Chapter Text
Chapter 1 Adora
The first key did not work, nor did the second or the third. Adora huffed as she attempted to balance her water bottle, backpack, tote, and the bag of groceries she had picked up on her way home in one hand while fumbling with the keys, trying to finally pick the right one. After two more attempts, the lock finally clicked. The blonde released a breath of relief as she practically scrambled into the apartment, setting the groceries and bottle on the kitchen island and practically launching her bags onto the couch. She let her shoulders relax, and, for the first time in a week, finally took an actual break.
Adora’s parents had made a surprise trip to Cambridge, Massachusetts, to visit their daughter—a sweet gesture, of course, but the trip had not been planned. The moment her parents walked in the door, Adora had begun to scramble. She was grateful they had made the trip from California, but with grad school starting the next week, Adora couldn't help cursing under her breath as she gave up her room and was forced to sleep on the rock-hard couch.
The past week had sent a tornado of feelings reeling through her. She was tired, annoyed, sore, and stressed. Her mother had nagged her the entire week about staying on top of coursework, making sure she bought groceries, and preparing meal preps for the first week of school—not to mention the total renovation of Adora’s apartment that had taken place. A cleaning crew swept through every nook and cranny, old clothes were donated, and by the end of the week, Adora had gotten a new couch to sleep on—which somehow managed to be harder than the first.
Adora’s father, on the other hand, had attended every game Adora had coached. He had managed to dispense all the knowledge a man could possibly have about women’s sports. She smiled politely the entire time and promised him she would tell her girls his advice. Having graduated from Harvard and played basketball there, the university was bound and determined to have her on the coaching staff as soon as possible—once she was “comfortable.” Comfortable was the word the institution chose to use when they offered her the position, expecting anyone who had just double-majored in Kinesiology and Legal History to want at least a couple of months off before stepping back onto campus, especially someone who had applied to their graduate school for the next fall. But Adora practically jumped at the opportunity to have something to do after her last three years of pure hell.
It wasn’t easy—no, it was nearly impossible—for Adora during college. Her life had been twisted, shaped, and molded for her more times than she could count. She hadn’t gotten into Harvard after high school. It had been her dream—well, her parents' dream. They wanted her to continue the family legacy at the school.
The blonde rubbed her fingers on her temple as the memories came flashing back.
She had just gotten home from practice. The blonde, seventeen at the time, was happy, her workload next to nothing. She remembered walking into the kitchen to find her mother sitting at the counter with her laptop open in front of her, a look of total disbelief on her face.
She had been waitlisted.
After three months had passed, Adora walked across the stage of her high school as their Valedictorian. She had been accepted to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she would major in kinesiology and play for their women's basketball team. She had never been happier.
Her parents smiled politely, but the disappointment was palpable in every glance. She had fought that look her entire life, and the feeling of failure tore through her abdomen like a knife. It never got easier, nor did it become less painful. This was a never-ending battle for the adoptive daughter of the Grays.
Adora was practically slapped out of her thoughts when her phone began to ring. She glanced down at the screen, expecting to see her mother calling, but to her surprise, it was Glimmer. She grabbed the phone and answered, setting it on speaker as she began sorting through her groceries.
"Hey," Adora's voice was hoarse from the scrimmage, as usual. Calling out plays over the crowd, yelling at the refs, and trying to get through to her teammates had permanently left a rasp in her voice.
"Dor, what are you wearing tomorrow?" Glimmer's high-pitched voice filled the empty apartment like a blanket. She sounded distant, as though she was currently scouring her closet for the "perfect" outfit.
"Uh... Clothes?" Adora responded, opening the fridge.
Glimmer had been the first person Adora met after transferring to Harvard. She was the first friendly face after everything, and Adora had latched onto her. Not long after, Adora met Glimmer’s childhood best friend, Bow. The three became inseparable for the next three years. Glimmer and Bow were both considered legacies, just like Adora. Glimmer, like her mother, majored in political science, while Bow majored in education. The three would all be attending Harvard for another one to seven years, depending on how long they wanted to stay.
"Ha. Ha. Now seriously, I know your mother picked you out an outfit. Just tell me— is it nice?"
Glimmer’s tone tried to sound sarcastic but came out more stressed. She was right—Adora’s mother had indeed picked out an outfit. A heather gray sweater, a white dress shirt, and black dress pants had been hung on the tall windowsill in the apartment last night. Her mother practically packed Adora’s backpack for her.
Adora placed the last bits of groceries into the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water and a protein bar before making her way over to the couch.
