Chapter Text
Apple's silver convertible was intimate yet familiar to Cherry, the chic dark bedding, fairy lights and enclosed air always felt personable. Little feminine charms and trinkets clunkily enclose the two figures sat in close proximity. The mess as everything with Apple is deliberate, almost poised madness of loose articles appearing purposeful even in their randomness.
Cherry remembers the first time Apple confessed to her living situation and being invited into her space. It had felt like a special privilege, like begging to chip at an impenetrable ice wall. Shortly after it became a frequent thing once the pair naturally grew closer, especially after the loss of Pickle, Apple's prior mini-me.
Then ever since Apple started planning out Cherry’s schedule it became second nature. Of course it began with small suggestions and concerns, late night messages and reminders. Before Cherry knew it the pair would finish a late shift and clamber tiredly into Apple's space as if second nature. Cherry would twist her bouncy blonde curls airly round her fingers until Apple would eventually look up from writing her schedule in her diary to say she looked childish and unattractive. Cherry would pout and correct herself, letting her eyes fall upon the inner surroundings of Apple's small world.
Like she did in present, the summer air left a stagnant humidity in the swelling night. The blonde was wearing pink latex hot pants, which clung tightly to her frame. Matching a pair of gimmicky cowboy boots which Apple had demanded she took off before coming inside the car. Her top was cropped and airy, checkered florals sitting below her cleavage and loosely around her shoulders. A pair of small rectangle sunglasses sat on her head delicately as she played absentmindedly with them. Her figure was comfortably sprawled out on Apples made black covers, laying on her front her long legs flickered playfully up and down behind her.
The car windows upfront were jarred slightly open letting in the metallic stinge of the parking lot. The slight breeze filtering in didn't cool the intimate heat the two girls shared. Cherry found a comfort being so close to someone so untouchable. Apple sat reclined beside her as usual, her posture assertive as she sprawled out instructions in Cherry's scheduling. The only sound other than their mingled breaths being the jagged motion of precise pen meeting paper.
The redhead was wearing a tight black tank top which cut off below her chest, revealing a laced red bra peaking underneath the fabric. Cherry noticed this as she did all of Apple's outfits, she found a sense of pleasure in admiring her friends' differing approaches to fashion, nothing more.
The stuffy space of the car forced them to be in touching proximity. Cherry liked this version of Apple the most. Perhaps because she wasn’t talking which meant she could chastise or bully her. Perhaps because in this environment she appeared more raw, even human, right now this Apple was all hers.
Apple had of course threatened her repeatedly not to tell anyone including Fig about her living condition. Which made the space feel secretive and shared, Cherry had something of Apples that nobody else did.
Apple held the pen between her painted lips for a controlled second, precise eyebrows drawn together in contemplation as she continued to work on Cherry's weekly timetable. Her concentration only validated the blonde's idea of how much Apple must care for her, she smiled to herself naively.
On occasion Apples curt gaze would move away and cut into the blonde laid beside her. Cherry would feel a unique coil of excitement and what must be admiration fizzle electrically in her body whenever this happened. In return the bubbly girl would smile stupidly at the redhead, to which Apple would completely ignore and turn her attention smoothly back to the task at hand.
She preferred spending time here more than anywhere, even in the sweltering summer nights. As her home was an empty reminder of everything the fire took. She felt like when she was there she was sleeping in a foundation of ashes. But here Apples brutal scrutinising gaze fell on open paper not herself and in these quiet moments she got to live in the care of someone more valuable than anyone else in the world.
The shorter girl rubbed her eyes softly letting out a squeaky yawn. Apple dropped the pen curtly fixing the other girl in a steel stare. The oblique greens of her eyes looked solid black in the dim lighting.
“Oh I’m sorry, am I boring you?” Each syllable dripped with venom.
“Huh! Oh no! No! your toats not. I’m sorry..”
The blonde let out a nervous giggle as she stopped her legs swaying. Her eyes coyly looked up at her best friend, awaiting her response.
“You do realise I’m putting in all this time and effort for your sake. I doubt anyone else would go through this much for you.”
“Sorry I know, I didn’t mean it like that, you're such an amazing friend Apple. I really appreciate everything you do for me.”
The copper haired woman rolled her eyes in response, dramatically lifting her eyebrows as she spoke down to Cherry.
“Yeah Well maybe you should work on showing it, yet another unattractive quality we need to work on.”
“It’s just I haven’t gotten much sleep and..”
Apples impatient glare continued to bore into Cherry, the blonde shifted her attention back to the surrounding environment avoidantly. Eyes darting self consciously as she brought her arms around her shoulders.
