This is How We Change the World Ch. 05

Lyric was giving a very unconvincing smile as she stepped down. In addition to their table, which was not quiet, several other members of the audience were moved by her extremely lowkey performance. Lyric looked reluctant to be praised right up until she stopped about five feet from their table. Her expression went from sad smile to disbelief, and her head tilted like the hand of a clock making its way around the face.

"Megan?"

"Heeey," Megan said, peeking out from where she'd tried to hide behind Mars.

Lyric wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Oh, I..."

It's been a long time since I came around

"...was in the neighborhood?"

It's been a long time, but I'm back in town

If there was one artist that Rose was going to know from the opening notes, it was Mother Monster. She turned, wide eyed, and stared up at the redhead on stage. She had no idea if Maddy knew anything about Lady Gaga's reputation in queer circles, but anything off Born This Way was a pretty good foot to put forward.

Lyric was the last to notice, when everyone else was already staring past her in wide-eyed surprise.

You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, aww

The stage was lit, so it had to be hard to look out from it, but Maddy was staring right at Lyric. There was nothing subtle about it at all, and Rose was here for it.

I'd give anything again to be your baby doll

"How?" Lyric stammered, as she took a slow step toward the stage.

"Did you tell her to sing that?" Sebastian whispered, leaning back toward Megan.

"I didn't tell her anything!" Megan said back, emphatically. "God, I completely forgot she could sing."

This time I'm not leavin' without you.

Maddy tracked Lyric as the brunette made her way back across the room, around tables, as she launched into the chorus. With every step, Lyric was moving a little faster, and she was on stage before the second Something. She connected like a homing missile, and though an instrumental version of the song continued to play in the background, the mic was picking them up the whole time.

The crowd gave fierce whistles and cheers throughout the kissing.

"I don't understand!"

"Megan set this up. I didn't know."

"Have you been here this whole time?"

"Just when you started singing."

"I love you," Lyric said, all in a rush. "I'm sorry I didn't say it before. I'm sorry I let you leave without saying it."

Maddy beamed, smiling a tight little smile that made her cheeks and the end of her nose glow, and said, "I love you too."

Lyric put her hand over her mouth as she cried, and Maddy drew her in to hold her.

"You and I." Maddy was singing it softly, right into Lyric's ear, but the mic was still picking it up. "You and I. You and I."

"It was my idea," Rose said, a little sullenly, as she reached into her purse for the little pack of tissues she kept there. When she looked around the table, they all looked at least a little misty-eyed, so she started handing them out.

"You and I."

Anything else they might have said, as they slow danced in circles on the stage, was lost beneath the song and the riotous sounds that Rose and the others at the table were making. It kind of looked like Maddy was still singing to Lyric, and Lyric was clinging to her like Maddy was the only thing keeping her upright.

"You and I."

***

05 Jun 2023

Maddy kissed Lyric's shoulder. "I love this."

She kissed Lyric's upper arm.

"I love this."

She kissed Lyric's elbow.

"I love this."

She kissed Lyric's side.

"I love this."

Lyric giggled and squirmed when she hit a tickly spot. Maddy nuzzled her face against it, breathing in the scent of her skin. She kept right on kissing, murmuring her vows of love, and Lyric seemed both flustered and flattered. They lay in bed, naked, tangled up in sheets, and by the time she had kissed every part she could think of, she was holding her girlfriend protectively.

Lyric curled up against her and sighed. "It's so good to be right here, right now."

"I know," Maddy said softly and stroked Lyric's back slowly. "It's like... like this is the right place to be. Like we're at the center of the universe."

"I used to always want to be someplace else," Lyric said. "Like, I thought that if I could just get out of middle school, then maybe I would be fine, or if I just got away from my father, or if I could move away from Chicago... get away from people who know me, but it didn't work like that. Those things were good, but... they weren't answers."

Her breath hit Maddy's skin in warm little puffs. She was so close Maddy could occasionally feel her lips on her skin. It felt exquisite, and Maddy wondered leisurely if they still had another round of lovemaking in them.

"I know," Maddy said. "It's funny, I've never felt more like I was in exactly the right place, and yet I've never felt more like I have... a future, I guess? Like I have opportunities, and places to go to, and things to do."

"Yeah," Lyric said slowly. "Yeah, that."

Maddy pulled her in tighter. Lyric tilted her head a little, and Maddy kissed her chin, her nose, her eyebrows. The tiny grumpy wrinkle between her eyebrows. Lyric smiled, and the grumpy wrinkle disappeared. Maddy thought that when she got older, it might be there permanently. And she might be here to see it.

The thought filled her with so much happiness that she hadn't believed it to be possible.

***

17 Jun 2023

"It's going good," Lyric said, as she laid on her bed. "Like... really good."

"That's so awesome," her sister Monika said, on the other end of the phone, "but not nearly enough. Come on, though! Tell me more!"

She rolled over onto her stomach, and curled her index finger into her hair. "Well, I mean, a lot's happened, so, like, what did I tell you last time? I forget what I said."

"Uh... You were sad that she hadn't, like, immediately moved back in."

"No, I came around on that. I didn't get it at first, because I kind of just wanted to, like, like immediately get back to what we had before, because what we had before was special and unique and I wanted it so bad, but it also wasn't super great. We weren't really talking about relationship stuff, we just sorta clicked as roommates and coworkers... with a... just a big ol' asterisk."

"And now she's taking you out on dates?"

