.” “I know right It was crazy you know that coffee place I found that I go to.” Ava said “I was just there sitting and reading my book and then there she was in the flesh. She sat down and asked me what I was doing here and I… well I told her you know and then her girlfriend walked up. And good lord Amaya her girlfriend is beautiful and so I made an idiot of myself but thankfully they didn’t judge me about it. I think maybe she gets that a lot.” Ava chuckled“Why?” Amaya asked“Oh, she has…well it’s crazy but I think she has one green eye and one blue, but I mean its mesmerizing its wow. And it’s like you can’t look away it’s a crazy subtle difference.” Ava said and Amaya smiled and chuckled. “So how did it go?” Amaya asked“It went really well. We talked for a little bit, and they invited us out tonight.” Ava pulled a napkin out of her pocket and handed it to Amaya who saw the address and her eyes went wide. “Ava this is a really exclusive club like you have to know someone to get in.” Amaya said. “Well, they said they wanted us to come so I mean I guess we can go if you want too.” Ava said“Do you want to go?” Amaya asked“I think I do actually, I mean I know Nyssa aren’t best friends or anything, but I think she kind of understands what I am going through.” Ava said and Amaya looked at her oddly and Ava realized what she had just said and looked down internally cursing herself for her slip. “Sara.” Amaya whispered looking at Ava waiting for a response. When Ava looked back up at Amaya, she knew she was right. “You are in love with her, aren’t you?” Amaya asked Ava closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “She chose Oliver.” Ava said quietly keeping her eyes closed and she felt arms wrap around her and she wrapped her arms around Amaya and felt the tears falling down her cheeks. Amaya let her cry for a moment and then Ava pulled away wiping her tears away. “Why didn’t you say anything? I mean you could have told me.” Amaya said. “You know everyone keeps saying that but, it’s not that easy to talk about it. I kept it buried for so long that I really did more damage to myself than anything else. Amaya, I tried to tell myself I would ruin everything if I said anything and ultimately, I ruined everything by not saying anything.” Ava said“Who is everyone?” Amaya asked and Ava took a deep breath and held up her fingers.“Nora, Laurel, and My mother.” Ava said holding up fingers to show how many people knew. “My father and Quentin know too but thankfully they didn’t try to talk to me about it.” “When did they find out?” Amaya asked Ava looked up to the ceiling. “Well Nora has known for a while I mean she kind of knew but I confirmed it after I….” Ava looked at Amaya “After we slept together.” She quietly added. “Laurel just kind of figured it out after the accident and then Nyssa seemed to already know somehow, and she said something on a call when she was on speaker and basically left all the adults in the room looking at me with shocked eyes.” Ava said. “So let me get this right, your in love with Sara, you slept with Sara, and somehow Nyssa knew.” Amaya asked. Ava nodded “When exactly did you sleep with Sara?” “New year’s.” Ava said“So how did Nyssa know, that’s confusing me.” Amaya added “I…” Ava said and stopped “You know what I am sick of being scared of saying this out loud.” Ava stands up and starts to pace. “I have spent years afraid of it and I fucking tired.” She said continuing to pace as Amaya watched. “Ava?” Amaya started and Ava threw her hand up to stop her. “NO!” Ava said sternly and stopped pacing and turned to Amaya. “Do you remember our first end of the year pool party? Ava asks and Amaya nods. “I think I knew she was different then; she was in the spare bedroom with me when I went to get extra towels and she started jumping up and down on the bed and I just remember thinking I am the luckiest person in the world to know her.” Ava said and looked down at her feet. “Then Nyssa happened.” Ava said and made her way back over to the couch and sat across from Amaya. “And I was trying to be a good friend at first like supportive, but she just kept getting further and further away from all of us. And I found myself having this feeling when I would see her. I thought it was because I missed her you know because she was with Nyssa. But then I would see her with Nyssa, and I would feel sick to my stomach. That’s when I knew for sure. And I was dealing with the fact that I thought I was gay so that was something all together on top of everything else. So, when I had to go and confront her it wasn’t just for you guys but for me too. I needed her to know she was hurting me, but I just didn’t tell her how much. I just kept that part to myself. And then the closet that damn seven minutes in heaven game.” Ava said and Amaya chuckled “You know Charlie was supposed to kiss you right?” Amaya said and Ava smiled and nodded. “Yeah, Sara told me, but you know why Sara switched right?” Ava asked“No, I never knew. Charlie said she just insisted.” Amaya said“Amaya, I had never kissed anyone before, and Sara thought if anyone should kiss me it should be her. So, she did and Amaya if there was any question about my feelings that moment cemented it. I was hers.” Ava smiled thinking about it. “And then I thought there was no way I could be hers because I would lose her friendship and I would lose the legends too, if we broke up it wouldn’t be the same and then I thought she just didn’t like me like that. I mean I know she saw me I definitely caught her looking a few times.” Ava chuckled.“Oh, she didn’t hide that well at all.” Amaya laughed “You in a bathing suit was her kryptonite.” Ava laughed out loud at that. “Yeah, I knew that, but it was physical attraction, and you know Sara. I mean any pretty girl or guy it was a thing with her. And I didn’t want to be that I wanted her I wanted to have her all not just some fun. But I kept talking myself out of saying anything because I was so scared, she would reject me. And then I went to college and tried to see if could move on maybe date and I failed at that I mean I stopped trying it was horrible. So, then I was like maybe I should say something but again I just talked myself out of it. And again, pushed it deep down to avoid it. And it actually started to cause issues like I was just sad all the time and lonely and not coping well. So, I tried to avoid Sara and I even pushed you guys away thinking it was for the best and it just made it worse. So, I called Nora and she helped I got a therapist and over the holiday break last year Nora stayed with me almost every second just so I wasn’t left alone. Until I was and Sara approached me, and we argued over the fact I was avoiding her, and I was so mad she wouldn’t listen, and I was going to throw her out of my room because she followed me up there arguing with me and instead of throwing her out, I got so close that I just reacted I kissed her and then it felt so good I didn’t stop.” Ava snorted and Amaya eyes went wide with shock. “Wow Ava, I didn’t think you had it in you.” Amaya said. “Neither did i?” Ava laughed “I hadn’t... I had never you know had sex before and I wasn’t even sure what I was doing my body just took over.” Ava said looking down embarrassed and then looked back up to see Amaya smiling at her. “How was it, I mean without the details like you know.” Amaya asked. “I can tell you that it was like everything disappeared and I only saw her, and everything I had kept inside every emotion I had held in came out. I was scared, I was excited, I was happy, I was sad, and I was weightless. Like there was nothing in the world at that moment except us and that moment. I have never felt so connected to someone like that I didn’t know you could feel like that with someone. I cried which she didn’t mind she held me and let me cry. And then we fell asleep, and I woke up and left, I woke up and wrote her a note and left. I went back to school the next day and made a plan. I was going to tell her on summer break everything and I called her and told her I wanted to be able to talk to her again just not about that night, so we did we talked a lot like twice a week, and everything was fine. Then she got on that damn boat with Oliver, and everything just stopped for me. I felt like I had died I had lost her, and I was never going to be able to tell her how I felt. I would never see her, and I would never be able to have a future with her. In an instant everything changed, then we found her, and that damn fear was back and then she chose Oliver, and I came here.” Ava said and let out deep sigh feeling like a heavy weight had been lifted she smiled at Amaya. “You officially know more than anyone I have never said all of that out loud to anyone not even my therapist.” she smiled. “So, you never told Sara?” Amaya whispered, “how you felt.” “I almost did but we were interrupted and then I was going too but then we fought. And she told me to leave.” Ava said “She made her choice. If she wants to be with Olivet than all I can hope for is her happiness. I just couldn’t be there to witness it Amaya I couldn’t watch them be together. I know everyone thinks I am strong but I’m not. I have literally hated every person she dated, I would actively avoid being around them and I was glad when I was at college for a while, so I didn’t have to witness her exploits at that point. But she would always call me and tell me.” Ava snorted and rolled her eyes. “Kind of the downfall to being in love with your best friend is the amount of over sharing that happens.” “I think you should get on the zoom call this week. The legends miss you and I think you can face her now even on a screen.” Amaya said. “If you’re tired of running from this then you need to stop running from it and we need to figure something out.” “What exactly do you mean?” Ava asked. “You’re in love with Sara and I am not letting you give up on that because after everything you just told me I am going to help you.” Amaya said.“Amaya she is with Oliver now.” Ava said “You think that means anything. It doesn’t because I need to you to know right now something about Sara when it comes to you.” Amaya said and Ava nodded “That woman would walk on water for you no matter who she was with. So, I know she loves you and I think that she has been hiding just like you have and its time the two of you got your heads out of your asses and actually expressed your feelings for each other.” “You think Sara loves me?” Ava asks in shock “I do and I think you both have the same problem I think you both are so afraid of losing each other that you keep pushing each other away.” Amaya said, “and honestly its getting really exhausting for the rest of us.” Amaya laughed “Amaya?” Ava said holding her breath.“You love Sara, don’t you?” Amaya asked and Ava nodded “Then say it. Say it out loud.” “I love Sara.” Ava said quietly “Louder Ava, I could barely hear you and if your going to say it to Sara you need to make sure she hears you.” Amaya smiled “I love Sara.” Ava said louder and Amaya grabbed her hand and smiled.“Fantastic we are going to make a plan and figure this out. But tonight, let’s go and meet up with your arch nemesis and her girlfriend and enjoy ourselves.” Amaya smiled and stood up. “Let’s go celebrate the fact your in love with Sara Lance.” Ava stood up and smiled at Amaya.“I am in love with Sara Lance.” Ava said loudly and smiled“Hell, yeah you are.” Amaya said laughing.
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Sara could feel herself slipping into the darkness, Oliver had passed out over two hours ago. They had managed to keep each other up taking shifts staying awake, it hurt to move it hurt to breath and her mouth was so dry she just wanted to let the darkness take her. She closed her eyes, and she could feel the sun on her face burning her more as she slipped into the darkness.
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“Ava…. Ava Sharpe, it’s nice to meet you.”
“I… I didn’t really have any friends.” Ava whispered
“If you guys got married and and you made him, take your last name, he would be Lance Lance.” Ava laughs
“Yeah, wow.” Ava breathed out
“Eyes up here Lance.”
“Did you like it?” Sara asked under her breath
“No, I didn’t not with her.” Ava whispered
“I can’t lose you Sara.” Ava said
“Ava…. You look beautiful.” Sara said
“Sara, you look great too… not that you don’t always look great, but you are stunning.” Ava blurts out
“Are you nervous?” Ava asks quietly
“This, I just need this.” Ava buried her head back into Sara’s shoulder.
“I got you.” Sara whispered
“One thing I can say about her she has the prettiest eyes I have ever seen.” Ava said
“Please don’t cry Sara.” Ava whispered
“it’s funny, you in the closet.” Ava chuckles.
“I’m scared because, I don’t want to ever lose you. Don’t you understand that?” Ava said
“Conquered by a Legend” Ava read out loud and smiled.
