[006] the perfect couple

                                   Gwen was quickly making a name for herself around campus. And sure, it may have been Iris's right hand and best friend. But people still knew who she was. Gwen has never garnered this much attention and respect on her own before. She knew exactly who to thank too.

                                   Iris Catton, who was quickly becoming more God than girl. Gwen had never been the religious type, but she was sure she worshiped the very ground the blonde walked on. And Iris made sure to reward Gwen for her tireless devotion. She kept her closer than the other girls, she was affectionate with Gwen (always holding her hand or hugging her or even running her fingers through Gwen's short strands of hair), and Iris often made sure to shower Gwen with compliments and praise which she had waited so long to hear.

                                   I like you way more than the other girls.

                                   You have the prettiest blue eyes.

                                   God, you're smart. I wish I was as smart as you.

                                   You're my best friend, Gwen. You know that, don't you?

                                   How could Gwen not be happy?

                                    Except... she was wondering if it was even enough anymore. She wanted more from Iris. She didn't just want to be Iris's friend. The feelings she had for Iris were only growing stronger and stronger by the day. It wasn't just adoration but it was love. After all, she knew Iris, she protected Iris, she loved Iris. As time went by, Gwen realized that she was in love with Iris. She wanted Iris in every sense of the word but Gwen was afraid that she'd never be able to have her the way she wanted. With all of the guys who were chasing Iris, how would she ever be able to notice Gwen at all?

                                   So Gwen forced herself to push down her own feelings and settle for how things were. She had no choice but to settle for the role of Gwen's best friend and protector. As long as Iris didn't love anyone else, Gwen would be okay. She didn't know what she'd do if Iris were to love someone else.

                                  Gwen was still very new to the whole best friends thing, seeing as Iris was her very first. So when Iris suggested the two go on a shopping trip after classes, Gwen said yes - even if she didn't know what to expect. Gwen wasn't an incredibly fashionable person like Iris was. She merely followed Iris's advice and that was what Iris was looking forward to.

                                   "Ooh! What do you think about this dress on me?" Iris asks, holding up a white dress that was short and left little to the imagination. But then again, that was a majority of Iris's wardrobe.

                                   "It would be beautiful on you," Gwen nods.

                                   Iris hums, deciding to take it. "Yeah, I think it'd really make my breasts look nice. Hey! You wanna try something crazy?"

                                   "Yeah, sure. Whatever you want," Gwen agreed.

                                   While Iris decided to try on the dress, Iris picked out a suit for Gwen to wear. She thought it'd be fun and so did Gwen. Shortly after they picked out the outfits, they'd go into the dressing rooms to try them on. And when they finished, they'd emerge back outside with smiles on their faces.

                                   "Told you that dress would look beautiful on you," Gwen complimented.

                                   Iris twirls around, showing off the white dress that showed off her figure perfectly. "Thank you. You look very handsome, Gwen. I think suits fit you better than a dress."

                                   "Yeah, I think you might be onto something," Gwen nods. She definitely felt a lot more comfortable in the suit than a dress anyway. Gwen wished she had done this ages ago.

                                   "Don't we look like a hot couple?" Iris holds onto Gwen's hand as they stood in front of the mirror.

                                   Gwen laughs, briefly covering her mouth with her hand. She couldn't get over how good she looked in the suit. "You're ridiculous."

                                   Deep down, she wanted it to be real. Playing around and pretending to be a couple was actually torture for Gwen. But she knew there was a high chance that it could never be real between them.

                                   "Come on. You know, my mom would be thrilled if I was a lesbian. That way, she wouldn't have to worry about me bringing home grandchildren. She hates the idea of being a grandmother, let alone an actual mother," Iris rolls her eyes.

                                   "Are you... close with your parents?" Gwen reluctantly asks.

                                   "No. I don't even exist when Felix is around. They love Felix and everything he does. He does everything right while I'm always falling behind. I'm always going to be second place to them," Iris answered, folding her arms across her chest.

                                    "You're not second place to me," Gwen assured Iris, meaning every single word.

                                    Iris smiles, the darkness in her eyes quickly being replaced with a twinkle that wasn't there before. "You're too good to me, Gwen. What about you? Are you close to your parents?"

                                   The collar around Gwen's neck suddenly feels so much tighter than before. "No," she admits, swallowing hard. "They don't like me a lot. My mum didn't even want to have me. It just happened and she doesn't believe in abortion so... I was raised by nannies. My dad was always busy with work so he was always gone and my mum just didn't care to be around me. She had better things to do, I suppose. For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me."

                                   "There's nothing wrong with you, Gwen. Your parents are in the wrong for not realizing how wonderful you are," Iris replied, cupping Gwen's chin and forcing her to keep her head up.

                                   Gwen looks up at Iris, the two girls merely inches apart from each other. Iris's dark eyes move down to Gwen's lips and the foolish thought of what Gwen's lips would feel like against hers briefly crossed the blonde's mind. She had never kissed a girl and according to Buffy, it was no different from kissing a guy. But she and Gwen were friends - best friends - and it wouldn't be appropriate to cross those boundaries.

