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Ocean was not having a particularly good time.
Somehow, her fellow choirmates had managed to drag her out to some form of house party, hosted by somebody she couldn't care less about.
She wasn't entirely sure how they had managed it, to be honest - one moment, she had been sitting in her room, perfectly content to spend her Friday evening revising important dates for an upcoming history quiz, the next Noel had come barrelling through her bedroom window (crashing rather ungracefully onto the carpet, though he quickly righted himself), instructing her to get changed, they were going out, no this was not up for debate.
(A quick glance out of the open window had proven that he wasn't alone in this endeavour, as Mischa stood on the ground below, clearly having given Noel the boost up to get in. She could also see a car parked on the curb outside, Constance in the passenger seat with a guilty expression, whilst Ricky sat in the backseat looking like he had no remorse whatsoever. Penny simply smiled and waved at her from behind the steering wheel, which made Ocean feel slightly better.)
The party was loud, people milling about everywhere and chattering amongst themselves, some yelling to be heard over the blaring music. The entire house also reeked distinctly of... particular unsavoury substances, which reminded Ocean uncomfortably of being at home.
She could practically feel the beginnings of a headache coming on already.
As well as that, it appeared that her fellow choir members had all disappeared into the crowd, leaving her alone in this unhygienic mess of teenagers.
So, yeah. Not having a great time.
A tap of a fingertip on the top of her head broke Ocean out of her stupor, however, and she looked up to meet the teasing gaze of Noel, who had apparently just materialised beside her.
"Lighten up," he said, not removing his hand from the top of her head as he took a sip from the cup clutched in his other hand. It was times like these where Ocean cursed her short stature (more so than usual). "You're scowling like you just found out that school was cancelled. Act normal for once. Have fun."
"I can hardly see what's fun about this," she murmured back, though attempted to school her face into a more neutral, less off-putting expression. "Where are the others, anyway? Since you all so politely dragged me out here."
"It's called socialising, it's a thing that regular human people do," Noel replied, amused, before shrugging. "And the others are around. I think Ricky and Constance are in the other room? Not entirely sure. Being a control freak is your job, not mine."
Frustrated, Ocean huffed, elbowing him in the stomach (though not too hard - she tried to make sure it was still seen as playful). Watching him take another sip of his drink, she raised an eyebrow.
"You're too young to be drinking," she said, matter-of-factly. Noel snorted in amusement.
"Yeah, sure, like that's stopping anyone here," he gestured around the room. It was true - he was far from the only person with alcohol. Humming, he patted her on the head, the gesture seeming almost absentminded. "As I said, lighten up a bit. Consider removing the stick from your ass for one evening. Might do you some good."
Ocean narrowed her eyes up at him.
"I do not have a 'stick up my'-" she trailed off, shaking her head slightly with a groan. "Shut up. At least I don't work at Taco Bell."
Scoffing dramatically, Noel (finally) removed his hand from her head, bringing it to his chest in faux offense.
"Excuse you. You can't just use that to win any argument, you know."
"I can, and I will," Ocean replied, grinning smugly at him - her first real smile since arriving at this damn party, and it was because of Noel Gruber. Oh, the humanity.
Noel rolled his eyes good-naturedly, moving to take another sip from his cup before realising that it was empty.
"I'm gonna go get another drink. You want anything, or are you gonna keep denying yourself the joy that your twisted, bitter soul could so desperately benefit from?"
Ocean quirked an eyebrow.
"I've been told not to take drinks from suspicious individuals at parties," she said, still smirking, making him gasp.
"As if you're one to talk, standing here seething in the corner."
"I am not seething," she scoffed. "I'm just... thinking. It's not like there's anything better to do here, anyway."
"Talk to someone," Noel said, rolling his eyes and feigning exasperation. "Maybe stop being an antisocial hermit. I'm getting you a drink."
Before she could argue any further, Noel slipped away, disappearing into the crowd once more and leaving Ocean by herself again.
Sighing, she folded her arms and leaned back against the wall, before recoiling in disgust upon realising that the wallpaper was sticky - the reasoning behind which she was very sure she didn't want to know.
Honestly, she wasn't even sure why she'd let the other members of the choir drag her to this thing. She could've simply refused.