“You wouldn’t throw your best friend into the water.” Sara wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck
“I’m taking one for the team.” Ava jumped in the water
“I’ll miss you too Sara.” Ava whispered
“I don’t want to talk! No more talking.” Ava said
"Sara." Ava moaned
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Sara’s eyes shot open, and she sat up in her bed. Sweat soaked clothes she looked around her room and threw her covers off of her. Damn fucking dreams wont stop, she got up and started looking for new clothes to put on. She needed a shower now, she grabbed clothes and then moved into the bathroom to take a shower. The dream still fresh in her mind, that moment she thought she was dying the moment when she slipped into the darkness the last thoughts she had were of Ava. Her mind never let her rest, and the only person she wanted to talk to was gone. She had told her to leave, and Ava had all but fell of the fucking face of the planet. No one knew where she was not even her own friends. Sara thought for a while maybe they were keeping it from her but even Zari and Nora had told Sara they were worried about her because they hadn’t heard from her in a while. She had been discharged months ago and had heard nothing, she even went to the Sharpe’s house and Pam and Randy both said they weren’t really sure where she had gone but she called them every week and told them she was fine and safe. Sara was sure they kind of knew but she wasn’t going to push it with them. Laurel was mad at her for quite some time about Ava leaving she had told Sara that Ava was the reason she was even alive. Apparently Laurel and Ava had gotten close during her recovery and Laurel was devastated when Ava took off and just left her alone. She dreamt of the crash or the darkness most nights. So, a late-night shower was no longer a shock to anyone in the house. She had been back in school and was doing well but her heart was broken she was just moving through life numb at this point. She would go to the local bar and pick girls and guys just to have a fling and then leave as soon as it was over. But she was always numb, and she had looked for Ava to try and apologize but she just couldn’t find her. She wanted to tell her everything how she felt how she was the last person she thought of when she way dying but she was so stupid instead she got scared and lashed out at her and pushed her away. She just thought Ava would go back to the hotel and sleep and come back the next day she didn’t think she would jump on a plane and disappear. She wasn’t on their family calls which meant for sure she was on complete lockdown from everyone and that’s why even Nora didn’t know where she was. November it was fucking November it had been almost five months since she had last seen Ava. Well since any of them had, and it didn’t seem like that was going to change anytime soon. So, she stood in the shower letting all of emotions out crying like she did most nights. By the time she got out of the shower she could see the sun coming up and she grabbed her workout clothes and made her way out the door. A run to the gym and ana workout was what she needed. Right hook, followed by a left hook, a kick to the bag and then another right hook. Her muscles ready to give out but she kept pushing herself until she couldn't punch anymore. Sara finally let her arms fall down to her side and made her way to the bench where her bag was and say down grabbing her water and drinking it until it was almost gone. She took off her gloves and threw them into her bag and started to unwind the tape on her hands. She looked at her phone and saw it almost time for their weekly family call she needed to get home so she could be on time. So, she grabbed her bag and made her way outside walking home. By the time she got home she just wanted to curl up into a ball and fall asleep. But she couldn’t miss this call, they were planning the holiday schedule today. Everyone was getting dates for Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations. The first since her accident everyone was adamant they should be on the call and even Amaya and Charlie were going to be on the call. Everyone had decided they would for sure be home for Christmas break they all wanted to be there to ring in the New Year after almost losing Sara. But not Ava, she wouldn’t be there. And honestly that’s the only person Sara wanted there she wanted to apologize she wanted to grab her and hug her and never let her go. But she would neve have the chance; Ava would probably have someone already she would probably be visiting her girlfriend’s family for the holidays because that’s the kind of person Ava was. Sara opened her computer and sat on her bed against the headboard and opened her zoom call. She watched all the screens pop up and waited for hers to connect. Everyone started to say hello when another screen popped up and everyone stopped as Ava appeared on the screen. She looked good, better than good she looked relaxed and happy. Whatever she was doing or whoever she was doing Sara thought was working Ava looked like a goddess on the screen. “Hi guys.” Ava voice came through the screen breaking everyone from their shock.“Ava?” Zari said “That would be me.” She said and smiled “Where the hell are you?” Nora asked. “Shannon, have you figured out where I am yet?” Ava asked“No!” Shannon said with an angry face. “When I said send obscure pictures, I didn’t mean send pictures of chairs and random people walking their dogs.” She mumbled and Ava laughed.“Well then I cannot reveal my location yet.” Ava chuckled. “Are you seriously not going to tell us where the fuck you are.” Zari said angrily. “Not until Shannon figures it out.” Ava says sternly. “So let me get this straight we haven’t heard from you in months, and you have been talking to Shannon?” Nora asked “I sent emails letting you all know I was safe and sound. I just haven’t felt like talking.” Ava said “Oh, but you’re here now so lets talk.” Zari said. “How about I call you after and we can talk because todays call is important.” Ava said and smiled. “Are you really going to call me?” Zari asked. “As a matter of fact, I will call you and Nora at the same time so you can get all your anger out at the same time.” Ava said. “Fine but you better be ready Director because I am pissed.” Zari said. “Agreed.” Nora added and Ava smiled and nodded. “Shannon share those pictures that Ava sent to you, and we will help you figure out where she is.” Zari said.“Nope she can’t do that.” Ava laughed “That would be cheating.” “Dammit!” Shannon said, “Sorry Zari.” “Oh, it’s okay I’m gonna kick her ass when I see her again.” Zari said, “I would assume if you’re on this call you have dates for us.” “I may.” Ava smiled and Sara cleared her throat, and everyone went quiet.“Well, welcome back Ava speaking of dates lets get to this. Zari do you have the chart pulled up?” Sara said. She wasn’t staring at Ava on the screen and hoping she would say she would call her too and maybe Ava could yell and scream at her just so she could hear her voice. She could yell at her everyday for the rest of her life and she wouldn’t care as long as she was in her life. People were giving their dates and Sara just kept quiet watching how Ava was looking at her phone and marking the dates in her phone as people called them out. And then it dawned on her Ava was making plans to be here, so she would see her that meant Sara would see her again. “So, I can’t make it for Thanksgiving this year I already have plans.” Ava said. Sara thought yep, she has a girlfriend she is going there for Thanksgiving. “But I have December 18th as my fly in date for the holidays.” Ava finished. “What’s your flight out details Ava?” Zari asked as she typed. “Don’t have any.” Ava smiled, and Sara snapped out of her thoughts and had to repeat the words in her head. Ava wasn’t leaving she didn’t have a return date. “Okay so is it an open-ended ticket.” Zari asked, “I could put that on the form.” “No Zari, I am coming home and planning to stay.” Ava said Zari looked up to the screen and looked shocked. “Well, it’s about fucking time!” Nora shouted
“You had better call me today too.” Nate said, “I need to talk before you come home.” Nate said“Add me to that call.” Ray said. “Okay.” Ava smiled looking down at her phone “So I am calling Zari and Nora and then Ray and Nate.” “Just add all the guys on the call with Nate.” Wally said. “You know guys it would probably be easier if you just cussed me out right now.” Ava said I mean it just say it now. I know I disappeared and your all mad and I get that, but I had to do this for myself. So, I am not going to apologize to anyone for what I did but you can go ahead and yell at me.” “Okay.” Mick said very clearly “You left us and didn’t say goodbye, or even tell us where you went.” Ava’s eyes went wide at the sound of Micks voice. “After what we went through with Sara that was wrong. And we are pissed blondie.” “I am sorry Mick. That’s why I sent the emails I wanted you guys to know I was okay, and I was safe. And I promise I have been safe this whole time.” Ava said“Yeah, but you just stopped talking to us.” Nora said. “No, I sent emails every two weeks. I just didn’t call you guys; I was working through some stuff and honestly i needed to do it alone. I needed to be somewhere I wasn’t needed. I had to leave so I could get my head right.” “But we could have been there for you.” Nora said. “No see that is where you are wrong Nora. I would have used all of you as a crutch. That is the opposite of what I needed.” Ava said. “Are you happy?” Sara said it came out so fast she couldn’t stop the words from escaping her mouth. And Ava smiled at Sara’s question.“I am.” Ava said quietly. “Thank you for asking.” “So, we are supposed to forgive you for just being gone for months.” Zari asked.“I would hope you realize that I was communicating with you the best way I could. And now I was ready to be on the calls again so I will not miss another one. However, I do know there are consequences to missing calls so I will take the consequence.” Ava said, “Per the rules.”“Please standby.” Zari said muting her mic and turning her camera off.Sara watched the screen as Shannon’s screen went dark and her mic was muted. Everyone was waiting for Zari and Shannon to come back but the silence was not good. “You know I am getting worried at what they may plot against you.” Sara said and Ava laughed, she made Ava laugh.“You’re not the only one.” Ava replied, as they watched Nora’s Screen go off and her mic muted as well as Nates. “Well shit that’s not good.” Ava chuckled. “Nope.” Sara said popping the P Sara noticed that Wally, Jax, and Mick were all looking down playing with their phones like they were texting. Ava must have noticed as well; Sara was worried what was going on because she was not in the loop at all whatever consequence they were planning they were not involving Sara and that made her even more nervous. Finally, people screens started coming back on and everyone was back on the chat. “Okay you have missed three months’ worth of calls so there are three consequences per the rules.” Zari said.
“Okay just tell me.” Ava said. “First thing is we get to find out where you are.” Ray said Ava nodded “Next.” Ava asked“You start back to calling us on a regular basis.” Nora said and Ava laughs.“Is that a consequence?” Ava asked, “Or just a request.” “A demand.” Nora said and Ava nodded in agreement“Secondly when you are back you apologize to each and everyone of us by taking us to a place of our choosing.” Nate said. “Okay.” Ava said“And third, when we get off this call you have to call Sara.” Zari said and Ava took a deep breath and looked down. “No.” Sara said, and Ava looked up. “I overrule that.” Sara said “You are not going to make her do that without asking me first. Ava, you don’t have to call me.” “Sara.” Nora started but Sara cut her off. “Ava will call me when she is damn good and ready too. It WILL NOT be a consequence of her missing calls does everyone understand that!” Sara stern in her statement. “Fine, then thirdly when we get off the call you call me and Nora.” Zari said and Ava nodded.“Okay.” Ava said and then looked at the screen and smiled. “So, are you ready to find out where I am?” Ava said everyone nodded. “Okay give me a second.” Ava said and her call disconnected from the screen. “What the hell did she just hang up.” Zari said.“Did she do that on purpose?” Nora said and everyone started to mumble annoyed when they heard Ava’s voice saying she had done it on purpose and to shut up. Which confused them because she wasn’t on the call anymore. “Oww... That fucking hurt Ava!” Charlie yelled and everyone heard Ava laughing. And Charlie left her screen, and you could hear her throwing something at someone. Suddenly Amaya looked up from her screen and started laughing. “Guys.” Amaya started to move her screen and she showed Ava throwing small balls at Charlie while she kept yelling at her. And then throw the small balls back at Ava who started to reach around on the ground grabbing more and throw them at Charlie.“Ava I’m gonna kick your ass for Zari!” Charlie yelled and ran at her, and Ava moved quick enough that Charlie ran into the wall. Ava ran out of the room and Charlie followed her shouting and cussing at her as she ran past Amaya’s screen. “London??” Shannon said, “Why would she send me a picture of a dog in London?” “What kind of dog was it?” Ray asked “A corgi.” Shannon said and Nate started laughing “What?”“The queen has like a bunch of corgis. I am sure every picture she sent had some kind of reference with it.” Nate said. “Wait, are we going to ignore the fact that Ava has been with Amaya and Charlie this whole time?” Zari says“Well, I would like to say one thing. Nobody ever asked me if I knew where she was. Therefore, you cannot be upset.” Amaya said “Had someone asked I was very clear with Ava I would not lie, and she knew that. But now you know she has been safe this whole time and honestly, we work a lot, so she has had time and space to heal and deal with what she needed to deal with. That is what matters.” “Thank you, Amaya.” Sara said “Anytime Cap.” Amaya replied, “and just so everyone knows we would do that for any of you.” Amaya smiled. “All right lets wrap this up Zari you have everyone’s dates and Amaya will you make sure that Ava calls Zari and Nora after Charlie is done beating her up.” Amaya smiled and saluted her camera and looked behind her and Zari nodded. “It got quiet. I should be worried?” Amaya said, “Okay let me go deal with these kids guys I’ll talk to you later.” With that Amaya's screen logged off. “Okay guys until next week.” Sara said and everyone started to log off and Sara closed her laptop. Sara closed her laptop and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Her thoughts went to Ava looking so happy she couldn’t help but put her head in her hands. Ava was coming home in a month she would be there again and maybe Sara would be able to apologize. Maybe Ava would accept her apology her phone started to ring, and she grabbed it out of her pocket and saw Ava’s name and just froze. Her finger slid on the screen, and she answered. “Hi.” Ava said out of breath.“Hi, are you okay?” Sara asked“Yeah, I finally got Charlie off of me and pushed her down and locked her out of my room.” Ava chuckled “I should have maybe been more subtle, but she deserved being hit in the face with something after I had to listen to her having sex all night last night.” Ava mumbled. “Wow.” Sara said smiling “Yeah, her room is right next to mine and her bed is against the wall where my bed is. I am pretty sure I am traumatized.” Ava snickered. “I wanted to call you really quick and tell you I would have followed the rules. I know they are worried about us because we are…” Ava trailed off“Captain and Director.” Sara said“Yeah, look when I come home, I think we should talk.” Ava said“I agree I think we should.” Sara said “I know you probably have plans with Oliver on New years but maybe we can get together before that and talk.” Ava said and Sara shook her head. “I don’t have plans with Oliver why would I have plans with Oliver?” Sara asked.“Oh, well I thought because you guys were together?” Ava said“Ava I am not with Oliver.” Sara said, “We had a talk after you left and he told me he was in love with Felicity Smoak.” “Wait what?” Ava asked, “Now I am confused.”