“A gray sweater, black pants, and a white dress shirt,” Adora replied, taking a drink of her water.
“What shoes?”
Glimmer’s voice sounded closer now. Adora chuckled and slipped her tennis shoes off, tossing them on the floor at the bottom of the couch.
“Crocs, Glimmer. I’m going to wear Crocs.”
The blonde's voice oozed with irony. Glimmer let out a loud, dramatic sigh, and muffled sounds filled Adora’s ears. The phone call screen disappeared as a FaceTime call replaced it. The blonde huffed as she swiped to answer.
“Well, hello there."
Adora chuckled at the sight of Glimmer and Bow's apartment.
“Adora! Seriously, can you help me?”
A head of purple hair blocked the camera as the female reached into her closet. True to form, Glimmer decided to go against the "status quo." The act of deviance had started during their junior year of college and seemed to remain strong through grad school.
Adora loved Glimmer and Bow. The two of them had taken a heartbroken girl and done their best to piece her heart back together. After moving across the country and leaving everything and everyone behind, Adora had been at her lowest. She was tired all the time, and lost motivation for school, sports, and life altogether. That was until these two bubbles of joy stepped into her life and gave her a flashlight, allowing her to see past the darker parts.
Leaving UCLA had been one of the darkest moments of her life. Her parents hadn’t given her a choice—well, not a real one. The moment Adora had received an email from Harvard saying she had been accepted and taken off the waitlist, her parents immediately began enrolling her, finding her an apartment, and buying furniture.
Adora wasn’t even sure how her parents had found out she’d been accepted, but somehow, they did. She remembered the night they asked her to go to dinner. She knew something was off, but chose to stay silent. The second she arrived, it was practically a giant party. All her family members and her parents' friends were gathered around a table at the restaurant. Her parents got what they wanted the only way they knew how—by asking her what she wanted to do in front of everyone she would never, not once in her life, think of letting down. She said she would go, but she had hoped to at least finish her first semester at UCLA. She had hoped to play a few more months with her teammates. They had just started the actual season and had already played five games. Everything was perfect. Even her roommate.
Adora flinched at the memory. She had spent the past four years trying to forget about her—her laugh, her smile, and their time together. Time helped, but guilt was an ugly feeling. Adora was sure her past roommate didn’t think about her. She was probably living her best life. She had most likely graduated by now, hopefully still performing at restaurants and bars in her free time.
The blonde forced herself out of her thoughts, attempting to blink away the past.
“Honestly, Glimmer, I’m most likely going to wear my nicer tennis shoes,” Adora said, her voice distant.
After four outfit changes, three hairdos, and more shoes than Adora could count, Glimmer finally decided on an outfit. Adora practically fell back onto the couch once the purple-haired girl had made up her mind. All the blonde wanted to do was sleep—granted, it was only seven at night, but after her week, she needed all the rest she could get.
Just as she was about to announce that she was going to head off the call, Glimmer spoke.
“Hey, me and Bow are going to grab dinner and drinks at The Grill. Wanna come?”
Adora’s face dropped at the offer.
“Probably not, Glim. I’m exhausted.”
It was true—Adora was more tired than usual. She had already changed into sweats and even managed to find a show to watch.
“Come on, Adora, you can’t possibly not need an alcoholic beverage after a week with your parents.”
Bow's face now completely filled her phone screen as he spoke. She laughed at his choice of wording.
“I really don’t want to.”
The blonde whined as she sank back into the couch.
“Too bad. We’ll be there in thirty minutes. Get dressed, I’m not letting you become a crazy cat lady at the ripe age of twenty-two.”
Adora huffed as the phone call ended.
What the actual hell, she thought to herself. But she pulled herself off the couch and made her way to her room and closet.
She managed to find some green pants and a black shirt to throw on. Her head had been throbbing, so instead of her usual ponytail, she left her hair down. She slipped on her tennis shoes and grabbed a black jacket from the coat closet in the entryway before making her way back to the couch.
The Grill was a restaurant and bar they had found in their junior year. They loved the atmosphere of the place. Most college students went downtown for the bars, so not many...
They went to The Grill, a restaurant that always had live performers or karaoke going on, and the owners were pretty sweet overall.
After ten minutes, someone began pounding on the door. Adora, with the biggest look of confusion, rushed to the door, thinking something had happened.
“Hello?” she asked, only to be met with purple hair.
“Come on! Let's go!” Glimmer exclaimed.
Adora barely had time to grab her wallet and keys before she was yanked out of her apartment. Once the two were in the elevator, the blonde finally spoke.
“The hell, Glimmer?”