But... maybe it was nice that they'd thought to invite her. It didn't hurt to go out and do something as a group, have some fun together.
(And maybe there was another reason. Maybe as soon as she saw the soft green eyes looking up from the driver's seat, crinkled with their owner's smile upon seeing Ocean, her resolve melted away entirely-)
"Ocean?"
A soft voice cut through the noise of the party, almost making Ocean jump out of her skin, brown eyes darting around before they locked with green.
Penny Lamb, the newest member of the choir, was looking at her, an inquisitive expression on her face, the corners of her mouth turned down in a small frown.
"Are you okay?" she asked, and it took Ocean several seconds to process the words. "I noticed you were by yourself."
She noticed me, was the part of Penny's statement that Ocean's mind so helpfully decided to focus on, and it took all her effort to refrain from hitting herself in the head in an attempt to clear her suddenly fuzzy brain.
Okay, so maybe it was mostly Penny's presence that had convinced her to come.
And yes, okay, maybe Ocean was currently harbouring quite a large and rather inconvenient crush on her. That was neither here nor there.
Penny was just... so wonderful.
She was tall, much taller than Ocean, with inquisitive green eyes that sometimes felt like they were staring into her soul. Her hair always looked so soft, hanging in two braids, and she had a light spattering of freckles across her face that made Ocean want to reach out and touch them.
She knew so many things, too. Most people found it weird or off-putting, the way that Penny would randomly offer up obscure animal facts, but to Ocean it was simply another thing to admire. Penny was just so interesting - she could honestly listen to her talk about animals for hours.
And she was kind, always trying her best to mind the rest of the choir's feelings and bond over any shared interests - it was no wonder that the group had warmed up to her quickly, Ocean most of all.
But again, that was neither here nor there.
"Me? Yeah, I'm... fine," Ocean replied after what was probably too long of a silence, sure that she was going as red as her hair.
"Are you sure?" Penny tilted her head slightly, reminiscent of a confused puppy, as she moved to stand beside Ocean against the wall, taking the spot where Noel had previously been. She sighed, and Ocean tried her best not to focus on the way she was chewing lightly on her bottom lip. "I know this isn't really your... scene. Sorry."
"It's- it's okay!" she assured her, waving her hands to dismiss Penny's concerns and hoping that she hadn't noticed her slight stammer. Looking around the room, she continued. "It's probably good for me to be out of the house, anyway."
Penny laughed at that, a melodic sound that made Ocean's insides feel like mush as she tried to keep her knees from buckling, wringing her hands awkwardly.
Across the room, Ocean suddenly spotted Noel standing in a doorway, a plastic cup in each hand and a smug expression on his face.
He was the only one who knew about her, ahem, feelings.
She'd thought she'd been hiding it well, considering the fact that ever since Penny had joined the choir a short while ago, Ocean had difficulty keeping her mind off of the girl - seemingly always drawn to her yet constantly flustered in her presence. Noel, however, had very helpfully informed her that she was acting, quote, 'absolutely insane', and basically cornered her into telling him what was up.
Balling her hands into fists, as if it would in any way help with the way in which the insides of her palms were prickling, Ocean glared at him, mouthing the word 'help'.
Her glare became a glower when all that happened was his grin widening, one eyebrow raised in amusement.
Honestly, he could be insufferable.
She had half a mind to march over to him and tell him as such, when she noticed someone say something to him. He nodded to them, before beginning to walk over to where Ocean and Penny were stood.
"Oh, there's Noel!" Penny said upon spotting him, flashing a smile that Noel returned as he approached.
"Bonjour, ma chérie," he greeted her, before his eyes slid over to Ocean. "And hi to you, too, I guess - I got you water, since you insist on these pesky legalities. They wanted me to tell you two that apparently we're gonna be playing some games, if you're interested."
"What kind of games?" Ocean asked, raising one eyebrow as she took the plastic cup he offered her. Noel shrugged.
"If I had to guess, probably the typical cliché stuff - spin the bottle, truth or dare, et cetera, et cetera."
Ocean snuck a glance at Penny, who appeared lost in thought.
"Hm. I guess that could be fun," she shrugged. "What do you think, Ocean?"
Honestly, there wasn't much that Ocean felt could be less fun than playing stupid teenage party games at some random party that she didn't even want to attend.