“Yeah umm… we really need to talk Ava.” Sara said quietly. “Yeah, I’ll make sure I call you when I get in town.” Ava said“Sounds good, and you know feel free to call me before if you want too or text or whatever you are comfortable with.” Sara said“Okay, I can do that.” Ava said, “I have to go if I don’t call Zari and Nora, they will actually kill me before I ever get to come home.” Ava said and laughed. “I’ll talk to you later ok.” “Ok,” Sara said, and Ava hung up.Sara put her phone down and just stared at it her mind going a million miles an hour. She jumped up and ran out of her room and towards Laurels room and burst through the door and found Laurel sitting at her desk. “Knock much?” Laurel said looking up at Sara “What?” “Ava is coming home.” Sara blurted out. “She is? When?” Laurel asked“December 18th Laurel. And I am going to tell her I love her.” Sara said looking at Laurel whose eyes went wide.“What?” “I am going to tell her I am in love with her, and these last few months have been the worst of my life and that I don’t want a life that she isn’t in!” Sara said and ran out of Laurel’s room. Laurel jumped up and followed Sara. “Where are you going?” Laurel asked. “I only have a month to get ready I need to get her a birthday gift and a Christmas gift I need to buy new clothes and I need to go see her parents.” Sara said rushing to change her clothes. “Sara stop!” Laurel walked in the room and grabbed Sara by her shoulders. “You’re in love with Ava?” “Yes!” Sara said “Since when?” Laurel asked“Since always Laurel.” Sara said “Ava has always been my person she has always been the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I just…I just didn’t tell her and that was stupid of me I tried to stick to the agreement we made I tried to not want to be with her I tried to sleep with other people and make it go away but it didn’t work, and I’ll be damned if I lose her again.” Sara blurted out her chest moving quickly up and down she moved to her dresser pulling out clothes.“Sara, you’re making it sound like you are about to propose or something.” Laurel said jokingly and Sara stopped and looked at Laurel. “Should I?” Sara asked. “Sara!” Laurel said and stood up “No you shouldn’t. Not yet you do that later.” “I would if it meant I never lost her again.” Sara said seriously. “Okay one step at a time there crazy.” Laurel said pulling her to the bed. “You need to tell her exactly what you just told me.” “Okay.” Sara said smiling “I can do that. I have been thinking about it for a while, so I know what I want to say.” “How long?” Laurel asked she was about to compare timelines in her head from what she knew of Ava’s.“Well let’s see, I think well I don’t know if you know about this but when we were younger after Nyssa we… we kissed I kissed Ava I mean well it was seven minutes in heaven and I am pretty sure that’s when I knew I liked her but I think I fell in love with her when she kissed me in the hallway at school.” Sara said thinking and nodding “Yeah I think that’s the kiss that sealed the deal for me.” She smiled. And Laurel laughed at her. “Wait I’m not done. I think I first admitted it to myself when she hurt her knee the next year. Seeing her in pain made me physically hurt and I couldn’t stop it I couldn’t take the pain away and that’s when I said it to myself.” She smiled. “Why are you laughing?” Sara said“No reason really you are just really excited.” Laurel said smiling. “I am because I am not letting her go this time and if she tries to leave, I am chasing her down and giving her that look that makes her blush and I am going to woo her with my beautiful blue eyes that she wrote about in her journal.” Sara said smiling. “Okay well good plan.” Laurel said standing up and leaving the room. “Sara.” “Yeah.” “It’s about time you got your head out of your ass.” Laurel said and walked out of the room. Sara spent the next two weeks getting ready the reason she wanted to see Ava’s parents was because even though Ava wasn’t coming home for Thanksgiving Sara wanted to drop off her gift so it would be there for her when she got home for the holidays. She was on countdown and now she had to figure out when she would tell Ava. She found herself looking at her shared calendar with Zari and she saw the nights and days filling up quickly with Ava having to fulfill her consequence. Nora and Zari each had entire days planned out Mick, Nate and Ray all had nights selected and Wally and Jax got a weekend planned with Ava before Christmas. Holidays were always blocked off with families. And a thought occurred to Sara Ava always came over on Christmas and gave her a birthday gift. Would she still do that this year, or would it be weird? She shook her head and looked at the sated trying to figure out which one she should ask for. So, she sent Zari and email and asked for her to put her on the thirtieth of December. She could tell her the day before their New Year’s party, so she sent the email request and waited Zari was pretty good about accepting those requested quickly so she waited a few minutes. Once she got the accepted reply, she closed her computer and smiled. A few days later Sara found herself at Ava’s house with a wrapped present knocking on the door. And Pam answered it and looked shocked at Sara standing on her doorstep. “Hi Mrs. Sharpe.” Sara said with a smile. “Sara.” Pam said smiling and moving to the side opening the door and motioning for Sara to come in. “What brings you by?” Pam asked as she walked Sara to the living room.“Well, I know Ava isn’t here but it’s her birthday and I wanted to maybe drop this off for her so when she gets back she can open it.” Sara said handing the gift to Pam.“Well, that’s very sweet of you.” Pam said taking the gift and putting it on the table and sitting down and Sara joined her. “I also wanted to talk to you.” Sara said “What about?” Pam said smiling. “Well, is your husband around?” Sara asked.“Sure, let me go get him i'll be right back.” Pam said as she stood and walked out of the room.Sara was about to tell the Sharpe’s her plan and she wanted to make sure they approved. She wanted to tell them everything, but she was saving that for Ava but for her she wanted to make sure Ava’s parents were okay with her dating Ava. It seemed a little old school, but she knew it would be something that Ava would appreciate later. She looked up as Pam came back in the room followed by Randy who was happy to see Sara. “Hey kiddo.” Randy greeted her and leaned down to hug her and sat next to Pam.“Okay Sara you wanted to talk to us.” Pam said.“Okay so first I need to ask that this stays between us if that’s all right.” Sara said. Randy and Pam looked at each other and then back to Sara.“Are you okay?” Randy asks“Yes, it’s just I…I don’t want Ava to know.” Sara said“Well, we aren’t really fans of keeping secrets from our daughter.” Pam says. “Right but this a good secret.” Sara said smiling“Okay.” Pam said “I…I would like to tell you my five-year plan. I wanted to tell you I am going to medical school. I took the entrance test and got a really good score. So, I have already looked into applying early to Star City Medical school and everything looks good according to admissions I just have to wait for my formal acceptance letter. So, I plan to be a doctor, also someday I want to have kids maybe not in the next five years obviously but eventually. And well I know I am young, but I want you to know that I have a plan.” Sara said. “Sara that’s great.” Randy said
“So, there is a reason I am telling you this, I plan on making sure you know that when I ask the next question you know that I am serious.” Sara finishes and takes a deep breath. “Sometime in those years I plan on asking Ava to marry me.” Sara said. Randy and Pam’s eyes go wide. “Sara?” Randy said“You aren’t even dating our daughter.” Pam said “Right, I am going to handle that when she comes home. I am going to tell her I am in love with her.” Sara said “You’re in love with Ava?” Pam asked“Very much, and I was hoping you would approve of our relationship. I know it means a lot to Ava that you approve.” Sara said. “Have you told her this?” Pam asked “I haven’t but again I plan to tell her when she comes back.” Sara said“What exactly is your plan is she says no.” Randy asks“Well, honestly, I am kind of going day by day right now, but it seemed important to me that I talked with you first.” Sara said and Pam started to laugh and then Randy joined in. “Why does everyone keep laughing at me?” “You’re getting a little ahead of yourself kiddo.” Randy said. “So, if there is one thing, I have learned from Ava about this whole planning thing its that you make a plan and stick to it. And I am on the win Ava over part of my plan and honestly you are an essential part of that plan. So, I wanted to come over here and let you know that I love your daughter and I am going take care of her for as long as she lets me. And hopefully that is a while because I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I am pretty sure she is my soulmate.” Sara finished. Pam looks at Randy and smiles.“Okay I will agree to this with one stipulation.” Randy said with a smile. “Anything sir.” Sara replied“Don’t you ever get on a damn boat again.” He said sternly. “Agreed considering I am now deathly afraid of them I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about that.” Sara said. Randy nodded and stood up leaving the room back to his office. “He’s working from home today.” Pam said as she stood up “Thank you for coming over and speaking with us and i really hope this goes well.” She smiled at Sara and Sara stands up.
“Trust me I keep saying the same thing.” Sara said. “I am scared but excited and nervous. But I have like three weeks to get ready.” They walk towards the front door and Pam opens it and Sara takes a step outside.“Sara.” Pam says and Sara turns to face her. “She never gave up on you, you know that right.” “What do you mean?” Sara asked.“Who do you think called Nyssa and got her involved in the search.” Pam said, and Sara’s eyes went wide.“Ava called Nyssa?” “Ava not only called her but read out the coordinates and last known locations.” Pam said “I have heard so many people say Nyssa was the reason you were found, and I couldn’t correct them, but I know it was because of Ava. When she called Nyssa, she had no idea you were even missing. Ava is the reason Nyssa got involved.” “Nobody every told me.” Sara said in shock“But now you know. It was Ava. It was always Ava.” Pam said and smiled at her. “Thank you for telling me.” Sara said and turned and walked away. Sara walked away and a smile spread across her face, and she walked thinking about Ava. “She loves me.” She said as she got in her car and looked back at Mrs. Sharpe in her doorway and waived and Mrs. Sharpe closed her door. She looked down and grabbed her phone and pulled up Ava’s contact and hit call. “Hello.” Ava said and Sara could hear muffled laughs “Shut up.” Ava mumbled.“Hi, are you busy?” Sara said a sick feeling in her pit of her stomach. “No, really I'm not.” Ava said, “Well hold on for a second.” Sara could hear giggling and then a door closed. “Sorry. What’s up?” Ava said“Well, I am going to be honest that was not Charlie, or Amaya I heard.” Sara said. “Perceptive.” Ava said, “it in fact was not them.” “Oh.” Sara said quietly “umm... I just wanted to call and wish you a happy birthday. And to let you know I dropped off your birthday gift with your parents. So, when you get home you can open it.” Sara said. “You went and hung out with my parents on my birthday?” Ava asked“Well, we didn’t hang out, but we visited for a little bit just catching up you know.” Sara said“You.” Ava said, “You are too much.” “What?” Sara said. “Can you hold on a second.” Ava said “Yeah.” Sara replied“Did you really just unlock the door?” She could hear Ava ask someone. “I can let you go if you’re busy.” Sara said and could hear giggling again in the background. “I am really not.” Ava said, “Would you stop that.” She said to someone else. “I mean your obviously with someone.” Sara said kind of quietly. “Sara are you jealous right now?” Ava asked “NO.” Sara said quickly, “It just if you’re with your girlfriend I don’t want to intrude or be keeping you from her.” That was a lie Sara wanted too she wanted to punch whoever that was in the background. “Look at your phone.” Ava said Sara looked down and saw Ava was trying to switch to facetime, so she clicked the video button and there on her screen was Ava her hair down and a huge smile on her face. “I am going to say this because I mean it. I think it's cute your being jealous right now.” Ava said and smiled with a slight blush. “I am not jealous.” Sara said and Ava smiled and laughed God Sara could hear that laugh for the rest of her days.“You cant lie to me Lance.” Ava said, “And let me show you who my girlfriend is.” Ava switched her phone camera to show the room“Hi Sara.” Shannon appeared on her screen with a huge smile. Sara waved and laughed at Shannon who had a small child crawling all over her. “See just our Little Cap here.” Ava said while showing the room she was in. Shannon was chasing around her younger brother, and they were laughing. “They haven’t left my side since I got here three days ago.” Ava laughed and the screen flipped back to her glorious smile and Sara smiled back at her. “I think its great you went to spend the holidays with her.” Sara said and Ava smiled. “It’s been fun I can tell you that.” Ava said. “Thanks for the birthday wishes and I look forward to opening my gift.” “Your welcome.” Sara said, “I hate to cut this short, but I have to get to work, and I’m honestly still parked in front of your house.” Sara said and Ava laughed“You are not?” She said and Sara turned her camera around and face the camera towards her house and heard Ava burst out in laughter. “Sara hang up and leave before my parents call the cops on you.” “Okay, I…I hope you had a good day.” Sara said quietly. And Ava bit her bottom lip and looked at the camera smiling.“This call made it a lot better.” Ava said and Sara’s eyes went wide. “Bye Sara.” Ava ended the call.
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Ava had spent the last three weeks with Shannon, her brother and her mother and now she was packed up saying goodbye and waiting for her Uber to pick her up and take her to the airport. She was giving hugs to everyone. She had spent time in Fresno with her aunt and spent time with the baby legends as she calls them. Shannon had really amassed a fun little group and Ava couldn’t help but notice the similarities to her own group of friends. She shared one more hug with Shannon who was almost as tall as she was now. And got in the Uber she was headed home it had been five months and she was ready to be home.The flight went smoothly and before she knew it, they were getting ready to land. So, when she made that last turn walking towards baggage claim she wasn’t shocked when she was greeted by ten yelling friends and her parents. She shook her head and smiled brightly her legs took off and before she knew it, she had slammed into Ray and Nate and was surrounded by her friends and there were tears. She didn’t realize how much she missed her crazy friends. They broke apart and Ava was able to hug her parents they seemed to hug her tightly and then she noticed someone standing behind her parents and a huge smile came across her face as she walked and embraced Laurel.Everyone walked over with her to baggage claim and Ray and Nate grabbed the three bags off the carousel she pointed at. She felt an arm hooked to hers and looked over to see Nora smiling at her. The group headed towards the parking deck, and she looked around and saw Zari and Sara walking with Laurel. Amaya and Charlie were with Wally and Jax while Nate, Mick, and Ray were rolling her bags towards parking. The next few days flew by, and Ava was pretty sure at this point that her parents had given keys to all her friends to their house. Because every morning she woken up by another person jumping on her in bed. Before she even knew what had happened it was Christmas. And that meant she would have to see Sara. The legends decided to forgo the annual Christmas party since this was the first year on New years that everyone would be twenty-one, so they opted to use the money for their party. They also opened up the party to allow people to bring dates. Ava had planned on asking Sara so that means that she had to up her plan of telling her about her feelings before New year’s. And Ava was nervous as hell. But she wasn’t allowing that fear to get to her. She was tired of being afraid. So, she went upstairs and started getting ready to sneak over to Sara’s she had her annual gift on her bed. She had found this wonderful Liverpool hoodie and slept in it almost every night for three months. She made her way downstairs and went to put her shoes on when she heard her mother clearing her throat and she looked up. “Hey.” Ava said“Is now a good time to tell you that I have known about you sneaking out on Christmas for the last five years.” She said smiling and Ava smiled back at her. “Well, it’s a tradition.” Ava said and shrugged. Her mother held out an envelope and Ava took it and looked at it with wide eyes. “Mom where did you get this?” “I found it in your closet after you left.” Pam said. “I read it.” Ava looked at her mom. “I think you should give it to her.” She added“Mom. I cant believe you did that.” Ava said “I mean it. I don’t know when you wrote that, but I think it says everything she needs to know.” Pam says and turns to walk away. “Goodnight, Ava.” Ava turned to walk out the door grabbing car keys and heading to her car. She pulled up to Sara’s house and walked up to the door and knocked. Laurel opened the door with a huge smile. “Well right on time.” Laurel said hugging Ava as she walked in. “Hey kiddo.” Quentin appeared in the hallway hugging Ava. “Hey guys. Is she upstairs?” Ava asked and they both nodded, and she ran up the stairs to Sara’s door and knocked. “Come in.” Sara said Ava took a deep breath and walked in.
