Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Rating: I have no idea...I guess I'll say T to be safe.

Couples: Chanel likes Dorinda...but is the feeling mutual?

-------------

2 Years Later

Chanel sat in her third period English class waiting for the tardy bell to ring. She hated English, and it just made matters worse that Mr. Moore, her teacher, had seated her front and center of the class.

Finally the bell rang and Mr. Moore closed the door.

"Alright, class," he began, clapping his hands together and walking to the front of the room. "Today, we have a new student." Chanel sighed and rested her head in her hand, tuning Mr. Moore out. She wished Aqua had this class. Maybe then it wouldn't be so boring.

But two of the better things was one, Mr. Moore was a total hottie, and two, Galleria didn't have this class.

Chanel soon found herself daydreaming about Dorinda. Where was she now? What was she doing? Was she hurt? Sick? In a hospital? Dead? Chanel shook her head at that thought and realized that someone was speaking to her.

"Chanel? Can you tell me the answer?" Mr. Moore asked, standing directly in front of her.

"Errr...noun?" she guessed.

"Um...yes, that's right," he said, moving on to someone else. Chanel breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally the lunch bell rang. Chanel was half way out of her seat when Mr. Moore came to stand in front of her.

"Chanel, may I speak with you?" he asked kindly, sitting down on a desktop. She nodded and turned to face him. "Is there something wrong? Is something bothering you? You seem distant." She shook her head. Oh nothing much, Mr. Moore. Just that the love of my life left me here all alone to wonder what happened to her. What's that Mr. Moore? Yes, I did just say 'her'.

"No, Mr. Moore. Everything's fine...I just have a lot on my mind is all." He nodded.

"Ok. But if you ever need to talk you can always come to me," he said. Chanel nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Moore," she said. He smiled at her and allowed her to leave for lunch. Thankfully, she had lunch with Aqua.

"Girl, what took so long?" Aqua asked as Chanel took her seat.

"I zoned out during class and Mr. Moore wanted to know if anything was bothering me," Chanel explained, not really wanting to go into detail. Aqua looked at her expectantly. She looked down at the table, hoping Aqua would get the hint. She didn't.

"Well? What's wrong?" she asked gently. Chanel shook her head. "C'mon, Chuchie. Is it about...her?" Chanel nodded.

"I can't help but wonder where she is or what she's doing," Chanel looked up with tears in her eyes. Aqua looked towards the end of the table.

"We're being watched," she said quietly. Chanel looked over and saw Galleria staring at them. The guy she was sitting with brought her attention back to him and she began laughing. Aqua and Chanel shook their heads.

"Look, Chanel. I'm not going to tell you not to worry about her...you'll do that anyway. But...give her some time. She'll come home eventually. Her family is here...we're here," Aqua said, trying to comfort her friend. Chanel nodded, not really convinced. "How about you come over tonight? We have that history test tomorrow. We could study or something...we both need all the help we can get."

"Ok. History isn't one of our better subjects...come to think of it neither is English," Chanel said.

"Or science...or math," Aqua muttered. The girls laughed. The rest of the lunch period was spent laughing and joking and talking about nothing in particular. When the bell signifying the end of lunch sounded, the girls parted ways.

-------------

"Ok, ok...who wrote the Declaration of Independence?" Aqua asked, reading from her notes. Chanel's eyes widened.

"Um...some old guy...who's now dead...so why do I need to know this?" Aqua laughed.

"C'mon girl, do you know it or not?"

"No...wait...Thomas Jefferson?" Chanel asked, uncertain.

"Very good!" Aqua said, applauding. "Ok...I think we've studied enough!" She threw her notebook to the floor.

"I agree," Chanel said, throwing her own notebook to the floor.

"Ok," Aqua said, jumping into full on 'girl talk' mode. "Prom is two weeks from Friday. Has anyone asked you?" Chanel nodded.

"I've had a couple of offers...but none of them are who I really want to go with," she said sadly. Aqua nodded. She understood. They sat in silence for a while before Chanel finally spoke again.