But Penny's hopeful expression gave her pause, and Noel took that opportunity to jump in with his own comment.
"Come on, Satan. Could do you some good," he said, and Ocean noticed the way his gaze almost imperceptibly flicked between Penny and herself.
At this, Ocean felt herself flush, her retort dying on her tongue as she sighed.
It wasn't like she had anything better to do, she supposed.
"Okay. Sure. Why not."
And when Penny beamed at her, showing her dimples, green eyes almost glowing in the relatively low light, Ocean decided that it was entirely worth it, letting herself be dragged along into the next room, where a group had started to gather in a circle.
Upon spotting her, many people broke out into hushed whispers, which Ocean didn't find all that surprising - it was no secret that everyone thought of her as some sort of uptight prude, so her agreeing to partake in any sort of activity at a party felt almost unheard of.
Constance was sat on a nearby couch with Ricky, who was showing her something on his phone, his crutches laid across their laps. She didn't seem to be playing, but her expression morphed into one of shock, then giddy delight, upon seeing that Ocean was.
Doing her best to ignore the many pairs of eyes watching her, Ocean knelt down on the floor by the couch, beside where Noel had sat next to Mischa. However, as Penny crouched down to sit as well, Ocean felt their hands brush lightly, sending a flurry of sparks up her arm as a furious blush bloomed on her face once more. It was a miracle that she didn't spill her cup of water, having been midway through placing it on the ground.
Smirking, Noel leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Your gay is showing."
Ocean was suddenly met with the strong urge to punch him.
Unfortunately, she was prevented from doing so by someone standing up and explaining that they were going to play Seven Minutes In Heaven.
Wonderful.
Each passing moment was making Ocean regret her life choices more and more, as they explained how the game worked, saying that they would be pulling two names from a hat (kindly provided by Mischa), and gesturing to the closet where whoever the two people were would be forced to stay for seven agonising minutes.
"This isn't even a game," Ocean mumbled under her breath, trying to stop herself from frowning too much. "There's no objective. There's no winner. What's the point?"
"Christ on a bike, can't you have fun for once?" Noel murmured back, rolling his eyes. "Not everything has to have some deep moral significance."
Deciding she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a response, Ocean huffed and instead switched her focus to Penny, sat on her other side. She appeared to be listening intently to the explanation, fiddling absentmindedly with her hoodie strings, and Ocean could've sworn that there was a faint blush dusting her face.
Not that she could blame her.
The concept alone was...
Well, their teachers at St. Cassian most definitely would not approve.
Ocean tried not to be too scandalised, however (mainly because Noel looked like he wanted to say something insufferable again, and she refused to provide him with the opportunity), and instead redirected her gaze down to her hands, which were clenching into fists.
Needless to say, she wasn't too thrilled at the idea of playing.
It was just a game, she reminded herself. A meaningless game with no real objective, sure, but a game nonetheless - there would be no lasting negative consequences for her taking part, except potentially feeling awkward and/or grossed out for a short while afterwards.
And, if she backed out now, after taking a seat in the circle, then the others (Noel and Mischa especially) would never let her hear the end of it. She'd likely be labelled a coward, too, and Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg was anything but a coward.
Plus... Penny had been so happy that she was taking part.
Ever since the other girl had joined the choir, she seemed to be a strong advocate for ensuring that Ocean partook in group activities - be it anything from going out of her way to invite her to hang out at the Blackwood Café with the rest of the choir, to making sure they didn't all leave her behind in the choir room once practice was finished (something that occurred embarrassingly often, as she engrossed herself in annotating page after page of sheet music exactly to her own specifications).
Logically, Ocean knew she was probably just being friendly. She was a new student, after all - of course she'd want to strengthen the few bonds she had created through an extracurricular. It wasn't often that new friends were available to be made during the last year of high school, especially since Penny seemed rather shy, so it made sense that she would simply focus on hanging out with and befriending the choir.
However, that didn't stop each smiling invitation to a movie night, or to go shopping, or even to just hang out, from causing a stir of butterflies in Ocean's stomach, heart pounding uncomfortably loud in her ears at the knowledge that Penny had thought to ask her personally.
She was in deep.