“Hey.” Ava said as she closed the door behind her. “Happy Birthday.” Ava said handing her the box she had brought with her. Sara took the gift and put it down and looked at Ava. “I wanted to talk to you Ava.” Sara said and Ava looked at her and smiled softly. “Okay.” Ava whispered and she now found herself very nervous. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.” Sara said. “The way I acted in the hospital I was awful.” “Sara please don’t apologize. I mean yeah it sucked but it happened, and we just need to move on.” Ava said “No, you don’t understand these last five months it’s all I have thought about. How I pushed you away I didn’t mean to do that. I was scared.” Sara said, “I never even got to tell you that… that when I was out there when I thought I was dying.” Sara looked up at Ava “You were the only thing I thought about.” Ava gasped and covered her mouth and Sara stood up “I was scared to tell you that because I knew what it meant, and I was worried you would run away and so what did I do I pushed you away so you wouldn’t run away from me.” Sara said Ava had tears falling down her cheeks. And Sara went to take a step forward and Ava held up her hand. ‘Wait.” Ava said and wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have to say something.” Ava quickly thought. She had a plan her and Amaya had taken the time to plan out getting Sara alone on New years and Ava had even booked a room in the hotel where they were having the party. But of course, nothing is going to plan. “Ava please.” Sara pleaded “NO!” I have to say this so please let me.” Ava said sternly and Sara nodded. “I hated Nyssa you know, and Alex, and Lance, and Drew, and Oliver, and Sam, and Ryan and everyone you ever dated. I didn’t think they were worthy of you. I didn’t think I was worthy of you.” Ava said looking at Sara who just stood motionless. “I wanted to ask you to senior prom, but I was too scared to. I have always been too scared to tell you how I feel because I was always scared that I would lose you. And then I did lose you, you died, and I felt like I had died. I felt my entire life flash before my eyes all of these moments with you and all the times I could have said something all of the times I tried to hide it from you. All of the time I spent running from this feeling. And then I thought if I had told you maybe things would have been different. Maybe you wouldn’t have gotten on that damn boat…” Ava looks up and takes a breath and then looks back at Sara.” So here it is.” She takes a step towards Sara. “I love you; I have always loved you since I met you, I think. And after that stupid amazing breathtaking kiss in that stupid closet that was it. I was yours if you wanted me.” “But…” Sara started closing her eyes and Ava continued as if she didn’t hear her.“It’s always been you, no one else.” Ava moves closer to Sara and is almost toe to toe with her. “I have always been here right by your side. I have always loved you and God it’s been hard to see you with other people, but my fear is what kept me from saying anything. But I am tired of being afraid, I am tired of chasing this feeling because I know I will never feel it for anyone else. I love you Sara, I am in love with you. I want to wake up to your beautiful face every morning I want your eyes to be the last thing I see before I go to sleep. I want worship your body from head to toe, I want to kiss every freckle and every scar. I want to take adventures with you, and I want to build a future with you.” Ava takes the final step forward to close the distance between her and Sara. “I want you.”
Ava moves her hand to tuck a loose strand of Sara’s hair behind her ear her fingers grazing Sara’s skin. Ava smiles as she sees Sara lean into the touch. Sara opens her teary eyes and meets Ava’s her eyes are looking at her softy and with so much love. Ava takes her hand and cups Sara’s face her thumb run across her chin dimple, Sara lets a tear fall and Ava wipes it away with her finger. Ava leans in and places a soft kiss on her cheek and moves her lips towards Sara’s ear. “Say it, Lance.” She whispers and pulls back to look at Sara.“Ava,” Sara’s voice shaky but her eyes stay on Ava’s. “Please kiss me.” Ava smiles and her lips connect to Sara’s.“It about fucking time.” Ava mumbled against Sara lips. “Don’t get smug.” Sara replies“Shhh. No more talking.” Ava whispered as she deepened the kiss. Ava moved Sara towards the bed she turned them, and Ava sat down on the edge and pulled Sara into her lap not wanting to break the kiss. Sara straddled her legs and wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck and Ava wrapped her arms around Sara’s lower back. Ava pulls back from the kiss and Sara whimpers causing Ava to smile. “I love you.” Ava said softly looking at Sara bringing her hand up and caressing Sara’s face. “So much Sara Lance.” “I love you too Ava Sharpe.” Sara said placing kisses all over Ava’s face causing her to laugh. “Will you go to the New years party with me?” Ava said and Sara smiled“On one condition.” Sara said and Ava looked at her confused. “If you go with me as my girlfriend.” Sara said smiling. “Sara Lance did you just ask me to be your girlfriend?” Ava asked and giggled“I did.” Sara said and Ava brought her lips close to Sara barely brushing them against hers.“Yes.” She whispered and pushed her lips against Sara’s. She moved back on the bed and flipped them to where Sara was on her back and Ava was on top of her. They laid in the bed making out until their lips were swollen and Ava felt like it might go a little too far and she wanted to save that for another night. She pulled away and looked down at Sara and smiled she adjusted herself, so she was straddling Sara’s legs and she leaned back over and kissed Sara softly one more time. And then sat back up and reached back and grabbed the gift. And started to open the gift with a smile. “Hey.” Sara said but didn’t make any attempt to stop her. Ava was sitting on top of her and God she didn’t want her to ever move this was the most beautiful moment of her life she could open every gift she wanted if she just stayed right where she was. “Well, I really wanted to give this to you.” Ava said and opened the box and pulled out a blue hoodie. “Charlie took me to Liverpool, and I saw this hoodie and I thought of you and bought it. That was three months ago. I slept in it every night.” Ava said and pulled Sara into a sitting position and putting the hoodie over her head and pulling it down. “Perfect.” She said as she smiled. “No offense I love this hoodie, but I would much rather be taking off clothes not adding clothes.” Sara said smiling making Ava blush furiously pushing her back down on the bed.“Smooth Lance.” Ava said and leaned down and bringing her lips to Sara’s ear. “But we are not having sex tonight.” She pulled Sara’s ear with her teeth and causing Sara to buck her hips. “Fuck Ava.” Sara said, “You can’t say that and then fucking do that.” “Oh, we are just getting started.” Ava said and moved her lips to her pulse point and bit down. “Oh my god!” Sara mumbled. Her hands moved to Ava’s shoulders and pulled her closer. Ava was still sucking on her pulse point and when she brought her tongue to ease the sting she pulled away from Sara and admired the dark spot forming and smiled. Ava moved down to her shoulder using her hand to push the oversized hoodie out of the way and bit down again. “Ava.” Sara said quietly “Hmm.” Ava replied“What are you doing?” Sara said her breath uneven and her hands holding Ava in place it felt so good to feel Ava’s lips on her. Ava sat up and smiled licking her lips with a smirk. “Consequences miss Lance.” Ava said and laughed as she made her way back to her neck but she moved Sara head to the other side so she could access the side she hadn’t left a mark. Ava bit down on her pulse point and Sara whined.“Please god don’t ever stop that.” Sara said and she bucked her hips again and Ava moaned from the friction and moved her hips into Sara’s. “Fuck Ava.” Sara whined and Ava sat up looking at her handy work. Then leaning back down to Sara’s ear. “Done.” She said and crawled off Sara and stood up. She looked at Sara laying on the bed breathing heavily, and she bites her bottom lip. “For someone who just professed their love you are really mean did you know that.” Sara said looking over at her. “I just wanted to give you something to think about tonight.” Ava said and quickly left the room and headed home.
The next few days Ava didn’t stop smiling Sara loved her and she loved Sara. They had chosen to keep it to themselves until the night of the New Year’s party. Ava had told Sara about her, and Amaya’s plan and Sara got a kick out of it. So, they decided they would treat New years like their first date. Which meant that the thirtieth when Ava was supposed to take Sara out was spent in Ava’s room making out all night. Sara wasn’t complaining as that was how she had hoped the night would end anyways but they were kissing, and Sara stopped and pulled back looking at Ava whose hair was messy, and lips swollen, and eyes were dark. Sara realized she hadn’t professed her love. So, she pulled further back, and Ava looked confused.“Is everything ok?” Ava asked and moved to prop up on her elbow.“I was going to tell you tonight.” Sara said“Tell me what?” Ava asked“How I felt.” Sara said moving to prop herself on her elbow so she could look at Ava. “Okay” Sara moved and sat up pulling Ava with her and they sat across from each other on the bed. “There a couple things so just bear with me and let me get this out. (Ava nodded) Seven minutes of heaven yeah, I definitely knew at that point there was something there that was more than friendship. But and don’t laugh at me, it was the kiss in the hallway that’s when I knew I was in love with you. That kiss for me was like an out of body experience and it was so fast but perfect. Stop laughing.”“I’m sorry.” Ava chuckled “Keep going.” Sara rolled her eyes and took a deep breath.“Then you hurt your knee and I just lost it, after they took you to surgery I sat in that room and cried for five minutes.” Sara saw tears in Ava’s eyes and reached over with her hand and cupped Ava’s cheek. “I couldn’t take your pain away and it killed me. That’s when I knew you were my soulmate my everything.” Ava pulled Sara towards her and pressed their lips together passionately. Sara pulled away “Wait I have more.” Sara said and Ava nodded. “Okay I told you about the boat, but I didn’t tell you about the conversation with your parents.”“What conversation with my parents?” Ava asked “Well on your birthday when I dropped off your gift, I had talk with them.” Sara said“Wait you said you just caught up with them.” Ava replied and saw worry in Sara’s eyes. “Sara what did you do?” “Well, I told them my five-year plan.” Sara said and Ava raised her eyebrow. “Okay then I confessed my love for you and how I was going to win you over when you came home and…” Sara looked up and then back at Ava. “I think I may have asked for permission to marry you.” Sara said and Ava’s eyes went wide. “Sara.” Ava was breathless and shocked “I’m not asking right now.” Ava gave her a knowing look “I mean in my five-year plan I wanted them to know my goals and my future and how I am going to go to medical school, and I can take care of you.” Sara said. Something clicked in Ava’s mind, and she jumped off the bed and ran over to her desk. “Ava, I didn’t mean to freak you out I’m sorry.” Ava had her back to Sara going through a huge stack of papers. “Sara, you didn’t freak me out.” Ava laughed “Now my parents I can’t speak for but...” She stops and turns to Sara with an envelope in her hand. “As for marriage well obviously its something we can talk about later you know down the road but, its good to know you have my parents blessing.” Ava came and sat down “Everything has been so crazy that I never got to tell you about this.” Ava hands Sara the envelope. Sara opened the envelope and pulls out a folded paper and reads it. “Holy shit Ava.” Sara throws her arms around Ava and then pulls back to looks her “That…That’s almost a perfect score.” Sara said looking at her, Ava takes the paper from her and throws it down on the bed and pulls Sara into her lap with a giggle. “So, you don’t mind if we go to medical school together, do you?” Ava asked and then started placing kisses from Sara’s lips down her jawline and onto neck, Sara moved her head back to allow more access as Ava trailed her tongue across her neck and grabbed Sara’s ear with her teeth. Sara nodded vigorously and moved her lips to Ava and kissed her lustfully pushing Ava back on the bed causing a giggle to fall out of Ava mouth. Ava told Sara she couldn’t see her before the party because even though the plan had gone off the rails Ava had an outfit that her and Amaya had picked especially for this occasion that Ava knew would knock the wind out of Sara. Thank God her parents were out of town for the new year because as Ava looked at herself in the mirror, she is pretty sure her mother wouldn’t have let her leave the house with the skin she was showing. Ava was in the elevator and the anticipation was building as she went up the floors one by one. When the door opened, she could hear the music playing from the suite they had booked. She took a step out and saw a mirror in the hallway taking one last look and adjusting an out of place hair. Ava was wearing black dress pants perfectly fit with a long sleeve fitted white shirt button down shirt, but the buttons were open almost down to her stomach leaving a wide expanse of skin on display from her collar bone down to her navel and a fitted coat over the shirt. Her hair draped over her right shoulder. Ava remembers telling Amaya it was sexy business attire. But she knew it would make Sara swoon no bra and way too much skin on display she was playing into everything that would get Sara’s attention. The door was open, and Ava walked through and into a hallway when she made it to the main room of the suite everyone was laughing and having a good time when Amaya looked up and saw her a huge smile spread across her face. “Ava.” Amaya said and she saw people turn towards her Wally, Jax, Charlie all their eyes were going up and down. “Wow.” Charlie said as she turned. “You look hot.” As Ava walked towards them and chuckled.