An annoyed sigh followed her sentence. She ran her fingers through her blonde hair as she double-checked that she had everything.
“Relax. The Uber driver is a total tool and wasn’t happy about making the stop. I didn’t want you to get distracted,” Glimmer replied, scrolling through her phone.
Adora watched her for a second, then reached into her back pocket for her phone—only to realize, in her rush, she had forgotten it.
“Glimmer, you made me leave my phone. I’ve gotta go get it.”
Adora’s voice was tired with annoyance as she rubbed her temples.
Glimmer just smiled as she grabbed Adora's hand and yanked her out of the elevator.
“You act like you have any other friends. Your parents just left, they won’t be texting you, and you’ll have me and Bow’s phones in case of an emergency. You have your money and your keys. You. Are. Fine.” She took a break between each word as she emphasized, “You are fine.”
Adora just mumbled under her breath as she followed Glimmer to the black car sitting outside the apartment lobby.
The air was crisp now that it had turned dark. Adora loved the fall here. The leaves were dying, but somehow, they looked even more beautiful than when they were alive. The colder weather was something she cherished, especially after living in California her whole life.
Glimmer climbed in first, sitting behind the driver, while Adora sat in the seat behind Bow.
“Long time no see, Adora. I was wondering when they were going to let you free,” Bow said, smiling as he turned in his seat to face the blonde.
“No kidding,” Adora replied, fastening her seatbelt.
The drive was short—no more than a fifteen-minute trip from her apartment to the side of Cambridge that had some restaurants, shops, and bars. The car slowed to a stop right outside the building. A small sign illuminated the entrance with blue and red letters spelling out “The Grill.”
The group thanked the driver as they crawled out, all pitching in to leave a decent tip. Adora looked across the street to the parking lot and noticed more cars than usual. The sound of music and talking filled her ears as Bow opened the door to the bar.
“I know, I know. I’m such a gentleman,” he laughed, joking as the two girls walked in.
The three smiled at a couple of waitresses and the bartender as they made their way to a table near the stage. Adora awkwardly waved at some people who sent her smiles as she passed by.
“You know, you really haven’t gotten any less socially awkward, even after knowing us for almost four years. I’m kind of offended,” Glimmer said, raising her voice over the music.
Adora glared at her, and Bow laughed at the pair as they bickered.
“How is that,” Adora motioned to the restaurant behind her, “socially awkward? I don’t even know any of these people, and they’re all smiling at me like I’m at a family reunion.”
The music was louder than usual, and the crowd, which had mostly been older folks, was now slowly being overtaken by people their age. The bar, which usually had one bartender, now had two running around frantically. Even their waitress, who eventually made her way to the trio's table, seemed a bit overwhelmed by the usual amount of customers.
After ordering drinks and some food, Bow gave Adora a look.
“Don’t act like you’d be any less awkward at a family reunion.”
Adora, knowing it was the truth, stayed silent, trying her best not to smile while looking away.
The night seemed to get busier—whenever one group left, it felt like two more arrived. About thirty minutes after their food had been brought out, a second round of drinks arrived.
The once unpopulated area of the restaurant was now filled.
“Is someone performing?” Glimmer asked the two.
Adora noted that questions like this were rare—usually, no one sat in this area on a Sunday night because there were no performances scheduled.
“It didn’t say anything on the website, did it?” Bow looked at Adora.
“Why would I know? One of you forced me to come. Also, Glimmer wouldn’t let me go back to grab my phone after practically kidnapping me out of my apartment,” Adora said, sending another glare toward the other female.
Glimmer just smiled sarcastically as she pulled out her phone to look up the website. While Glimmer looked, Adora turned her attention to Bow.
“Are you excited? For tomorrow?” Adora asked. Like her, Bow had initially wanted to do something completely different than what they were doing now. If you were to ask younger Adora and Bow:
“Hey, what would you want to be when you grow up?”
Neither of them would have said, I want to be a professor and teach for the rest of my life, or Yes, I want to be a legal historian, but yet here they were—fulfilling the dreams of their parents. Unable to say anything other than yes, and Is there anything else I can do?
“Sure, gotta get my master's, then my PhD, then I’m all set to live the dream,” Bow shot her with two finger guns, causing the blonde to laugh. She understood. Five to seven years of studying anything about the law and its history? Fun stuff.
“I found it!” Glimmer’s scream shocked both Adora and Bow, pulling them out of their thoughts. The female flipped her phone around to show them.