The sound of cheering, whooping and assorted other noises broke Ocean out of her thoughts, making her realise that the game had started while she'd been zoned out.
Taking a sip of water to calm herself, she watched as the two people whose names had been pulled both made their way into the closet, a low buzz of excited chatter filling the room.
Honestly, Ocean couldn't care less about whatever they were doing in there (which seemed to be the topic of speculation amongst the room. The other members of the choir were even placing monetary bets amongst themselves). She was just grateful it wasn't her.
The light brush of a pinkie finger against her own made her stiffen, and she looked up to see Penny's concerned expression.
"Are you okay?" she asked, clearly unaware of the way Ocean's brain was malfunctioning at the slightest contact. "You don't have to play, you know. We aren't gonna force you."
Taking a few seconds to process the words, Ocean nodded dumbly (something she regretted immediately - Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg was not one to do anything 'dumbly'.)
She also was not a quitter or a coward, and thus could survive this stupid 'game'.
"I'm okay," she replied. "What's the worst that could happen, right?"
Penny shrugged, but still seemed unconvinced, judging by the way she gently linked her pinkie with Ocean's.
Ocean was probably moments away from asking Constance to fetch a fire extinguisher for the way her face felt like it was burning, when the selected pair emerged from the closet, looking awkward.
Somehow, the seven minutes had passed like seconds whilst Ocean internally panicked about a pretty girl touching a single finger to hers.
She could only hope that the time would pass that quickly if she was forced into that miserable closet.
Vaguely, she registered someone asking the people what had happened in there, and them sheepishly explaining that they'd just sat in silence awkwardly the whole time.
Ricky pumped a fist in the air triumphantly, before signing something to Noel, who rolled his eyes and handed over a few dollars, as did Constance, Penny and Mischa.
"That is bull," the Ukrainian boy grumbled, while the next called pair made their way into the closet. "How could they not even talk? Seven minutes is long time without conversation."
"You're telling me," Noel agreed, disgruntled. "I was hoping they'd at least kiss. Make it romantic - or, at the very least, interesting."
Ocean scoffed, shoving him slightly.
"Don't be disgusting."
Noel made an offended noise.
"Disgusting? Moi? How rich coming from you, you nasty little tapeworm."
Penny raised an eyebrow at him, and Ocean saw Ricky shrug at her.
'This is just how they are. They love each other, really,' he signed.
"As if I could love this putrid thing," Noel wrinkled up his nose in disgust. "At most I tolerate her for Penny's sake, and even that's generous."
"Aww, Noellll," Penny grinned. "I'm so flattered you'd do that for me."
Ocean rolled her eyes, pouting slightly.
"Rude. And here I thought you'd be on my side, Penny," she sighed overdramatically, and Penny laughed.
"Hey! I pick no sides here, Ocean," she said, slipping her hand entirely into Ocean's and unknowingly making the ginger girl's brain completely short-circuit by interlocking their fingers. "You can be my favourite too."
Judging by Noel's borderline evil smirk, Ocean's gay panic was most definitely visible on her face.
Penny was either polite enough not to mention it, or simply didn't notice, as she and the rest of the group continued talking amongst themselves as the next few pairs were called.
Each time a name was announced, Ocean felt herself tense up, screwing her eyes tightly shut and uttering a silent prayer to whoever may be listening to please let it not be her.
However, as the person pulling the names finally read "Ocean Rosenberg!" off the slip of paper, and a room full of eyes turned to her, time seemed to stop as Ocean realised that she had no longer been granted that mercy, her stomach sinking like a rock.
A chorus of 'oooh's seemed to echo around the room, everyone eager to see who 'Little Miss Perfect' would be forced into a closet with. Suddenly, Ocean wished more than ever that she was back at home going over her history notes.
Gently, Penny squeezed her hand, a silent reminder that she didn't have to do this. She could back out if she wanted to.
Noel simply grinned evilly, and Constance leaned forward from her seat on the couch to wrap her arms around Ocean's shoulders, giving her a squeeze.
"Good luck!" she whispered hurriedly, clearly excited for her. At least that made one of them, she supposed.
Staring down into her cup of water so she could avoid making eye contact with anyone whilst the next name was pulled from the hat, Ocean mentally pleaded for it to be Noel, or even Mischa. Just someone who wasn't-
"Penny Lamb!"