“Thank you.” Ava said a slight blush creeping up her neck. “Amaya?” Ava said and tilted her head to indicate for her to follow her. Amaya followed her into the hallway near the door she had just come in and Ava turned and looked at her with a smile.“What’s up?” Amaya asked.“Plans off.” Ava said and Amaya’s eyes went wide.“NO WAY! I am not letting you not do this.” Amaya said and Ava grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer. “I already did it.” Ava said smiling and she slowly moved her shirt line on her neck to expose some of her shoulder where a hickey was, and blush creeped up her neck and she bit her bottom lip. “It went well.” Ava laughed. “Holy shit.” Amaya said as she leaned in to look at the mark. “So, you guys?” Amaya asked“No, I mean we both felt the same way and we didn’t have sex, but we have been exploring.” Ava laughed “Anyways we are going to tell everyone tonight, but I still wanted this outfit to be a surprise, so I haven’t seen her today.” “Well, I think she is going to like it.” Amaya said looking her up and down. “I mean I’m not even gay and I think I like it too much.” Amaya said and Ava hit her on the shoulder. “I already have a girlfriend stop hitting on me.” Ava giggled. “Where is everyone?” She said as they walked back into the room, they were just in. “Oh, there is a great patio over in the next room its huge, so they are all there looking at the view.” Amaya pointed and Ava smiled and walked towards the other room.Ava entered the room, and everyone went quiet when they saw her Nora, Zari, Ray, Nate all stopped and looked at her their eyes looking her up and down. Nora walked over and grabbed a glass of wine on her way and when she reached Ava handed it to her.“Holt shit Ava you look amazing.” Nora looked back at Ray and Nate who were both still staring, and Nora looked back at Ava. “Well, you have their attention.” She chuckled Ava took a sip of the drink Nora handed her. “Sorry I was trying to get someone else’s attention.” She whispered and Nora looked at her and a smirk appeared on her face. “Oh, well she is out on the patio with Mick.” Nora said and Ava looked at her and smiled. “Okay well here goes nothing.” Ava smiled putting down the glass of wine. Ava walked towards the open doors that led to the patio as Nora followed motioning towards Zari, Nate and Ray to follow. Nora wasn’t going to miss whatever this was. Ava made her way out onto the patio and stopped when she saw Sara whose back was turned to her talking to Mick, she was in a long black dress with a slit where she could clearly see Sara’s toned legs and every curve of her body was perfect. Thin straps over her shoulder her hair pulled up Ava could see her back muscles as she laughed, and they tightened. Mick looked up and his eyes caught sight of Ava and he looked her up and down which caused Sara to turn towards Ava. Ava’s breath hitched when she saw the front of the dress with a low-cut front with Sara’s breasts on full display. Nora nudged Ava back to her thoughts. Ava looked up to see Sara’s mouth open eyes roaming all over her outfit Ava could feel the blush spreading across her face. Sara had leaned back a little into Mick as she was looking at her girlfriend. Ava took a deep breath and made her way over to Sara and Mick and smiled. Sara’s eyes still roaming all over Ava’s body. “Blondie.” Mick grunted and Ava smiled at him she could feel Sara’s eyes all over her. “Hey.” Ava said and then turned to see Sara whose eyes traveled do her chest. Ava took a step forward and reached out her hand to cup Sara’s chin. “Eyes up Lance.” Ava smiled and slowly looked down at Sara’s chest and then back to meet her eyes and smiled at her. “Wow, you look…” Sara started Mick interrupted. “Hot.” Mick said loudly and Sara snapped her head towards him and then back to Ava and blushed. “Thanks Mick.” Ava said and looked at Sara “You look amazing.” And Sara smiled so brightly that Ava felt her knees buckle a little. Ava took a deep breath and looked at Sara. “Can I talk to you for a second.” Ava said and Sara nodded. Ava grabbed her hand and pulled her off the patio and into the room. “This isn’t going to work.” Ava said as she stopped and turned towards Sara.“What isn’t going to work?” Sara said.“This.” Ava motioned between them “How are we supposed to avoid each other when you’re looking at me like that.” She said“I cant help it.” Sara said, “Have you looked in a mirror.” She mumbled and Ava’s eyes went wide at the sight behind Sara. And Sara turned to see Nora, Zari, Nate, Mick, and Ray standing in the patio doorway. Sara turned back to Ava and looked over her shoulder and saw Charlie, Amaya, Wally, and Jax standing in the other doorway causing Ava to look behind her. When Ava turned back a smile started to appear on her face. And Sara started to laugh and looked down and then back up. “I guess not.” “Fuck it. I’m not waiting until midnight.” Ava said she grabbed Sara and pulled her into a passionate kiss in front of all of their friends. Sara wrapped her arms around Ava’s neck and Ava grabbed Sara’s hips pulling her into her body. All their friends started to cheer around them and shouts of it’s about time could be heard. When they broke the kiss Ava rested her forehead on Sara’s and looked into her eyes Sara’s arms still wrapped around Ava’s neck. Her hands came up to cup Sara’s cheek. “I love you, Sara Lance.” Ava said loudly and Sara smiled brightly.“Took you long enough!” Zari yelled“About time!” Nora said laughing“Kiss her!” Wally and Jax yelled. “This is the best night ever!” Nate yelled and high fived Ray. Ava and Sara were still standing in the middle of the room their foreheads touching and looking at each other smiling. Sara raised her hand and extended her pinky towards Ava. “Co-captains for life?” Sara said and Ava looked at her hand and wrapped her pinky and smiled. “That means I can kiss you anytime I want right?” Ava asked and Sara giggled and nodded. “Deal.” Ava said and kissed Sara again. The rest of the night was a blur Ava isn’t even sure when they made it to their hotel room, but she does remember Sara’s fingers unbuttoning her top and sliding under her shirt pushing her shirt and blazer off. She remembers unzipping Sara’s dress and her hands trailing up Sara’s body as it fell to the ground. Sara’s tongue everywhere, Ava’s lips everywhere, and the connection was like any other she had ever felt. They made love for hours Ava had lost count how many times she saw stars. And now she was laying there on her stomach her eyes closed with Sara laying on her back. She could feel Sara’s skin against her own, Sara’s lips kissing up her back and the smile across Ava’s face. She slowly turned so that Sara would stay above her and saw a disheveled Sara hair a mess on top of her and it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. She pulled her down into a steamy kiss and if this was what waking up with Sara Lance felt like Ava was ready to do it for the rest of her life. Ava stood by the doorway of a large building her hand on her hip she kept looking at her watch and waiting for someone. When she finally saw blonde hair running her way followed by a large man with a leather coat. Ava tilted her head in frustration. As Sara ran over to her and looked at her annoyed girlfriend. “I’m sorry.” Sara said slowly making her way over to Ava and grabbing her hips pulling the irritated blonde into her arms and kissing her neck which Ava immediately melted into. Sara pulled back and looked at Ava. “It’s his fault he took forever making his sign.” She kissed Ava quickly on the lips.“Well, everyone is here already come on.” Ava said grabbing Sara hand and pulling her in the door. They made their way to their seats where everyone was and sat down. Over the loudspeaker a man’s voice cleared his throat. “And now I would like to introduce to you a very special young woman she is the Student Body President, Prom Queen, President of the GLA club, Captain of the Debate team, and Valedictorian. Please Welcome Shannon Harris. The legends started to cheer holding up their signs as the young woman made her way to the podium and looked over and smiled at them.“Thank you so much faculty, student, and parents. I am so proud to be here today celebrating our amazing class of graduates. I wanted to tell you all a story about how I came to be here today. I was in the seventh grade, and I didn’t have any friends and honestly, I was bullied a lot. Until a teacher took the time to offer me help. Mr. Johnson” Shannon looked at the legends where Mr. Johnson was sitting proudly with Shannon’s mother and brother right in the middle of their group. “He saw what was happening and offered me a sanctuary a place to go where I didn’t have to be afraid, and I could be myself. Then one day I met someone, and everything changed. She had been like me and was one of Mr. Johnson’s former students who had walked the same path as I was on. She came to me and told me about her life and what had happened after she went to High school. I was young and honestly, I didn’t think my story could be anything like her story but what she did after telling me her story is what changed my life. She offered me her friendship and the friendship of her friends. She promised me that no matter what I would always have a friend for life or in this case I would have eleven friends for life. I was sure after this all happened, I would never hear from her again, but I was wrong, she called me every week multiple times a week, she checked in on me she came and visited me and even spent a few holidays with me. She taught me that you can have a voice even when nobody thinks you have one. And that you need to surround yourself with people who like you for you. The day I met her was the day I became a legend, and from that day on I promised myself I would help kids like me who were being bullied who were being treated differently because they were smart, or weird, and maybe even eccentric. I knew I wanted to be just like her when I grew up, so I needed to apply myself and focus and that’s what I did. And now here we are getting ready to graduate, we made it in one piece. We managed to secure GLA club for the school a safe place that accepts everyone. We strengthened our guidelines and came down hard on bullying because of letters we wrote to the school board. We were able to help Mr. Johnson get voted in as superintendent of the school board so that we knew we were leaving our school and those around us in good hands.” Shannon took a deep breath and looked at Ava who smiled. “Its funny how one moment can change your life, how a complete stranger or strangers can make you feel more like yourself then you every thought possible. And all it took was one person reaching out their hand and saying I am your friend. So, to you Ava Sharpe, Captain I say thank you.” Shannon words hit Ava like a freight train and tears streamed down her face. “Because of a simple gesture I feel like our class has changed this High School and I can tell you right now we are leaving it far better than it was before. So, everyone be proud of yourselves and get ready for the next chapter in our lives. I know I’m ready and I have a wonderful support system standing by my side. If you don’t find me, tell me because I will be your friend, I will offer you my hand and I will take on that journey with you.” Shannon said and everyone started cheering and clapping. “And I have one more thing to say and this is for all the legends, the ones here graduating and the ones in the stands with those obnoxious signs.” Shannon pointed as they all stood up yelling. “But this is mostly for Ava and Sara and those of you who might remember a little flag that caused some upset when we were in middle school.” Shannon moved her robe and pulled out a dark blue cloth and unfolded it and draped it over the podium. Ava and Sara gasped when they saw it. “This school had officially been Conquered by a Legend.” She yelled and all of the graduates jumped to their feet clapping and cheering and so did the legends in the stands, Ava still had tears falling down her cheeks. She stopped and looked at Sara who was jumping up and down and Sara stopped and looked at her. “Are you okay? Sara asked and Ava smiled with tears falling down her face. “I love you.” Ava said and hugged Sara who melted into the embrace. “I told you.” Sara whispered. And Ava pulled back to look her in the eyes raising an eyebrow “You changed her life.” Sara said a motioned towards Shannon who was taking her seat but left the flag draped over the podium.
“WE Changed her life.” Ava said looking around at her friends NO, her family. “All of us did.”