"Are you going with anyone?"

"Actually...I accepted an invitation yesterday."

"Really?! Who?"

"Adam," Aqua said shyly.

"Adam Hatley?" Chanel asked incredulously. Adam Hatley was Fashion Industries' resident shy, emo boy. He was 19. He should have graduated the previous year, but he went through a rough patch in his home life and he failed all of his second semester classes. He wore jeans, a band t-shirt, and vans/converse all the time. He wasn't really who Chanel had pictured Aqua getting together with.

"Yeah. I've kinda had a crush on him. I accepted with earnest. When I accepted...he smiled!" Aqua said. Adam rarely ever smiled. They spent the rest of their night talking about what Aqua was going to wear. Aqua even managed to convince Chanel to come with or without a date. Chanel finally looked at the clock and, upon seeing that it was past 8, decided that she'd better head home. She gathered her things, assured Aqua that she'd be fine on her own, and left.

Chanel was a block from her apartment. It was eerily quiet. There were no cars passing by. No people on either sidewalk. All the lights were out, except for the street light. But, Chanel couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed. She stopped and turned to see if anyone was behind her. Seeing no one, she continued on her way, figuring it was just Aqua making sure she got home safely. What's the deal? This is New York...there are always people milling around. Where is everyone?

Suddenly, she felt someone grab her roughly from behind. One of their hands clamped over her mouth and the other arm wrapped around her waist. Chanel dropped her bag and clawed at the person's hand. She tried to scream, but the hand muffled it. The person drug her backwards into an alley.

She felt herself being slammed into the alley wall. The person held her in place. She could see that he was definitely a guy and it became apparent when he told her not to scream or he'd "make it hurt worse." He wore red, yellow, and black face paint.

He slowly unbuttoned her blouse, teasing her. She took advantage of the fact that he wasn't paying enough attention to clamping her mouth shut. She ripped his hand away.

"Help!" she screamed. "Help me!" she couldn't let this guy take her in the alley.

The man slapped her hard across the face. Her head flew backwards and collided with the brick wall behind her. Her vision began to swim. She heard footsteps and a loud WHACK! The guy screamed and released her, falling to the ground in an unconscious heap. Chanel slid down the wall to the ground, her vision getting dimmer and dimmer.

As she faded into unconsciousness, she felt herself being lifted off the ground by a pair of strong, but definitely female, arms. She saw a flash of blonde hair and smelled the intoxicating smell of strawberries before everything went black.

-------------

Chanel awoke, but didn't open her eyes. Her head hurt too much. She realized she was laying on a bed. The bed felt familiar and she could tell she was covered with blankets. She could also tell that she was in nothing but her bra and boy shorts. She finally opened her eyes to look around. She was in her room, laying in her bed. She reached over and turned on the lamp on her bedside table.

"Was it a dream?" she whispered to herself. She took into account her pounding head and still burning cheek. She had no idea how she had gotten home. She didn't remember taking her clothes off or getting into bed. "Nope...definitely not a dream. But...who brought me home?" She found it odd that whoever it was knew exactly where she lived and where her room was. She looked to her right and saw her clothes folded neatly on her computer chair. She shook her head, confused and frightened at the same time.

-------------

At lunch the next day, Chanel told Aqua about her ordeal.

"I think the person that brought me home was a girl...or woman. I saw long blonde hair. Maybe it was a guy with long hair. I don't know," she rested her head in her hand. She'd thought about it all day and had given herself a headache. "Will you come over tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course. See? You should have let me take you home. But it's weird that the street was deserted," Aqua said, scratching her chin.

"I know this sounds weird...but, in a way, I'm glad it happened to me. Someone else may not have been as fortunate. That person walked past the alley at the right time. If another woman would have come by later...that person wouldn't have been there to help," Chanel said.