                                   Especially inside of a dressing room.

                                   Iris moves her hand from Gwen's chin and backed away from her altogether. Disappointment swells inside of Gwen's chest and she forces herself to forget all about it. Iris Catton would never want to kiss an absolute nobody like Gwen Hollow anyway.

                                   "Hey, are you hungry?" Iris asks. "After I pick up a couple more things, we can go and get a bite to eat. Are you buying the suit?"

                                   Gwen thinks about it for a moment before nodding, a smile on her lips again. "Yeah, I'm gonna buy the suit. I'll save it for a special occasion."

                                   "Good," Iris agrees with a smile. She would've been very disappointed if Gwen hadn't gotten the suit for herself.

                                   After Iris changes back into her outfit, she does a little more shopping before choosing to go and get something to eat with Gwen. They'd end up spending the entire day together, practically exhausted from all the fun they had had. Lost in their own little world, neither of them were aware that they were being watched as they headed back to Iris's dorm room.

                                 The three pairs of eyes on them belonged to Dana, Buffy, and Virginia who were watching on in envy while sitting at one of the tables in the courtyard. They had worked so hard to earn Iris's attention and favor, becoming one of her friends was like a badge of honor. It was a treasure you had to earn. Gwen just showed up out of fucking nowhere and suddenly, she was so much closer to Iris than they could ever be. Iris had raised Gwen up and the three other girls were left at the bottom to watch and stew in their miserable envy.

                                "Now Iris is taking her shopping? What the fuck? She didn't even bother to ask if any of us wanted to go shopping," Dana frowned.

                                "Maybe she just feels bad for her or something. She's practically a loser and Iris is just helping her out to make herself feel better," Virginia shrugged.

                                "No, that's not Iris's style. She actually likes her," Dana remarked.

                                 Buffy rolls her eyes. "I don't know why you're all so upset. Eventually, Iris is going to grow bored of her and then she'll be gone. Gwen Hollow is going to be old news in no time."

                                  "And what if she's not? Face it, Buffy. We're all finished. Iris chose Gwen over us and she has no use for us anymore. Gwen's basically doing our jobs for us," Dana frowns, turning to look at Virginia. "Didn't you say that you actually knew that bitch?"

                                "I said that I wasn't too sure. Her last name is familiar. But I could've been wrong. I want to be sure before I say anything more. I don't want to go and accuse her of being some psychopath," Virginia remarked.

                                "Then do something fucking useful and find out! Call your parents or something, figure out if the girl you're thinking of is Gwen," Dana remarked.

                                If there was a chance that Gwen was the same girl, it meant that Gwen wasn't nearly as innocent as she pretended to be. If there was any dirt on Gwen, Dana was going to find out exactly what it was. She wasn't about to let Gwen take her place, not when Dana had done far too much and sacrificed everything just to make it to this point. Dana wasn't about to become a nobody all over again.

                                 The last person watching was Oliver. He had a habit of watching Gwen from time to time, wary of her ever since she had caught him in the act of sabotaging Felix's tires. For a moment, he was worried that Gwen might go to Felix and tell him the truth, instantly sabotaging his budding friendship with Felix and making his carefully crafted plan fall to ruins in a matter of minutes. After all, she was very close with Iris Catton who was Felix's twin sister. If she wanted to solidify her place within Felix's family and just Iris in general, she could have done it. And yet, Gwen hadn't said a word. She had every reason to but she didn't. It made Oliver wonder why.

                                   Perhaps there was so much more to Gwen Hollow than what met the eye. Maybe she had her own secrets to keep which was why she had decided to keep Oliver's for a change. Regardless of the truth, Oliver felt a need to find out. Not because he cared about Gwen in any way or desired her. But just so he could find something to use against her if she ever decided to try and go against him. Oliver had to protect himself after all.

                                 She turned her head when she felt eyes on her to see who was looking at her. But this time, she hadn't managed to catch anyone. Gwen was convinced, however, that someone was watching her. She couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on her, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand straight up.

                                "What happened?" Iris asks, causing Gwen to turn back around and look at her.

                                "Nothing. I thought someone was looking at me, that's all," Gwen answered with a shake of her head. Now that she was saying it out loud, of course, she felt silly. Her paranoia was playing tricks on her once again.

                                "Well, of course they are. You're hanging out with me, silly. Everyone's going to be looking at us now," Iris winks at her.

                                Gwen smiles before the two girls continue walking inside the building, deciding to head back to Iris's dorm so they could hang out some more. Gwen wasn't aware of the fact that soon enough, she would be in jeopardy of losing Iris and everything she had worked so hard to gain ever since she had gotten here.

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word count: 2090
notes: i missed writing these insane lesbians tbh, i hope you missed reading about them. btw, the next chapter is gonna be a little wild so just warning you now!