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When they arrived at the lake and made it to their camping ground everyone was impressed but the sheer beauty of the area. Ava had spent every summer since she was ten there so she was glad she could finally share this with the legends. It was a special place to her had always been a haven for her. She loved the sheer beauty of the entire area, there were great hiking trails, the lake was always beautiful especially this time of year. “Jesus Ava the pictures you have of this place don’t do it justice.” Sara said“Right.” Zari added“I mean this place is amazing we have to start coming here every summer.” Ray chimed in.“I tried to tell you guys.” Ava said with a big smile on her face. They worked together to get tents setup, Ray and Nora in one, Nate and Zari in another, Mick had brought his own tent perfect size for him and his beer, And Ava setup a huge tent for her and Sara to share. Ava looked over and saw Jax and Wally struggling with their tents and started laughing heading over to help them while she noticed Nate helping Amaya and Charlie with theirs. Once they got the tents setup the boys set out to find some firewood and Ava went to unpacking some extra items, she had brought including a hammock. She went over to the same spot she has used since she was a kid and set the hammock up in between the two biggest trees in the area. Ava thought about all the times she had lounged in the hammock either reading some random serial killer novel, or just taking a nap. She started to look around at the girls getting the area setup for the fire and moving around the camp and she smiled thinking about the boys gathering wood. The first time she ever came here she had wished she could have brought a friend. The only person who had ever been here was Jax with his mother coming one year with the Sharpe’s so he knew his way around but still couldn’t setup a tent. And now here they all were in their twenty’s friends for ten years and all here camping together in a place that meant so much to Ava and she realized this was the beginning of a new chapter for all of them. Ava thought about Nora and Ray’s wedding coming up next year, Jax and Wally were working on opening an auto mechanic shop in Central City, Nate was going on an Historical Tour of Europe at the end of summer, Zari was headed with him because her job was remote, and she could work anywhere in the world. Charlie and Amaya were visiting this summer just for this trip, but they would return to the East Coast after they got back and get on with their lives. And Mick well Mick would be doing whatever it was he does. Ava’s thoughts traveled to Sara who was started Medical School this fall; she was so excited about it, and she had no idea that Ava was going to be there too. Ava had decided to tell her on this trip, Ava had made a lot of decisions about things that were going to be said on this trip. She had waited for too long chasing a feeling she would never find anywhere else but here. And she didn’t want to waste anymore time chasing she was ready for her future whatever it looked like. Ava had come to terms with the fact that no matter how hard you plan for things nothing ever goes to plan, especially when the legends are involved. And definitely not when one Sara Lance is involved, and she had thought about this for months maybe even years if she was willing to admit that. So, it was time to stop over thinking stop over analyzing and just go for it and let the chips land where they may fall. Ava grabbed a tarp she had packed in her bag and pulled it out and laid it off to the side, and then worked on getting sleeping bags setup in her tent setting a spare to the side. When Sara popped her head in and was amazed at the sheer size of their tent. “Wow this is huge.” Sara said looking around.“That’s what she said.” Snickered Ava causing Sara to laugh and push her back she fell to the ground laughing. “I couldn’t help it”“Okay so aside from this crazy Harry Potter tent we have what other things are there around here to do?” Sara sat down next to Ava who was still laying on the ground. “Let’s see there’s swimming, hiking, telling ghost stories, cooking food and eating smores.” Ava wasn’t giving an extensive list but the things she enjoyed. “I’m sure everyone will enjoy themselves the next couple days.”“Okay so what do you want to do first?” Sara asked“Well, I mean we get camp setup that’s main thing, and then maybe we go swimming.” Ava sat up and started to stand and move out of the tent. “What’s the tarp for?” Zari held it up asking Ava as she exited the tent followed by Sara. “Oh well if it looks like it’s going to storm, we have hooks.” Ava pointed at the trees nearby. “We hook the tarp up to the hooks and it will help protect the fire and us if we need it too. Mind you it doesn’t always work well but no harm in trying.” Zari nodded at Ava explanation and placed the tarp back on the ground. Once the guys got back, they made a huge pile for firewood and then used the tarp to cover it to keep it dry for now. Then everyone headed off towards the lake to swim she watched as everyone ran into the water splashing and screaming, they were like kids again. And of course, as they always did every summer, they played chicken. Sara on Ava’s shoulders trying to knock Wally off Ray’s shoulders everyone always got a kick out of the competition because Wally and Ray had never won because Sara and Ava didn’t like to lose. And yet again they remained victorious still undefeated. After the sun started to go down the group slowly made their way over to get their fire started and pulled out cookware to make some dinner. Alcohol was also being pulled out at this time everyone had brought something and they were going to have fun while they were out here. Finally, it was dark, and the stories were being told around the campfire some gaining screams of fear some getting moans of annoyance. But overall, the night was great the group didn’t get plastered but most were feeling a nice buzz when they called it a night and headed their respective ways back to their tents. Sara and Ava were laying in their tent just staring up listening to everything going on around them some sounds were from nature and some sounds were not from nature. And they would laugh every now and then knowing they heard Nate or Ray making a noise or the faint sound of a giggle coming from Nora or Zari. “I didn’t know Zari giggled?” Ava whispered looking over at Sara. “Neither did i?” Sara looks at her with her eyes wide and they both burst out laughing. “Truth or Dare” Ava asked“Dare.” Sara replied with a smirk. “I dare you to go tell Zari we can hear her giggling?” Ava laughed as she could barely finish the sentence, Sara got on her knees and took a deep breath and yelled out “Zari we can hear you giggling can you keep it down!” Ava jumped up throwing her hand over Sara mouth and pulling her down onto her own body to shut her up. As they both laughed, and they could hear Zari saying something, but they couldn’t hear her clearly and it just turned into another round of laughter from the two.“Oh my god Sara, I told you to go tell her not shout it out for everyone to hear.” Ava kept laughing and Sara adjusted herself to where she was facing Ava half on her body and looking right at her. They both lay there in silence for a moment before Sara broke the silence. “Truth or Dare Ava?” Sara asked, Ava answered knowing in her mind she was a little buzzed, but God help her there was only one dare she hoped Sara would make and she would do it without hesitation.“Dare.” Ava said her eyes never moving from Sara’s she could feel her heartbeat in her ears, and she was wondering in that moment if Sara could feel it too. “Kis…” Sara never even got the full word out and Ava’s lips were on hers, Ava wrapped her hand around Sara’s neck and pulled her down into her body and Sara melted into her. Ava swiped her tongue asking for entrance which was quickly granted by Sara and the kiss went deeper, stronger, more passionate. When Sara moved her body fully on top of Ava’s a small whimper escaped from Ava’s throat as she moved her free arm around Sara’s waist to hold her in place. Sara’s hands moved up to cup Ava’s face temporarily but then one hand moved down her neck and found its resting place on her collar bone. Ava didn’t know how long they kissed she just knew she didn’t want to stop. And before she could stop herself, she grabbed Sara and rolled over switching their positions and placing herself on top parting their lips and looking at Sara. Her breath heavy from the intensity of the kiss and the firing burning throughout her whole body. Sara reached up and placing her hands on her cheeks and pulling Ava back into a kiss and again it was passionate but everything inside of Ava starts to scream and her mind going a million miles a minute. Her brain was on overload, and she was buzzed she wanted Sara more than anyone or anything in the entire world but not like this, not on dare. “I…we…I have to go.” Ava said as she pulled herself off Sara and grabbed her shoes and the spare sleeping blanket and made her way out of the tent, leaving Sara there laying in shock.Sara finally sat straight up and grabbed her shoes and a flashlight. She quickly put on her shoes and made a choice she was going after Ava she wasn’t letting her run away this time. Not after what happened on New Year’s, Sara wanted this, and she knew Ava wanted it too. Sara crawled out of the tent and followed the trail that Ava had shown her led to her favorite place at the lake she knew that’s where Ava had probably gone. Ava sat on a rock her knees to her chest chin resting on her knees looking out at the moon’s reflection on the lake in front of her. The sleeping bag down on the ground spread out behind her. What was she thinking? She had done it again, her mind racing back to pinning Sara against a wall on New Year’s Eve. She knew she was in love with her, but it was Sara, and she was scared to tell her, scared Sara didn’t have those kinds of feelings for her. They had both had long conversations in the past about how they wanted to put their friendship above everything else. Ava hadn’t even told her she had gotten into medical school, the same medical school she was going too and that they wouldn’t be so far away anymore. Her mind racing with no end in sight she heard a rustling behind her and quickly glanced over to see a light coming up the path. She knew it had to be Sara she is the only one who would know where she might have gone. This was it if there was ever a time for Ava to say what needed to be said it was now, she was tired of holding this in and if she lost Sara because of it at least she was honest. Sara walked into the clearing and saw Ava sitting on a rock curled up looking out over the lake and approached her. Ava’s voice stopped her before she was too close. “I hated Nyssa you know, and Alex, and Lance, and Drew, and Oliver, and Sam, and Ryan and everyone you ever dated.” Ava paused and gathered her thoughts before continuing. “I didn’t think any of them were worthy of you. I wanted to ask you to senior prom, but I was too scared to. I have always been to scared to tell you how I feel because I was always scared that I would lose you. But I’m tired of chasing that feeling trying to find it with someone else because I’ve realized I’m not going too. So, here it is.” Ava stands up from the rock and turns to face Sara and takes few steps towards her. “I love you; I have always loved you since I met you, I think. And after that stupid amazing breathtaking kiss in that stupid closet that was it. I was yours if you wanted me, and I waited god I waited for you to ask I really thought you would Junior year I mean I can’t tell you how many times I caught you staring at me.” Ava laughed “But you didn’t, you never did. So, I kept waiting hoping, wishing, dreaming, and nothing. So, then I go to college, and I try to run away from the fact I love you and I chase that feeling trying to find someone who can make me feel that same way and it just never happens. That’s why I haven’t made it past two dates with someone, because they’re not you. And I want you, only you.” Ava takes a few more steps forward and gets closer to Sara and can see she has tears falling down her cheeks. Ava takes a few more steps until she is just inches away from her raising her hands to Sara’s face to wipe away the tears. “I have only ever wanted you Sara, I want to go to sleep with you and wake up next to you. I want worship your body from head to toe, I want to kiss every freckle and every scar. I want to take adventures with you, and I want to build a future with you.” Ava takes the last step leaving no space between them and brings her forehead down to meet Sara’s forehead. “I made a promise to you a long time ago that I would always be here, I meant that, and I was always there right by your side and now I never want to leave your side again.” Ava just waits with her head against Sara’s looking into the most perfect eyes, taking in the moment just in case Sara doesn’t want this just in case Sara pulls away. Ava wants to make sure she remembers every breath every line every second of this moment. More tears fall from Sara and Ava is right there with her hands to catch them waiting for Sara not moving until Sara moves. Not saying anything until Sara speaks first. “I would have said yes.” Sara whispered and Ava smiles“To what?” “Senior Prom, I would have said yes.” Sara reached her hands up to cup Ava’s cheeks on her face. “Is that all you heard?” Ava whispered“I heard everything, I just wanted you to know I would have said yes.” Sara was smiling and it was bright enough to light up the dark causing Ava’s to gasp. “I have always loved you, Ava, it was only ever you.” Sara leaned in and kissed Ava softly and then brought her forehead back to rest and their lips inches from each other. Every breath sent a chill through Ava. Sara moved her hands down from Ava’s cheeks and wrapped them around Ava neck and her fingers into Ava’s hair pulling her body closer to Ava and tilting her head. Ava reacted by brushing their lips together slowly and lovingly she wanted to enjoy this she wanted to memorize those lips every curve every movement. When Sara parted her lips, Ava slowly moved her tongue against Sara’s and let Sara reciprocate the touches. Neither rushing both wanting to put everything they had kept bottled up for years into this kiss. Ava moved her hands down from Sara’s face and wrapped them around her lower back to bring the bodies completely flesh against each other. They didn’t need space anymore she wanted to feel Sara against her she wanted to feel how perfectly she fit in Ava’s arms. The kiss was getting more intense and more passionate when Ava broke away resting her forehead against Sara’s who slightly whined at the loss of Ava’s lips causing Ava to blush. “Wait I have to tell you something.” Ava whispered breathlessly “Ava, I think you’ve said enough.” Sara said looking into Ava’s eyes as she moved her one of her hands down and rested it on Ava’s chest. “I’m yours”“Fuck.” Ava thrust her lips against Sara’s, and she moved her hands down to her ass and pulled her up into her arms. Sara Wrapped her legs around Ava as Ava slowly moved to where the sleeping bag was laid out and lowered herself holding Sara in her arms down placing Sara on her back gently and Ava on top of Sara without every breaking the kiss positioning her hands on either side of Sara’s head. Sara unwrapping her legs from around Ava’s waist as she adjusted to being on the ground. Ava lowered her body down onto Sara’s and when their bodies met both women moaned into the kiss. Ava placed her leg in between Sara’s legs and moved it against her causing Sara’s to pull Ava closer for more friction. Ava moved her kisses from Sara’s lips down her cheekbone and started to move down her neck stopping to pay close attention to Sara’s pulse point sucking on it gently and moving her body against Sara’s causing Sara to moan and her hips to buck needing more friction. Sara tilted her head to give Ava more access to her neck, one of Ava’s hands moved from the side of her head trailing down her body past her ribs and reaching the hem of her shirt and reaching under it fingers running across bare skin causing Sara’s breath to catch as her fingers trailed upwards towards her chest. Sara let out a sound that lit every nerve in Ava’s body on fire and she quickly pulled back from Sara and reached down and took off her own shirt, Sara moved onto her elbows to get closer to Ava as the shirt came off her lips colliding with Ava’s abs kissing and licking their way up towards Ava’s breasts that were covered with a bra. Sara reached around Ava and quickly unhooked the bra letting it fall to the ground and for the first-time seeing Ava’s chest fully exposed Sara couldn’t help herself she moved forward and took one of Ava’s nipples into her mouth and cupped the other breast with her hand causing Ava’s breath to catch. Ava could feel every tongue stroke on her nipple, and it was the most amazing feeling she had ever felt before. It was Sara it was everything she had ever wanted and now she had her and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. She reached down and grabbed the hem of Sara shirt causing Sara to separate from Ava momentarily so the shirt could go over her head and much to Ava’s delight she was not wearing a bra. Ava quickly pushed Sara back down onto her back pushing there now exposed topless bodies together and kissing her lips again. Sara reaching down and placing on hand on Ava’s waist and the other on Ava’s ass pulling her closer as Ava moaned into the kiss and began moving her hips her leg rubbing slightly against Sara’s core. Ava again moved her lips from Sara’s mouth back down her neck painting a trail of soft kisses down her collar bone and to Sara’s exposed breasts taking a nipple into her mouth as she used a free hand to place the other nipple between her fingers and pinch. Causing Sara to moan and her hips to buck up looking for more contact. This is what Ava has always wanted she had always wanted Sara, to make her feel loved and feel special. She wanted to show her how beautiful she was and how much she wanted her. Ava switched from one breast to another to show the same affection using her tongue and her teeth to pull more moans and whines from Sara’s beautiful lips. She slowly trailed down Sara’s stomach kissing the ridges of Sara’s abs, pulling her shorts down just slightly to expose her hips and gently placing kisses along her waistline. Ava looks up to meet