“Doesn’t matter sorry, don’t wanna dump my problems on you anymore than I already do. It- I won’t do it again.” Her voice whittled down to a peaky whisper as it left her glossed lips.
Apple heaved an audible sigh, enclosing in towards her even more so in the already tight space. Cherry could smell her signature perfume, spiced and cinnamony. Like apple cider, the top notes herbal and sweet with a sharp undertone of something bitter like alcohol. Apple refused to give anyone the name of it, not that anyone would dare copy her. Cherry was half convinced it wasn’t a perfume at all and simply the natural odour her body admitted.
“Out with it, if I’m working on your rota I’m gonna need to know about this shit. If you're having problems sleeping then you should have come to me sooner.”
Cherry finally met Apples stare, up close the girls eyes appeared solid ink leaning above her completely unreadable. A helpless smile tugged bashfully on the blonde's lips.
“Sorry it’s not too often, I didn’t think it was a big deal.. it’s just my apartment feels so.. big sometimes.”
Apple abruptly raised a brow. “Babe, have you taken a look at my current living predicament. Flex much?”
“No it’s,” she momentarily bit her lip letting her glasses slide off her head. “I don’t like the space, I hate it actually.. it’s like a reminder of everyone and everything I lost.”
Apple attentively put the fluffy diary down, her unwavering silent gaze continuing to peirce into the blonde beside her.
Cherry awkwardly chuckled, the sides of her smile weakly tilted upward without quite reaching her eyes. “It’s stupid, I know but.. It’s so quiet it’s like suffocating.” As she verbalised the blonde dramatically flicked hand gestures, overly long acrylics stabbing the air.
“I tried to decorate it, painted the walls glittering pastels, and put about a million photos and posters up. It literally looks straight out of my pinterest.. and yet none of it seems to distract from how eerie and alone it still makes me feel.”
The shorter girl fixed her attention on her colourful gemmed nails as she spoke. Letting out a wavy sniffle. “Not even Shirley temple helps with that feeling..”
“Is that why you can’t sleep?” Apples tone was monotonous, not necessarily sympathetic but not judgemental or assertive as was typical. It made Cherry soften moving closer to her warmth, but not yet having the guts to return eye contact.
“Uh-huh, it's like the silence is.. crushing. It fills my lungs like smoke and I feel guilty just lying there. Plus when I do eventually close my eyes.. sometimes..”
She paused and swallowed with a dry mouth.
“I see their faces.”
Her large dopey eyes glacéd with tears as her voice began to break.
“Not like all charred and fucked up or anything, but happy and healthy. Which is actually worse. Because I know that they’re gone and that I will never see them that way again.”
Cherry caught the other girl's certain and penetrating eyeline, suddenly ashamed of her own fragility. She swiped her dewy eyes in an attempt to savour her mascara. “Sorry, I’m rambling about myself again..”
Apple swiftly caught the side of her cheek, her hands were still and cold. At this distance Cherry could feel her breath tickle against her fringe. Her body flinched slightly at the sudden contact, for some unknown reason she could feel the fizzling pound of her relentless heart buzzing in her eardrums. Apple glided her calculated fingers to the corner of Cherry's eye lid swiping her thumb.
“You left mascara babe.”
At this distance the blonde felt the vibration of every syllable, Apple left her hand in its place for a second longer connected to her face, as Cherry looked up through her tangled bangs as if she were the entire world. The taller woman traced her eyes across Cherry's complexion patiently, eyes landing on her pink tinted lips before pulling her hand back towards herself.
As quickly as the sensation came, it was gone. Cherry's cheek stung with a phantom heat once Apple's hand left it, yet her entire body remained rigid as if still in her grasp.
The copper haired woman simply picked the diary back up resuming her task. “You should have told me how you were feeling sooner, I’m gonna have to edit half the schedule now.”
“Huh.” She squeaked in stunted response.
“Well I guess we will just have to do more sleepovers, also if it ever gets bad you should just call me. I’d be there. Besides, you're always welcome here, just so long as you don’t leave your shit everywhere like last time.”
An understanding crept across cherrys complexion.
“You know I still can’t find that headband.. it was so cute as well.”
“Well maybe you should have valued it enough not to leave it.”
“I didn’t mean to!” The blonde pouted her bottom lip out her voice going up a pitch in frustration..
Apple ignored this, flicking her pen back towards the paper dismissively.
The blonde smiled dreamily, laughing to herself. As following a comfortable silence returned between the two.