"You wanna know what creeps me out the most? The fact that you woke up in your underwear. That's freakin' creepy. Let's hope it was a woman," Aqua said, laughing slightly. Chanel bit her lip. "Sorry...I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's ok...but if there is a God in heaven...it'll have been a woman," Chanel responded. At that moment the lunch bell rang. Chanel and Aqua headed back to class.

Chanel couldn't keep her mind off of the person. She knew that, whoever it was, it was someone either she or her mom knew, who knew where they lived, and who also had blonde hair. She shook her head, hoping to clear it. Whoever it was will probably come foward eventually.

-------------

Aqua and Chanel were sitting on the couch in Chanel's apartment after school talking about prom. Chanel's mom was at work (Chanel wasn't completely sure she wasn't out shopping instead), so they didn't have to worry about being interrupted. Aqua was telling Chanel about a dress that she had seen in a store window a few days prior, when there was a knock on the door. Chanel sighed and rose from the couch to answer it.

"Galleria?" she asked, stunned. She felt Aqua come up behind her. Galleria shuffled her feet uncertainly, her hands clasped in front of her. The three girls were silent for a beat, just staring at one another.

"Can...can I come in?" Galleria asked meekly. Chanel nodded curtly and stepped aside. She didn't like Galleria, but Chanel knew it was only fair to hear what she had to say. Galleria stood in the center of the room and looked around.

"Wow...this place hasn't changed at all," Galleria whispered.

"What do you want?" Aqua asked viciously. Galleria looked down.

"Chuchie..." she began. Chanel held up a hand to stop her.

"Don't...you don't have the right to call me that anymore. What do you want, Galleria?"

"I uh...I just wanted to see you guys," Galleria whispered.

"Yeah...right," Aqua snapped. "You want something." Galleria shook her head.

"Chuc...Chanel...I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I really didn't mean to make Dorinda leave," Chanel cringed and her eyes filled with tears. It was an unspoken rule between Chanel and Aqua to never speak Dorinda's name. Aqua knew it would cause Chanel to break down.

"Get out," Aqua said dangerously, seeing Chanel's reaction.

"Aqua...that's not your decision," Galleria said, looking to Chanel, silently begging her to let her stay. There was another knock on the door.

"Galleria...please get out," Chanel said, almost sobbing, as she went to open the door. When she opened it, there was no one there. She looked down the hall and saw a flash of blonde hair disappear around the corner. Chanel cocked her head to the side, wondering if that could have possibly been the person that saved her.

"Galleria get out!" she heard Aqua say. She turned back to them. Galleria looked at her with pleading eyes. She shook her head and Galleria looked down sadly. She walked to the door that Chanel had neglected to close. She looked back, hoping Chanel and Aqua were pranking her. When she saw nothing in their eyes but coldness and loathing, she left without another word.

Aqua walked over to Chanel and wrapped her arms around her, letting the smaller girl cry on her shoulder.

-------------

I can't believe I'm actually here right now, standing outside Chanel's apartment, trying to find the courage to knock. I finally lift my hand and rap my knuckles softly on the door. Part of me hopes that it was so soft no one heard it.

"Galleria...please get out," I hear Chanel say, almost sobbing. Galleria? Alright...I know now coming here was a mistake. I turn and quickly walk down the hallway. I hear the door opened behind me and I pick up my pace so I can get around the corner before I'm noticed. I hop into the elevator. Once the doors close, I lean against the back wall, tears clouding my vision. So close...yet so far away. Would I have stayed even if Galleria hadn't have been there? I don't know. But it's ok...prom is in a couple of weeks. Maybe I'll get lucky then.

-------------

The next two weeks passed by swiftly, with no sign of Chanel's blonde savior, and soon it was prom night. Aqua was at Chanel's apartment and they were helping each other get ready. Adam was due to pick the up in a few minutes.

"You look gorgeous!" Chanel told Aqua, who was wearing a sleeveless, light blue dress that came just below her knees with matching blue heels. I hair hung loosely around her shoulders.