Sara’s eyes and her hands still wrapped around Sara’s shorts and with a nod from Sara she slides he fingers into the pantie line below the shorts and slowly pulls both shorts and panties off Sara. Ava makes eye contact with Sara and then slowly moves her body back up and onto Sara’s as she slides her exposed breasts over Sara’s core making Sara’s whine at the contact, Ava continues to move up Sara’s body and Sara can feel her hard nipples touch every piece of exposed skin until they are back pressing against Sara’s breasts and Ava is back face to face with Sara who’s breathing very heavily from being so turned on. Ava leans in and gently kisses Sara’s lips and pulls back to look into her eyes. “You’re so fucking beautiful Sara.” Ava’s fingers brush against Sara’s swollen lips and trail down to her cheek as Ava slightly brushes their lips together before bringing her eyes back to Sara’s. Sara’s hands make there way to Ava’s back and then move down to where her shorts are and grabs the shorts and pushes them down Ava’s body causing Ava to adjust and slide them down the rest of her body, once she kicks them off her eyes are back on Sara’s. Ava moves her leg up in between Sara’s legs finding the warmth of her core hitting her bare skin causing both woman to gasp. Ava thrust her hip up and back down in a motion creating friction and Sara quickly matches the motion with her hips. Both never taking their eyes off of each other. Ava wants to watch her she wants to hear her; she wants Sara to know how loved she is. Ava’s doesn’t slow down her body still rubbing against Sara’s the friction creating a warmth between them. She can feel Sara’s hands tightening around her waist her nails digging in slightly. Sara’s moans are coming more readily, and they are getting louder, at one point Sara moans Ava’s name which only causes Ava to press their foreheads together and move quicker. Sara’s hands move up towards her back and her nails dig in causing Ava to let out a moan. “I love you, Sara.” Ava repeats this multiple times as Sara reaches her climax and shouts Ava’s name. Ava slows down her motions slowly bringing Sara back down until she can feel Sara’s body relax underneath her. Ava places a kiss on Sara’s lips and then quickly reaches her arms under Sara and rolls them over so that Sara is half laying her and can relax against her. Sara reaches her hands up to Ava’s face and whispers “I love you too.”They each took time exploring each other’s bodies throughout the night finally wrapping themselves up in the sleeping bag and closing their eyes. Ava stirred first and when she looked around and saw the sun starting to peak across the horizon, she looked down at the beautiful woman in her arms wondering why she had waited so long to tell her how she felt. She slowly lowered her body to be flesh with Sara’s and caressed Sara’s face and placed soft kisses on Sara’s neck to wake her gently. “Good morning beautiful.” Ava said into Sara’s neck still peppering her with soft kisses. “I could get used to this.” Sara replied sleepily and Ava smiled into her neck. “You want to see something truly amazing?” Ava asked pulling her head back to look into Sara’s eyes and motioning for her to roll the other way. “Ava, that’s amazing.” Sara said as her eyes caught site of the sunrise over the lake and Ava settled her front against Sara’s back both still naked, she could hear Sara’s intake of breath. Sara wrapped her arms around Ava’s at her waist. Ava started kissing Sara’s neck from behind and this quickly escalated into another round of passionate love making but this time at sunrise. When they woke again the sun was high in the sky and they realized they probably should get dressed and head back to camp. As soon as they set off down the trail Ava grabbed Sara’s hand in hers and smiled. At the camp most were still asleep, and Ava and Sara were able to quietly get the fire burning again and start prepping for breakfast, when Ava realized she hadn’t told Sara about her news. When she stood to say something Ray and Nora appeared from one of the trails with morning greetings and then Zari stumbled out of her tent mumbling something about coffee and Nate laughing as she tripped getting out of the tent. Which then caused enough noise to wake up everyone else. Everyone gathered around while breakfast was cooking drinking coffee and joking around trying to figure out what they were going to do today. When Zari very loudly pointed out something. “Sara?” Zari asked to get her attention, causing Sara to look over at Zari. “Yeah?” Sara said looking confused at Zari face which looked really focused and intense.“Is that a hickey?” She asked, Sara’s eyes went wide, and she looked over at Ava. Zari followed Sara’s eyes and realized what she had just un-covered. She quickly jumped up as everyone still had their eyes on Sara trying to figure out what Zari was doing as she went over to Ava and pulled the neck of her shirt down and found matching hickeys on Ava’s neck and looked back at Sara, then back at Ava and then quickly back to Sara. “Well, it’s about fucking time you guys.” Zari said as she released Ava’s shirt and went back to where she was sitting. “What?” Sara and Ava said in unison towards Zari, everyone was starting to catch on to what happened or what they think happened. “Oh my god did you guys…?” Ray was pointing his finger towards each of them as his head and finger went back forth between Sara and Ava who were both frozen like deer in headlights. Ava started to look around almost panicked her and Sara hadn’t talked about anything really yet, this was all new to them and they defiantly hadn’t discussed telling their friends. But as she looked around, she didn’t see anyone looking upset what she saw were smiles starting to form on faces and laughs starting to erupt once everyone caught on to what Zari and now Ray were implying and she looked at Sara who seemed to be asking her what to do when she decided this what the moment to just let everything go like she said she was sick of chasing and just wanted Sara. So, she took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulder taking one last look at Sara whose look of shock was fading and a small smile was starting to emerge on her face. “Ok.” Ava holds up her hands to address everyone. “Let’s just go ahead and get this out there, yes! Sara and I…” Ava looked at Sara because she wasn’t exactly what label she should put on it if any and is she supposed to say they slept together all of the sudden there was a lump in her throat. “Slept together.” Zari interjected“Thank you, Zari, for that.” Ava shook her head trying to gather her thoughts “umm…So yeah umm… that’s happening now.” Ava takes a deep breath and takes a step forward towards Sara. “Also, I kept trying to tell you something.” She stops and looks around at everyone and then back to Sara motioning towards everyone in the circle. “And I mean everyone needs to hear this.”“If your about profess some undying love right now I think we’re good Ava.” Zari laughs Ava shoot her a glare.“Umm no, but again thank you Zari.” Ava rolls her eyes and looks back to Sara. “I got into medical school.” Sara’s eyes go wide at Ava’s statement. “Wait what?” Sara asked looking really confused and standing up and taking a step towards Ava looking around at their friends to see if anyone else knew what Ava was talking about, but they all looked just as shocked and intrigued as Sara.“I told you I changed my Major and well I never really elaborated on it. And the reason I didn’t come back last summer was because I took extra courses so I could graduate early.” Ava rushed out. “Wait Ava I’m lost what exactly are you saying?” Sara meets Ava’s eyes and sees a smile come across Ava’s face.“I was accepted to Star City Medical School a year ago and I’m enrolled to start this fall.” Ava says “So, your done with the Academy?” Sara takes another step forward. “You don’t have to go back?”“I’m done. I got my Bio Science degree in May. I’m staying here in Star City.” Ava finished never taking her eyes off Sara even when their friends jumped up and start shouting congratulations and patting her on the back her eyes stayed on Sara whose eyes had filled with tears as she took steps to get closer to Ava pushing Nate a little out of the way to stand directly in front of Ava. Nate moved to the side, and everyone stopped and stood waiting to see what Sara would say.Sara couldn’t move she just wanted to look at Ava to see the pure happiness before her and all the sudden her future seemed very clear and focused. Her future was with Ava it had always been Ava and her mind flashed to images of the first day they met she had no idea the day, she met that tall lanky nerd Ava Sharpe she would become the most important person to her in the world. She let the tears fall down her cheek as she closed the gap between her and Ava and reached her arms up as everyone watched wrapped them around Ava’s neck. “I love you, Ava Sharpe.” Sara Said and pulled Ava’s lips down to meet hers, and all their friends erupted into laughs and shouts of it’s about time guys. Ava and Sara pulled apart and embraced in a tight hug and the Legends quickly gather around in a group hug with Ava and Sara at the center. “I love you, Sara Lance.” Ava whispered in Sara’s ear holding onto her tighter both with huge grins on their face. They were looking forward to the future together with each other and of course with the legends too.
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Sara was unpacking boxes in their closet; their she loved that word. They had been in medical school for two years and sharing an apartment with Zari and Nate for almost two years, when Ava had come home after a late night at the library walking in on Nate and Zari on the couch. Ava swore to Sara she was traumatized by what she saw. She came into the bedroom where Sara was asleep and woke Sara up from a deep sleep announcing they were finding their own apartment. That was two months ago and now Sara was unpacking boxes in the closet while Ava was in the kitchen unpacking boxes. Sara loved how Ava labeled every box she knew exactly where everything should go, something that Sara had become accustomed to was Ava like things organized and she wouldn’t admit it at first, but it definitely made things a lot easier when you were running on two hours of sleep and had a class to get to at eight in the morning. Sara reached down and pulled a purple box out of a box that she had never seen and wasn’t sure she had seen it in their closet of their old apartment. It was a keepsake box that had a lock on it. Sara looked at it for a moment before jumping to her feet and walking into the kitchen. “Ava?” Sara said“Yeah babe.” Ava replied turning to see the purple box in Sara’s hands. “I found this in a box but I’m not sure what it is?” Sara said and Ava took a few steps forward taking the box and looking at it. “It’s nothing my mom must have put it in the box from my closet at home.” Ava said but Sara knew Ava, she knew that she wasn’t telling her the whole truth. “Well, nothing has a lock on it?” Sara said smirking “Are you hiding all your secret in there?” “I think you know all my secrets there babe.” Ava said leaning in and kissing Sara softly on the lips and putting the box on the counter. “Okay but now I want to know what’s in it?” Sara says smiling leaning on the counter with her chin in her hand looking at the box. “It’s like a mystery box, which means I don’t know all your secrets.” Ava turns smiling at her. “Sara, you are not looking in my super-secret purple box.” Ava said chuckling and grabbing the box and walking away towards the room as Sara followed her watching where she put the box. She put it on the very top shelf of the closet and looked back at Sara with a smirk raising her eyebrow at her before heading back to the kitchen. “You know I can get a step ladder and reach that.” Sara says to her as she is walking past her and Ava just giggles as she leaved the room. About a month after they moved in together Ava had gathered all the letters, she had written to Sara from her parents’ house. If Sara had managed to get into that little purple box, she would have found letters to everyone else. Ava had moved those somewhere safe because she had wanted to give them to Sara on a special occasion so why not on their anniversary of their first kiss. Ava walked in to find Sara sitting at her desk doing some homework and Ava watched her as she thumbed through pages of a textbook no doubt working on something that was due the next day. “Hey.” Ava said walking in with a wrapped box smiling and Sara looked up at her and her serious face turned to a bright smile. Ava made her way over to Sara and kissed her softly and Sara saw the box in her hands. “Hey babe.” Sara said looking from the box to Ava “What that?” “This is an anniversary gift.” Ava said smiling “Ava our anniversary isn’t for like six months.” Sara said confused. “Yes, I know that, but this is a different anniversary.” Ava said and set the box down. “I want you to open this and then when you are done looking at everything, I’ll be waiting in the living room for you.” Ava said softly as she turned to walk out closing the door behind her. Sara stared at the box and then slowly started to pull off the bow and lifting the lid on the box up. Inside the box were envelopes and Sara saw the envelopes with dates simply written on them in Ava’s handwriting. They were arranged in order the top seemed to be the first one she should open.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------June 2009Sara,
I don’t even know how to put this in words. After everything that went on with Nyssa, I never thought I would find myself thinking about you a way that I don’t think I should. But today we kissed, somehow our plan to get Ray and Nora to kiss backfired on us. We ended up in the closet together and I was so scared, but you knew. Because you always know when I am anxious, and you calmed me down. But then I thought we would just be in there for seven minutes passing time just to get Ray and Nora in there. And then you said we had to kiss because they would know if we didn’t. I cant help but wonder if that meant you wanted to kiss me or if it was true. Because if I am being honest, it was the best moment of my life. I know we are friends we are best friends, but I think I felt something more in that moment. My stomach had butterflies and I didn’t want to stop. It felt like time stopped it felt like I could have floated away if I wasn’t kissing you. And I really hope I get to kiss you again because I think that is what love might feel like. I spent the whole rest of the night thinking about kissing you again and now I am at home, and I had to write these thoughts down because every time I close my eyes, I can feel your lips on my lips and your body against mine. I wish you were here how can I miss you so much? Do you want to kiss me again? All these questions keep running through my head, I am going to bed now because at least I can kiss you again in my dreams. AvaP.S. I think I might be in love with you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara put the letter down and had tears in her eyes she closed her eyes and remembered that very moment for her. Sara moved one of her hands to Ava’s cheek and pulled her a little closer until their lips met. It was soft and sweet when Sara pulled back to make sure everything was okay her hand on Ava’s face, she could feel Ava nod, so she brought her other hand up to cup the other side of Ava’s face and pulled her in for another kiss this one a little more intense their lips moving against each other still softly but with more passion behind it this time. Ava’s hands found Sara’s hips and she rested them there but pulled Sara a little closer, so their bodies were pushed together causing Sara’s breath to hitch. Sara then decided to go for it and ran her tongue along Ava’s bottom lip when Ava slightly opened her mouth Sara moved both of her hands and wrapped them around Ava’s neck and pulled her into a much deeper kiss sliding her tongue to meet Ava’s. If Ava had never kissed anyone before Sara wouldn’t have known because this was quite possibly the best kiss Sara had ever experienced in her entire life. Ava matched Sara’s movements and at one point moved one of her hands to the side of Sara’s face wrapping her fingers in Sara’s hair. Ava was on cloud nine why had she been so afraid of kissing someone this was amazing the feeling the soft lips against hers, the feeling in the pit of her stomach, and the fire she felt running through her body. She didn’t know how long they had kissed when they finally parted if only for air. They rested their foreheads against each other’s.Sara opened the next letter: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------September 2009So, I did it I came out at school, and I kissed you again. I know it was impulsive, but we had talked about it being okay I really hope it was. I have to say for an impulsive kiss it was amazing, I wish I didn’t have to cut it short because I could feel you responding to it. I wish I could have really kissed you. I have dreamt of kissing you again since we last kissed. And that was not exactly how I thought it would go but you were so adorable after. Almost like I punched you in the stomach. Thank You for helping me today with our friends I don’t know why I always over think things. You are always the person who seems to talk sense into my insecurities, and I thank you for that. And as for Lance I think he got the point every time he saw me the rest of the day he would turn and walk the other way. I wish I could tell you about this about how I feel, but I can’t I don’t know if I ever will but having you close means more to me. I don’t ever want to lose you Sara I don’t know what I would do if I did. Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sara shook her head putting the letter down, that kiss was the one for her she thought to herself and closed her eyes. And as for Non-Verbal Communication how’s this.” Ava looks over at Sara and smiles grabbing Sara by her shirt and pulling her closer to her and brings their lips together in a kiss that gets hot quickly but stops so abruptly that Sara barely has time to register what has just happened when they part and Ava winks at her and lets go of her shirt as Sara leans back into the locker in shock Ava turning back to Lance. “Does that answer your question. If it doesn’t how is this?” Ava sticks her middle finger up in his face grabbing Ray by the arm and pulling him away. Leaving a shocked Sara and Lance leaning against the lockers.