It appeared that fate was being cruel, today.
Noel's smirk only widened as he glanced sideways at Ocean, who was trying her best not to spontaneously combust.
Penny, on the other hand, seemed fairly pleased with this result, giving a cute little hum before turning to Ocean with a smile.
"Could be worse! C'mon," she then pulled Ocean to her feet by their still-joined hands, and they began making their way to the closet.
Yeah, it could be worse, Ocean supposed. There were worse people to be trapped in a confined space with for an extended period of time (well, okay, seven minutes - but it felt like a long time) than the girl she had a big gay crush on, sure.
That didn't mean that Ocean wasn't dreading it.
It wasn't that she disliked Penny's presence, no - rather that she didn't know if she could remain a functional human being whilst trapped in a closet with her, an entire room of people outside all expecting them to make out.
(They weren't forced to - the host had made it very clear that there was absolutely no obligation to do anything except sit in silence if both parties didn't want to. But the societal pressure was still there.)
As they entered the closet, Ocean stepping in after Penny, she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.
"Have fun!" Noel called out from somewhere behind them, before the door was closed, the faint click of a lock sealing their fates.
The closet was roomier than she expected, clearly having been emptied out for the game, but still small enough that Ocean knew that there was absolutely no way she could survive this - especially when Penny looked at her, the tiny sliver of light sneaking through the cracks of the doorframe glinting in her eyes.
Looking away from her, lest she render herself too gay to function mere moments into being trapped with Penny, Ocean instead sat down on the ground beside the door, resting her back against the wall. She quickly realised that this was a mistake, however, as Penny sat beside her, the confined space forcing her to sit close enough that their shoulders were touching.
"So..." Penny spoke, breaking the mildly awkward silence as Ocean flushed bright red. She hoped it couldn't be seen in the darkness. "Some weather we're having, huh?"
The unexpected remark made Ocean laugh, and she raised an eyebrow - not that Penny could see.
"Really? That's what you're opening with?"
Scoffing in faux offense, Penny lightly smacked Ocean on the arm, a playful gesture that made Ocean's stomach erupt in butterflies.
"Well excuse me for trying to make conversation, Ocean," she huffed, though Ocean could hear the humour in her tone. "Maybe we can just sit here in awkward silence and make the others fork another few dollars over to Ricky."
"I can't believe you guys are placing bets," Ocean rolled her eyes, shaking her head in disapproval. Beside her, she felt Penny shrug.
"It's something to do, I guess. Makes it more of a game, in your philosophy," Ocean could hear the smirk in her words. "Honestly, every time the names were called, I was hoping it would be Mischa and Noel."
"Me too!" Ocean replied. It was true - Noel had been making an utter fool of himself around Mischa for a while now, and she had honestly hoped that he would receive a taste of his own medicine, finally giving her something to tease him about. Unfortunately, she had no such luck.
Instinctually, she turned her head towards Penny in excitement at their agreement, mouth open to elaborate on her thoughts, before realising that Penny was looking at her, too.
Suddenly, she was all too aware of the fact that she and Penny were trapped in a confined space, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, so close that Ocean could feel Penny's breath on her face, close enough that all she would have to do was lean in ever so slightly-
Too close.
Flushing bright red, whatever Ocean had been planning to say instead formed a lump in her throat, and she let out a strangled noise as she jerked backwards.
"You okay, Ocean?" Penny asked, seemingly concerned at Ocean's sudden and, from her perspective, unprompted reaction.
"Y-Yeah, fine," Ocean nodded, taking a sip of her water and trying not to focus on Penny's arm pressed up against her own.
Clearly deeming that answer satisfactory, Penny hummed in response, before sighing.
"I wish I'd thought to get a drink beforehand. Didn't realise how thirsty sitting and doing nothing made you."
"Mhm," Ocean stared down at her cup, before shrugging and replying in an uncharacteristically quiet voice. "You could have some of mine if you want? It's just water, though."
"Really?" Penny asked. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to guilt you or anything-"
"Penny, it's okay," Ocean laughed softly, holding out the cup in her general direction. She felt Penny's hand fumble around slightly in the darkness, before her warm fingers slid over Ocean's, taking it.