“Fading Lines are playing tonight,” Glimmer announced. She flipped her phone back around to read the band’s biography. “The lead singer is originally from California, she moved here to attend Harvard graduate school—twins!” She flashed the two a smile. “The guitarist, drummer, and bassist are from Cambridge. Twins times two!” She kept reading. “They have some pretty good reviews so far. Oh, they've been performing for… only five months? Dang, I guess they are pretty good.”
Adora shot a look at Bow, only to find him already looking at her. That sent them both into a laughing fit. Glimmer looked up from her phone.
“You guys literally asked me to find this stuff out.”
The pair continued laughing, trying to hold in their drinks.
“Oh my god, y’all are so drunk.”
This sent Adora over the edge. She spit her drink onto the floor. Trying to catch her breath, she reached for a napkin. A waitress rushed over to help.
“No, please, I did it. Let me clean it up,” Adora said, laughing as she wiped the spill with napkins.
Glimmer just smiled as she took a drink from her cup. Bow was still giggling beside her while Adora cleaned up her mess.
After attempting to clean up most of the spill, Adora began to stand up but heard someone clear their throat. She shot up too quickly, hitting her head and shoulder on the table before managing to get herself off the floor.
“Sorry, that’s my bad. I was cleaning up the mess. Let me just grab the towel off the floor,” Adora explained, kneeling down again to grab the towel.
“I mean, I’m flattered, but don’t you think it’s a bit early?” a stranger’s voice said.
Adora mentally noted the sass in her tone. She was about to ask what the stranger meant—or if they thought she was someone else—until she realized the position she was in. Here she was, on a knee in front of a woman at a bar, like a proposal.
Adora shot up faster than she could think, hitting her shoulder on the table again. After setting the towel on the table and running her fingers through her hair, she finally got a good look at the stranger. Messy curly brown hair, two completely different colored eyes, and tan skin. This sassy stranger was beautiful. The kind of beauty that didn’t need makeup or a fancy outfit. The stranger had neither—just a white tank top and baggy jeans.
Adora wasn’t sure what came over her, but her usual social awkwardness seemed to disappear.
“Trust me, if I was going to propose, it wouldn’t be in a backstreet bar.”
She smirked at the stranger.
The brunette raised an eyebrow, looking her up and down before speaking.
“I’ll have to remember that.”
Adora smirked before moving to allow the brunette to pass. The stranger looked her over one more time, furrowing her brows before walking past their table toward the stage area.
“Hello!” Bow practically screamed once the strangely hot female was out of earshot.
“What. The. Hell. Was that?” Glimmer whispered-yelled at Adora.
“Trust me, if I was going to propose, it wouldn’t be in a backstreet bar. Okay, Dor, I see you!” Bow repeated the line Adora had used.
Adora just rolled her eyes at the pair. The two stayed on the topic for another five minutes until someone came up on stage with a microphone.
“Excuse me,” the man on stage cleared his throat. “I’m sure most of you came to see the show, so I’m excited to introduce you to Fading Lines.”
The people in the restaurant and bar began clapping, some started to walk over and stand toward the back. One by one, the members of the band made their way to the stage. First came a female holding drumsticks, which Adora assumed was the drummer. Then two more members with guitars, and finally, the last girl walked out onto the stage.
Adora smiled. Of course, the conveniently hot stranger who had made a joke about the blonde proposing was in the band.
The man handed the microphone to her and smiled before exiting the stage.
“That’s us, Fading Lines. This is Lonnie, our expert on beating things, or what some of you might call a drummer.” The crowd laughed in unison as the hot, not-so-stranger pointed toward the female who looked similar to the other brunette, but different. “This is Trapta, our bassist. Her full name is Entrapata, but don’t worry, she probably won’t respond to either.” The crowd continued giggling as she pointed toward the female on stage with long purple hair.
Adora looked over to see Glimmer pointing between the other purple-haired girl and herself.
“See, I told you it was a trend,” Glimmer said.
Adora chuckled as she locked eyes with the female on stage.
“And this is my second in command, Scorpia, our other vocalist and goddess on the guitar.” Adora glanced at Scorpia. The female had short platinum blonde hair and thick eyeliner. The band, Adora noted, was an attractive group overall.
“And you hopefully enjoy my voice. I’m Catra.”
The brunette, Catra, looked Adora dead in the eyes.
Adora’s world came to a halt.
No. No, that couldn’t be.
“Some of us up here are attending grad school here at Harvard, so every tip counts. Call us beggars, but a girl’s gotta eat.”
The crowd laughed, but Adora couldn’t bring herself to look at the stage anymore. Her roommate, her friend, her Catra was here. And there was nothing she could do.