“Sara?” Ray asks and Sara looks at him. “Are you okay?”
“That was intense.” Sara answered Sara opened the next letter she had a feeling she knew what this letter referenced.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nov 2009Sara, Today was crazy as shit and I don’t know what to say. I have all these feeling right now and I want to run to your house and tell you everything, but I know it would be a mistake. I just I couldn’t let you think that Alex was anything to me other than an old crush from like two years ago. And I wanted so badly to convey that to you. When you kissed me, I felt this burning inside of me, it was like this small flame had been there and you threw gas on it, and it exploded. I wanted you more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. I wanted to kiss you until you couldn’t see straight, I wanted to put every feeling I have ever felt for you into that kiss. The way I felt when you looked at me in my bathing suit and I felt the small flame just barely burning, the way you looked at me after I kissed you in the hallway and I felt that flame grow and today it turned into an inferno. And inferno that only you can create a fire and burning that only you can put out. I wish I could tell you how in love I am with you Sara Lance. I wish I could hold your hand every day, so everyone knew I was yours. I want to tell you how I find myself struggling to think when I can feel you looking at me. Or how I tend to watch you walk down the hall and I can hear your laugh and instantly that fire lights up. Someday maybe I will be strong enough maybe someday I wont be scared maybe someday I will be able to make you feel that you are the only person in the world that matters to me.
I love you,
Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara put down the letter tears falling now Ava had loved her for so long and she had been writing her and telling her for years. She picked up the next letter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------OCT 2010Sara,Last night we danced together after we were name homecoming queens, and it was so perfect for me. But then I called you because you left early, and I was worried, and I found out that you left because you didn’t want to cross our line. The one we tried to put in place so we wouldn’t keep kissing each other. You asked for space after telling me you wanted to kiss me, you left so you wouldn’t break our promise, you left so you wouldn’t hurt me. I wanted to say so much to you I wanted to tell you to come and hold me. I wanted you here in my arms so I could tell you how much I love you. Hearing you say the words I want to say so badly was like someone stabbing me a million times in the chest. I cried myself to sleep with only you on my mind with only the thought that I would give you as much space as you want. I hate myself right now, I wish I was stronger I wish I was stronger for you for us. Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sara knew every letter she went to next was just going to make her cry, but she put down that letter and grabbed the next one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------July 2011Sara,Leaving you was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Kissing you was the most beautiful thing I have ever done. I love you I love you I love you I love you. Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara held the letter in her hands looking at it and wiping the tears from her eyes. Sara closed her eyes and thought of that day the day she left for college.
“I want to see your eyes.” Ava whispered
“My beautiful blue eyes that you wrote about in your diary.” Sara said with a smile.
“Those are the ones.” Ava whispered as Sara looked up at her. Tears still falling down her cheeks, Ava reached up and wiped the tears away and looked at Sara with so much love and admiration the words just came out. “Kiss me.” Ava whispered.She opened her eyes and put the letter down and grabbed the next one.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------New Year’s 2012Sara, I feel like I yelled at you, maybe I scared you I don’t know. I can’t get my head right about this, about us. Every time I think we get back into this good place this friend zone we need to be in we find ourselves not in the friend zone. And I want so badly to tell you how much I need you, how much I want you. I just I fucking wanted you, I wanted to kiss you and I know the wine didn’t help but it’s all I have ever wanted, and I am so stupid to think that I can avoid these feelings these urges. But here I am trying, going to extreme lengths to try and bury all these feelings deep down so I don’t lose you. And if we cross that line, I will lose you because I am not what you want, you think I am so put together, but you have no idea how scared I am of losing you every day. I love you so much, but I think it’s time I tried to move on and see if I can be happy with someone instead of miserable loving someone I will never have. Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara put the letter down and looked at it. This was when Ava was going to attempt to date Drew Sara remembered how much she hated the woman she never met. And when Ava told her about kissing her how Sara was tempted to get on a plane and fly to Denver to kick her ass. Sara grabbed the next letter this envelope had two letter’s in it.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dec. 2013
Sara,
I said it out loud today, I told Nora. I am scared of how deep this is, how strong these feeling are. I can still feel you in my arms. I can still hear you saying how much you are going to miss me. I can still feel your body against mine and my arms pulling you in tighter. I’m scared of how madly, deeply, undeniably in love with you I am. I will see you soon and I am scared that you will see how messed up I am. That you will see how lost I am without you, that will see how much I long to have you in my arms how much it hurts to see you with other people I hate feelings I hate this I feel so alone.
Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jan 2014
I left you, I had too because I know now that you are all I want. Your lips on mine, your body against mine. I stopped you from talking, my fingers on your skin lifting your shirt up and off. Seeing your lips swollen and the look in your eyes the wanting we both had. The need we both felt in that moment, I can still hear my name coming from your lips. The feeling of your fingers on my skin, your lips on my skin. My tongue on your skin my skin against your skin. I can still feel your nails digging into my back I can still see your eyes and the way they look when you saw me when you saw all of me. Your eyes on me as I fell apart under your touch, my eyes on you as I made you fall apart. I will never love anyone the way I love you I know that now. So, I had to leave because I have to get ready to tell you that to tell you what you mean to me, and I need some help finding my voice for you. I love you so much and I know I will tell you soon.
Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara put down the letters and looked at the box there were only two envelopes left. Ava had been writing these letter for years and had kept them. But she knew picking up the next letter that it was by the date while Sara was missing, and she closed her eyes as she pulled out the paper to read it because it was going to be hard. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------June 2014Sara, Your gone, they are still looking but it has been four days. I am only writing because I feel like if I don’t, I will forget this feeling. I feel empty as if I can never love again, as if all of the color has drained out of the world. A world without you seems impossible it seems improbable. My life without you already is lonely. I lost my chance I waited to long. I had you but for a moment, a blink of an eye and for that I will be forever grateful, but I will neve love again not like that. I will never see the world in color again, not like I did when I was with you. I will never be me again, not without you. Please come back to me Sara I cannot bear to live in a world without you, you are the love of my life. Forever yours,
Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sara put down the letter and took a deep breath wiping the tears from her face and grabbed the last envelope. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Nov 2014I have been in London for a while now and I have learned something being here. I have learned that I have a soulmate, her name is Sara Lance. The definition of soulmate is lackluster and found myself looking for a better way to understand this happy feeling I now have. So, I went through poetry because I felt like that might explain it better. I found tons of beautiful sayings and I came across a few that reminded me of you. “A soulmate is a best friend who makes you love yourself more” I liked that one. “Your soul greeted mine like a long-lost friend” That reminds me of us too. I knew the moment I met you that you were special. Everything we have been through in our lives had led to me being able to say out loud I love you; I am in love with you, and I am no longer afraid to say it. I have said it to Amaya and Charlie, I told them how madly in love with you I am. And I am done being afraid I am ready to pull you into my arms and never let you go. You are my everything and I am not giving up without a fight. I found this little saying I think sums it up best when I was searching for poems. “My darling, you will never be unloved by me, you are too well tangled in my soul.” So, I am packing to head to Fresno to spend some time with Shannon and then in just mere weeks I will finally tell you how I feel. How I have always felt. I look forward to holding you in my arms free of worry and fear just loving you. I cannot wait to kiss you and never stop kissing you, to find every freckle and every scar to whisper your name to moan it. I cannot wait for you to feel how much love I have for you and how I will always be there how I will never leave your side because that is where I belong its where I have always been. So here I come Lance buckle up because once I have you, I am never letting you go again. Yours forever and beyond
Ava------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sara put the letter down and had a smile on her face, Ava had shown up and had told her it wasn’t a dream it was real. Ava had held onto her every night since; they hadn’t been apart not even once in the years since they had been together. No matter how tired she is whenever Sara would crawl into bed Ava would wrap her arms around her tightly and whisper, I love you’ s to her until she fell asleep. Sara placed the letter back in the box and put the lid back on it. Ava had said once that she would never let Sara see them, so she knew for Ava to show them to her was maybe her final step of letting go of the fear she had held onto for so many years. It was just one more thing Ava was doing to prove how much she loved Sara. As if every day with Ava wasn’t already a gift a wonderful, amazing gift that they both had waited far to long to long to open. Sara made her way to their living room ready to sprinkle kisses all over Ava’s face and to tell her how much she meant to her and how much she loved her, but she stopped when she made it to the living room where Ava was standing and waiting. Candles were lit up all around the room and it was just Ava in the soft glow of the light. Sara’s breath caught at the sight of her girlfriend standing there waiting for her. Ava softly smiled at Sara knowing the emotional roller coaster she must have just put her through those letters it wasn’t all of them just the ones she wanted her to read. The ones that helped her in this moment the ones that conveyed her true and absolute love for Sara. Ava slowly got down on one knee and pulled a small velvet box from her back pocket never taking her eyes off of Sara. “Today is the anniversary of our first kiss. It was the day I fell head over heels in love with you. It was the day I gave you, my heart even if you didn’t know it. I know I was a mess for a long time, and it took me a while to figure everything out, but the one thing I know the one thing I was always sure of was I never wanted to lose you. I wanted to have you in my life forever. And now when I think of forever, I think of us, I think of having kids and grandkids, I think of all of the things that I want with you. You have always been my person; you will always be my person. You are the only person who makes my world colorful and the only person who can brighten a dark room I am in with just your smile or your laugh. You are the only person I want to kiss and watch cheesy horror movies with. You are my co-captain for life, you are my love, my partner, and my whole life.” Ava opens the box to show a simple diamond engagement ring. “Sara Lance, I don’t want to waste any more time, I don’t want to take any more chances, it’s always been you it’s only ever been you. Will you marry me?” “Yes.” Was all Sara could get out as she ran into Ava’s arms as she stood up pushing both of them back until Ava was able to steady herself. Sara’s lips found Ava’s the kiss was new it was the beginning of a new phase for them. Ava couldn’t help but smile into the kiss and laugh as Sara kissed down her chin and onto her neck as Ava pulled her away a little so she could put the ring on her finger and then intertwining their fingers pulling them to her lips and kissing the finger she just placed a ring on. “I love you so much.” Ava said looking into Sara’s eyes and moving her hands to rest on Sara’s face and kissing her softly. Ava pulled back a little and looked at Sara and a huge smile brightened on her face. “Are you looking at my beautiful blue eyes again?” Sara asked “Forever Lance!” Ava said and then wrapped her into her arms pulling her closer and putting her forehead against Sara’s. “Until the end of time.” She whispered and she softly put her lips against Sara’s as they melted into each other.