Ocean watched intently in the low light as Penny raised the rim of the cup to her lips and took a sip, her own mouth feeling oddly dry.
When she was finished drinking, Penny smacked her lips together, letting out an exaggerated 'ahhhh' before she passed the cup back.
"Thanks," she said, lightly grazing her fingers along Ocean's arm, giving her goosebumps.
"Uh- yeah, sure," Ocean blinked a few times, still attempting to recover from something that arguably shouldn't have affected her that much. She just knew that if Noel was there, he'd be having a field day watching her be a gay disaster.
"Did you know," Penny spoke again after a few moments. "That giraffes are evolved to be able to sleep for as little as 30 minutes per day?"
The sudden subject change made Ocean laugh slightly.
"I... did not know that. Thank you for telling me," she replied, and she felt Penny poke her in the shoulder.
"Aha! I knew something that the Great Ocean O'Connell Rosenberg didn't!" Ocean could hear her grinning, and she felt herself smiling, too. "Guess that makes me the smartest girl in town."
Scoffing, Ocean shook her head, deciding to play along.
"Don't get ahead of yourself," she teased.
Penny's laugh in response was soft.
Ocean wondered if her lips were, too.
Immediately, she tried to dismiss the thought from her mind, blushing profusely. It was hardly the first time she'd had that particular idea, but she knew that now was most definitely not the time for it.
Clearly not noticing Ocean's inner turmoil, Penny hummed contemplatively.
"Lobsters don't have vocal cords. I bet you didn't know that," she said, turning towards her.
"You're right, I didn't," Ocean agreed, trying to keep her voice level. Penny was so close.
Ocean's eyes had adjusted slightly to the darkness, so she could just about make out Penny's face, mere inches from her own. She was smiling so warmly, so genuinely, and Ocean felt her stomach practically twist itself in knots.
Laying her palms, tacky with sweat, flat against her legs, Ocean swallowed the lump that had appeared in her throat, suddenly overcome with the need to be even closer to Penny - to do something.
Just then, Penny spoke again, her voice now lowered to barely above a murmur, and Ocean had to strain to hear her over the blood rushing in her ears.
"I'm glad it was you."
Ocean blinked a few times, slightly stunned. Her face felt like it was on fire.
"....Huh?" she responded (before immediately internally berating herself - what kind of an answer was that?), and Penny laughed slightly, reaching out and taking one of Ocean's hands in her own.
"I'm glad we got picked together. In this - " she did air quotes with her free hand. " - 'game'."
It took Ocean a good few seconds to even process what Penny had just said. When she finally did, however, she felt her stomach do a backflip.
"Oh! Um... me too!" she nodded a few times, and Penny's smile softened slightly (or maybe it was a trick of the light?). Trying to salvage even a scrap of dignity in this discussion, Ocean continued. "I mean, imagine if it had been Noel."
Penny wrinkled her nose up, smirking, as Ocean mimed gagging.
"Yeah, this was definitely the best outcome," she murmured, before looking Ocean up and down, seemingly contemplating something.
Suddenly, she moved, pressing her forehead to Ocean's, and the shorter girl had to bite her tongue to prevent the undignified squeal that threatened to escape her, sure her face had gone bright red.
They were so close.
Ocean could feel Penny's breath on her face, ghosting over her lips.
Her heart was pounding so hard she could practically feel it in her throat.
Distantly, she thought that now would be a very inconvenient time to go into cardiac arrest.
"I, um..." Penny looked away bashfully, seemingly having lost all confidence that had brought her this far.
She huffed out a not-quite-laugh through her nose, and Ocean felt goosebumps begin to rise on her arms, her fuzzy mind scrambling to find any sort of platonic reasoning for this - any proof that she was completely misinterpreting Penny's actions.
However, her frantic attempts at justifying their proximity were cut off by Penny speaking, green eyes suddenly meeting hers once more in the darkness, a blush spreading across her face.
"Ocean, can I... um..." she paused again, and Ocean wondered if she imagined the way her eyes briefly flicked down to her lips. "Can I kiss you?"
"Yes," Ocean breathed as soon as the word 'kiss' left Penny's mouth, making the taller girl let out a puff of air through her nose in amusement.