“Thank you Apple, I really mean it.. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Cherry watched some rare untranslatable emotion flicker momentarily across Apple's eyes. Like a shooting star it was gone before she had time to wish what would become of it. Neither spoke, the music of pen and pages flickering filled the space once again. Cherry inhaled cinnamon leaning naturally on the soft surface beneath her. The weeks of sleepless tossing and turning suddenly fell upon the girl. In the warmth of the figure beside her she unconsciously closed her eyes. Her bleached mane of messy curls sprawled across the sleek black duvet. All the blonde felt was that she wasn’t alone and when her eyelids collapsed, no faces appeared, all she saw was a clean darkness. Not dissimilar from the tones of Apple's eyes.
Apple had almost finished scrutinisingly scribbling down the schedule for Cherry’s Sunday when the gentle rhythm of snoring interrupted her. Peering downwards she observed the delicate peacefulness of the figure beside her.
In unconsciousness she seemed even more carefree and content. Endless cascades of wild blonde locks framed the soft sculptures of her complexion. Her mouth childishly ajar, with an adorable line of saliva dripping out of it. The redhead didn’t seem disturbed by the undesired leakage. Rather observing actively at the state of the sleeping girl. Her eyes indulgently raked over her body unseen, she had caught sight of everything by this point, yet curiosity and greediness overtook her.
She tentatively placed a hand upon the other's soft head on impulse. Feeling the satisfying texture tickle her palm, she gently coaxed through the blonde's hair with her long fingers. Not unlike an owner petting a dog or cat. Her look was a mix of both predatory and nurturing, in part an assertion of power whilst equally a devout keen admiration of the shorter girl.
She maintained a passive pace as she played with Cherry's hair. The sleeping girl dreamily hummed in response, sweetly tilting her head and arching slightly toward the light touch. Apple stilled for a moment occupying her other hand by sifting underneath one of the few decorative pillows cramped within the space. From beneath it she revealed Cherry's lost headband, it was a crumpled cream fabric with a cartoonish cherry emoji on its centre. She held it and smiled obscurely, before hastily tucking it back where she had previously hidden it.
She indecisively looked on at Cherry for a few slow instances longer than she would like to admit. Before switching her small battery powered sunset lamp off. An abrupt and thick darkness cast over her vision, veiled within it she steered close to the unseen figure. She laid her face down opposite the sleeping blonde close enough to smell her steady breath.
The redhead shifted and rustled atop her blankets before finally setting down beside the other figure. Inhaling sickly sweet floral perfume Apple listened to the timid sound of her breathing. She remained like that until the sound was drowned out by the surrounding blackness.
In conjoined sleep they appeared sinless. As if their dreams repented them and restored their innocence. Deep red locks mixed with blonde as if staining it. The pair would remain like this unseen until dawn broke and with it relentless reality would return.
————-
Apple was the first to awaken, entangled in confused sweaty limbs. Despite the cracked windows the relentless morning sun had bore down on the car's dark metal surface. Without the crispness of night to cool it, the closeness of their bodies and increasingly sweltering car interior gave the feeling of being inside an air fryer.
Apple could feel the tickle of hair draped around her, skin on skin and the unfamiliar pressure of body heat. Her face was caught against Cherry rendering her blind, the blonde's surprisingly strong hands held onto her preventing her escape. Nonetheless she wiggled in a failed attempt to dislodge herself, movements gentle enough to try not wake the other and save herself from the embarrassment of their intimate positioning.
Due to her incapacitation she couldn’t tell where she began and Cherry ended, only that she was currently immobilized in the desperate grasp of the heavily sleeping ditzy blonde. Apple internally cursed her unconscious weakness for allowing herself in this situation, growing increasingly impatient and blush red at her lack of control.
After a more urgent powerful movement, she was rewarded with the same helpless entrapment. She growled an exasperated sigh into Cherry's skin, which warranted an even more intense discovery. The blonde didn’t awaken, merely shift and mumble incoherently; however Apple's current proximity allowed her to realise that the noise came from closely above her head. Which meant the open soft expanse she had been helplessly pressed against was Cherry's breasts.
At this the redhead began to shift away more desperately in a untypical panic. Cherry mumbled dreamlessly, pulling the other woman closer as a result.
“S- Shtop don’t .. go..” her voice sounded childishly small and wounded, it only infuriated Apples sense of powerlessness.
“Cherry! would you.. fuck sake.. wake up you stupid bitch.” The certainty and venom in her tone seemed enough to finally rouse the blonde from peaceful slumber.
“Huh..” her grip slackened slightly, dazed tiredness hung on her every syllable.
The redhead simmered impatiently awaiting the devastating discovery.