Lyric blushed and bit her lip. "Yeah. Yeah, there's this whole, like... we went to the zoo, and it felt incredible to be going someplace with her. She held my hand! My bar, my... my expectations, were so low that I didn't even know that I wanted someone to hold my hand until a week before she left."

"Yeah. If people don't want to be seen with you out in public, that's a huge red flag."

"Totally."

"Totally."

"Totally," Lyric repeated, smiling.

"Dork."

"Dork."

"Hey, I know I've already said this, but, like, it means a lot that you're letting me help you with your phone."

Lyric snorted. "Um, you're welcome?"

"You know what I mean, smartass. I know you were doing the whole independent woman thing out there and, like, maximum respect, but we've talked five times in the last two weeks and I missed that. I missed you, and... helping with this, paying for it, feels like I've got a little bat phone of my own."

"I don't know... what... to say to that."

"Well it's a whole thing, right? Letting someone help you means admitting you need help which means admitting you can't do absolutely everything on your own, but that's totally okay."

"Totally," Lyric repeated.

Monika laughed. "Shut up! I'm being serious here!"

"I've missed you too."

"Alright, so, what? Is it just dates? You two see a show, have dinner, and make out? What are you doing. What's the routine."

"We've actually been talking a lot. Like, big conversations, which we didn't do before. Life stuff. That's what I'm saying! I wanted the shortcut, the quick and easy, but we're going slower now and it's... better. She wants to know things, Mon. What I want. Where I want to be. She's interested in me."

"Did you tell her about your bizarre fantasy about living in an actual stone cottage in the woods?"

"Yes," Lyric said, affecting a great insult, "and she didn't think it was bizarre at all. She talks about buying an apartment in the city, but... like... she talks about it in equal terms. Like we might have both. Like I might partially own two properties. That's... wild."

"I don't know how I feel about her being, like, ten years older than me."

"Well... maybe you should come out and visit? I think you'd like her."

When Monika asked, "Are you able to take a couple days off?" it had all the hallmarks of her older sister's sudden laser focus. Clipped pronunciation. Lowered tone. Mouth closer to the mic on her phone.

"I can swing a couple days at some point," she said. "Could you do a long weekend?"

"Yeah... yeah. Okay. Let me get back to you on that, but yes. Definitely yes. I have some questions for this Madalyn about her intentions toward my little sister."

"Oh, it's all bad. All bad intentions."

"I'm glad to hear the sex is good."

Lyric bit her lip and beamed. "You have no idea."

"On that note..."

"Yeah I've gotta start getting ready."

"Love you."

"I'll call you tomorrow," Lyric said, and hung up.

She laid there, on the bed, with her phone resting on her chest, for a long while after that. It was really good to talk to Monika. She'd never really connected with her older sister before she left, even though Monika had tried to be there for her. There were just too many things going on with their parents, and school, and...

...and now that things had settled down, Monika was hitting her stride. She was born to be a big sister. Lyric got up, pulled out the top and skirt she was thinking about wearing, and snapped a mirror selfie for Monika. She got two fire symbol emojis back within seconds.

"What do you guys think?" she said, turning to model the outfit for the shelf full of My Little Pony dolls. They all smiled at her. "Yeah. Me too."

The phone rang again when she was in the bathroom, putting on her eyeliner. She tapped the speakerphone button and said, "Heeey."

"Heeey," Maddy said.

Lyric had to hold the brush out to the side. "Stop making me smile. It's slowing down the process of getting ready."

"Never."

She sighed happily. "Are you at the hotel yet?"

"I just got to the room. I've got all my stuff." Special emphasis on all.

"Okay. I'm all packed. I'll be leaving in a few minutes."

"We're on the fourth floor. We're, like, just high enough that someone might see, but probably won't be able to make out any details."

She had to resist the urge to bite her lip, so she didn't ruin her lipstick. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"I've used a strapon before," she said. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

"That's not what I meant!"

"I've definitely fucked in front of a window before."

"That's not—"

"Don't worry," Maddy said, cutting in. "I've got the masks, and yes. Yes, I want to do this."

"You don't have to."

"Lyric," Maddy said.

"Yes?"

"I know you mean well."

"Sex work is a lot to get into! Porn is a lot! An-and we don't have to use any of the footage. If we shoot it and you don't like it, we can trash it."

"I love you too."

Lyric blushed, picked up the phone, and turned around to lean against the counter. "Tell me again."

"I love you."

Lyric waved a hand rapidly at her eyes, looked up at the lights, and groped around for a change of topic. "Uh, are we... are we still on for brunch in the morning?"

"Assuming Megan isn't hung over, yes. How would you feel about ordering some Nepalese for dinner once we're done?"

"Delivered to the room?"

"Oh absolutely," Maddy said, turning on a smooth charm that made Lyric's middle go all weak. "If I have my way, you'll be walking funny by the time we're done, so delivery is pretty much required."

"Promises, promises," Lyric replied, very proud of herself for keeping up.

"You're leaving in a few minutes?"

"As soon as my girlfriend stops making me all weepy."

"I'll get everything ready. Now that I see the room, I'm having ideas."

"You really want to do this, don't you?"

"Yeah," Maddy said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I love you."

"Get your cute little butt in gear."

Lyric hung up the phone, and stared at herself in the mirror. The smile that beamed back at her was almost unrecognizably wide.

"Yeah," she said, getting a feedback loop of joy from her own reflection, and how happy she looked. "Okay."

//Authors' Note: The song Lyric sang at the karaoke bar was "She Used To Be Mine" by Sara Bareilles. The song Maddy sang was "You and I" by Lady Gaga.//