The feeling of Penny's breath on her face was enough to make Ocean's resolve crumble, a rush of courage suddenly surging through her as she leaned forwards just enough to lightly brush her lips against Penny's.
The taller girl's breath hitched, stunned for a few moments, before she relaxed into the kiss, cupping Ocean's face in her hands and pulling her closer.
Suddenly, nothing else mattered. As Ocean felt warmth blossoming in her chest, a rush of emotions welling up inside of her, she suddenly didn't care that she was in some random person's closet, at a party she hadn't wanted to attend.
All that mattered was that her lips were on Penny's.
Ocean hadn't kissed anyone before, and she doubted Penny had much more experience than she did, but she didn't particularly care. The mere fact that she was kissing Penny was enough to make Ocean feel ecstatic.
Her heart was pounding in her ears as she wrapped her arms around Penny's shoulders, desperate to keep her as close as possible. At that moment, Ocean could fathom nothing worse than being away from her.
However, after what felt simultaneously like an eternity and yet not long enough, they parted, panting softly. For the first time in her life, Ocean cursed the fact that human beings needed oxygen to survive - why waste time breathing when she could be kissing Penny?
Clearly, the sentiment was shared, as mere moments later Penny had leaned in again, capturing Ocean's lips in her own.
Penny's lips were soft, just as Ocean had imagined, and she was quickly finding that kissing her was intoxicating, her mind focused solely on Penny as she felt a hand find its way to the back of her neck, keeping her close.
Ocean could tell that her face was flushed bright red, but she couldn't find it in herself to care, unable to form a single coherent thought beyond Penny's name.
As they broke apart again, Ocean felt herself mourning the loss of Penny's mouth against hers, touching their foreheads together once more.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, both catching their breath.
Ocean knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it, eyes drinking in what she could see of Penny's flushed face and swollen lips in the darkness as she tried to process what had just happened.
She had kissed Penny.
And Penny had kissed her!
The thought alone made a rush of giddiness well up inside her, and she was unable to control the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
After a few moments, Penny broke the silence between them (a running pattern throughout their time in that closet, Ocean noted).
"So..." she said, breathless, and Ocean felt a rush of warmth inside her at the knowledge that she had caused it - that she was the reason for the lack of air in Penny's lungs. "...We should probably talk about... that."
Despite the fact that Ocean was still fairly certain her brain was not working, she nodded slightly. It took all of her self-control to not kiss Penny again - now that she had, she wondered how she'd ever managed to restrain herself in the first place.
If kissing Penny felt like this, why hadn't she done it sooner? Why hadn't they been doing this since they'd met?
(Logically, Ocean knew that that would be stupid; she had responsibilities outside of simply being around Penny, and it wasn't reasonable to spend every moment of every day kissing someone, no matter how appealing the concept may sound.
However, her brain was still attempting to recover from the fact that she and the girl she had a big gay crush on had kissed twice, and thus was not operating at full capacity.)
"I, um..." she swallowed, attempting to clear the elated fuzziness that was clouding her brain enough to form a coherent sentence. "I really like you."
In the darkness, she saw Penny's eyes widen at the admission, a blush spreading across her face as she smiled, showing her dimples.
"I really like you too," she whispered, and Ocean felt her wrap her hands around her waist, pulling her closer and making her stomach lurch.
"Noel is never gonna let me hear the end of this," Ocean mumbled, and Penny laughed at that, pressing another kiss to Ocean's lips.
"I'm sure he won't be too unbearable," she murmured once they broke apart again. "If he is, I'll..." she paused, and Ocean watched intently as she sunk her teeth into her bottom lip, chewing lightly as she thought. After a few beats, she was apparently struck with an idea. "...beat him up."
The randomness of it - as well as the sheer humour in the idea of Penny beating someone up, let alone that someone being Noel - was enough to make Ocean let out a surprised laugh, and she could just about make out Penny's proud grin.
"Don't do that. You'll get in trouble," she told her in response, attempting to sound stern, though it was slightly diminished by the uncontrollable smile still present on her face, the tips of their noses brushing together gently.
"Aw, man. We can't have that," Penny feigned disappointment, letting out a fake sigh that Ocean felt on her face, making her shiver.