“Apple?… oh.. Oh!”
The wobbled and half asleep panic of the blonde was almost comedic. Her limbs dislodged disorderly, small blows of impact left in the pair's awkward derangement. Cherrys face appeared the colour of her name, she shot up with such violence that in the spur of movement she forgot where she was and thwacked her head upon the car's roof.
“Owh! Ugh… owie..”
Her unstyled fizzed hair overwhelmed her face, pulling a loose hand she rubbed on the dull twang of pain emerging from her head.
Apple took the moment of discoherence to temper her emotions, steeling her complexion back to ice. She steered her posture to sit half up, her pale bare legs crossed as she tamed her frazzled red hair. Helplessly an after tinge of pink still stained her cheeks, once Cherry returned her look, it was the first thing the blonde noticed.
Cherry in turn was the mirror opposite, her bra strap unevenly skewed peaking out of her skimpy top, red beat face, fringe pointed in various directions.
She squeezed her eyes shut “Sorry! sorry.. I’m so sorry- I don’t even know.. this is so embarrassing..” a shaky giggle left her throat.
“Cherry.” Apple's tone was impatient and silencing, Cherry physically flinched, her half awake brain dramatising her movements.
She frantically shook her head. “Apple, I'm so sorry.. I must have fallen asleep. Uh- and..”
“Cherry would you just shut the fuck up, seriously I’ve just woken up. I haven’t even had my iced latte yet.”
The other girl bit her lip nodding “uh-huh.”
“You're making this a big deal and quite frankly you're embarrassing yourself. Take a chill pill babe. I know you have a tendency to overdramatise everything but it’s not that deep.”
“I know.. I’m s-“
She viscerally jerked her head, eyes flashing wide. “Say sorry one more time, oh my Marlyn.”
A pathetic whine left the blonde as she coyly fiddled with her hands.
“Babe, seriously it’s not a big deal, your energy is dampening my vibe right now. I’m gonna have to sage this space.”
“Okay.. you're right, I’m half awake clearly not thinking straight. Also I think I’m like- concussed.” She placed her palm on her head to distill the gentle ache growing. The red of her face began to fade, but her heart was still tingling rapidly in her chest.
Apple tilted her head uncaringly, a cruel smirk escaped on her face. “Listen, you're gonna go home, shower, change.. cause we can’t have the reputation of being outfit repeaters, freshen up. Then come in for your shift as usual, okay? In fact, look here.”
The redhead head pulled out Cherry's loose diary from a jumble of blankets, calculatorily switching through the pages with familiarity. She stopped on Wednesday, pointed towards her own neat edged handwriting.
“It’s all written out for you already, easy as.” Her tone was more commanding than reassuring
Cherry nodded her head, gently taking the diary from her grasp. “Mhmm yeah, I can totally do that.. we’re all good.”
“See not so much of a big deal was it? Good girl.” Apple's demeanour gleamed with her re-established power. Her stature regained its composure, nerves returning to brutal passivity.
Cherry's figure shook slightly with her usual bouncy energy. She clasped her long nails around the diary with desperation, as if it were the most valuable possession on earth. “Perfect, okay, I’ll see you later!”
She tumbled out the car clumsily, almost tripping over a car seat and dropping her petite handbag twice on the way out . “Eeek.. bye Apple love ya, see you! Thanks! Bu-bye!”
She blew an unreturned kiss then skipped off into the distance, hair still in array, top hanging off. Yet for some reason her dazed messiness still managed to look effortlessly gorgeous. Once the blonde disappeared out of view, Apple roughly grabbed a pillow, shoved her face into it and screamed until her lungs had nothing left in them.
Cherry hopped across the parking lot, making an attempt to fix her clothing to look somewhat presentable. She found her parked car and fumbled with her keys, jangling with the array of gaudy colourful fluffy keyrings and decorations, before making it inside. Once she closed the door she took her diary and held the precious small book to her chest tightly. Breathing out through her nose as she tilted her head against the headrest.
Her clothes stunk of cinnamon and all she could think of was the ghost pressure and warmth of her best friend in place of where her diary currently was. The image of Apple's disoriented features, the rare unseen tinge of pink peeping out of her emotionless impenetrability flickered in Cherry's mind. She sighed dreamily, telling herself this is what normal female friendships felt like.
She told herself the same thing when she returned to her apartment, took off her crumpled clothes to shower and paused bringing the fabric to her nose.
Unobserved she inhaled the aftertaste of cider indulgently, but that’s just what it’s like to have a best friend. Other people wouldn’t understand it, but that’s okay because she doesn’t need other people, not when she has Apple.