Playing along, Ocean leaned in and gave her another quick kiss, as if to reassure her. It was all she could do to keep herself from trembling in Penny's arms, still giddy and full of adrenaline from the fact that she and Penny had kissed more than once.
"How long do you think we've been in here?" Ocean asked after they separated once more, still trying to catch her breath. She felt Penny shrug.
"Not sure. I haven't exactly been keeping track," her grin was audible as she spoke, and Ocean felt the corners of her own mouth turning up.
Laughing slightly in response, Ocean reluctantly pulled away from their close proximity, beginning to feel slightly thirsty and reaching for her cup of water.
However, as she raised it to her lips to drink, Penny seemed to view it as the opportune time to press a soft kiss to Ocean's cheek, startling the shorter girl with the affection and causing a furious blush to spread over her face as her arm jerked in surprise, spilling the cup's contents down herself.
"Sh- sugar!" Ocean quickly corrected herself, frowning as she tried her best to survey the damage in the low light, setting the (now nearly empty) plastic cup down again.
"Sorry!" Penny apologised, though Ocean could still hear the smile in her voice, and she tried her best to shoot her a glare in the darkness.
"What the heck was that for?!" she huffed, though there was still an undertone of playfulness as she rolled her eyes - she wasn't really mad at Penny. "Now I'm all wet!"
It was true - the water had spilled down the front of her shirt, and she could feel the sodden fabric sticking uncomfortably to her skin. She couldn't imagine that it would be in any way pleasant for her to return to the party in this state, once they were released from the confines of the closet.
Penny exhaled through her nose in fond amusement, and Ocean could tell she wanted to make some sort of remark about her phrasing, but managed to contain herself.
"I simply couldn't resist," she mused instead, her voice dripping with mirth, before she let out a brief hum of contemplation. "Hang on."
Ocean was unable to work out quite what she was doing, only able to hear the shuffling of fabric in the darkness. However, her wondering was swiftly cut short by a soft garment suddenly being tugged over her head.
Penny's hoodie.
It was warm, having just been worn by the other girl mere moments prior, but the realisation that she was wearing Penny's clothes was enough to make Ocean feel as if she'd been lit on fire, face flushing and her heart thudding loudly in her ears as she slid her arms through the sleeves.
Due to their difference in height, the hoodie was much too large for Ocean, but if anything that added to the fuzziness welling up inside of her. It smelled of Penny, her usual detergent mixed with whatever lotion she'd been wearing causing a stir of butterflies in Ocean's stomach, unable to fight the uncontrollable grin appearing on her face.
It was blissfully intoxicating, and Ocean could've died happily right then and there.
"There," Penny said simply, making a cute noise of satisfaction as she gently fixed the hem of the hoodie. "Better?"
For once, Ocean elected not to speak (which Noel would deem a miracle), instead leaning in and kissing Penny, which the taller girl reciprocated happily.
"You're forgiven," Ocean whispered once they parted, melting into the touch as Penny cupped her face in her hands.
"Phew. You had me worried," she joked in response, before pulling Ocean back in.
Click.
The sudden noise of the closet door unlocking caused them to spring apart, eyes wide (and only narrowly avoiding knocking the plastic cup over). Within moments, the door had opened, and Ocean had to blink against the sudden light pouring in from the room.
"Seven minutes is up!" the host, whose name Ocean honestly couldn't recall, said, smirking down at them from the doorway.
Ocean could feel how warm her face was - partially from still being flustered about kissing Penny, now paired with the embarrassment that it was most definitely very obvious what they had been doing.
"Right," she breathed, her gaze flicking over to Penny - finally granted enough light to see her properly.
Penny was also blushing softly, though she was still grinning, lips curled back just enough for the stupidly cute gap between her front teeth to be visible, and Ocean was struck with the desire to kiss her again.
Instead, however, Penny moved, taking Ocean's hand and pulling her to her feet.
"C'mon," she said, gently interlocking their fingers, and Ocean couldn't help the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as she looked up at her.
So, with one last deep breath, Ocean nodded, bowing her head to avoid making eye contact with anyone as she let Penny lead her back out into the party.
And despite the fact that the game had no true objective or winner, as Penny shot her a bashful grin, squeezing her hand, Ocean couldn't help but feel as if she'd walked away from it victorious.