"You don't look so bad yourself!" Aqua said. Chanel was wearing a soft purple, sleeveless dress that was slightly longer than Aqua's, with matching light purple heels. Her hair was in it's natural wavy state and was put up into a pony tail. There was a knock on the door.

"Ready to break a few hearts?" Chanel joked. Aqua laughed.

"Girl...I have no intention of breaking his heart!" Chanel laughed. The girls grabbed their purses, linked arms, and went to answer the door.

"When Adam saw the girls, he was completely speechless, his mouth slightly agape. Aqua was having the same problem. He was wearing black slacks with a black silk dress shirt and a fairly new pair of skate shoes. His bleach blonde hair, which usually had a stripe of color in it, was completely devoid of any strange color and was combed over, covering his left eye.

"Wow," he and Aqua whispered in unison. Chanel rolled her eyes.

"Ok, you two. There will be plenty of time for that when we get to the prom!" she said, letting go of Aqua's arm and starting towards the elevator. Adam, being the gentlemen he was, held his arm out, allowing Aqua to loop hers around it.

Adam and Aqua tried their best to include Chanel in their conversations, but she wouldn't cooperate. She just sat in the back of Adam's yellow jeep liberty, staring out the window with her arms crossed over her chest.

Chanel sat at the table alone all night. Adam and Aqua were constantly on the dance floor. Chanel sighed. I should just leave.

-------------

"So...what's wrong with Chanel?" Adam asked curiously as he and Aqua danced. She sighed and told him the story of what happened two years ago.

"I guess she was kind of hoping she could eventually be here with Dorinda," Aqua said, surprising herself. It was the first time she had spoken Dorinda's name in two years. "They would have made a cute couple if Galleria hadn't screwed everything up."

"If Dorinda comes back...do you think Chanel could find it in her heart to forgive her for leaving?"

"I hope so," Aqua said, looking over to her lonesome friend. "God I hope so."

-------------

Chanel sighed. This was not working out. She was lonely and right now she loathed Aqua for convincing her to come. She would have been quite content to stay home, in bed, with a bag of chocolate chip cookies, a tub of ice cream, the remote, and a sappy romantic movie. She decided to call a cab and go home. She was about to ride from her seat when she heard a female voice behind her.

"Chanel...would you like to dance?" Chanel didn't turn around.

"Sorry, but I'm not in the dancing mood," she rolled her eyes when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Maybe I could change your mind?" Chanel turned, fully intent on chewing this girl out. What she saw took her breath away. She sat there, eyes wide and mouth agape, staring at a beautiful blonde girl dressed in a red sleeveless dress.

"Dorinda?" she asked. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry. The girl smiled.

"Wanna dance? Please?" Dorinda said, holding out her hand. Chanel stared at it for a minute before taking it and letting Dorinda lead her onto the dance floor. Dorinda placed her hands on the shorter girl's waist. Chanel, not really knowing what to do with her hands, finally settled on placing them on Dorinda's shoulders.

"So..." Chanel began awkwardly as they swayed to the music. "How long have you been home?"

"Three weeks. I'm surprised you haven't seen me."

"You're the new kind in my English class aren't you?" Dorinda nodded.

"Didn't you hear Mr. Moore say my name?"

"No...I sort of spaced out," Chanel said, embarrassed.

Dorinda laughed. "Oh yeah...I recall an 'Errr...noun?'" Dorinda teased, smiling. Chanel offered a weak smile. Chanel decided to ask the question that had pressed it's way into her mind.

"Why are you here?" Dorinda looked hurt.

"Do you not want me here?"

"Yes...I do. I just want to know why you're back. The way your mom talked that job offer was a sweet deal."

"Well...it started to get very boring. I taught one class a dance. The next class would come in and I'd have to teach them the same dance. Then, those classes 'graduated' and, when the new class came in, I'd have to start all over. LA was great and all but...the teaching...it just wasn't for me. Ms. Bennett told me that there would always be a place for me there, in case I changed my mind later," Dorinda explained. "And...I missed you." she shrugged helplessly. Chanel's eyes started to tear up.

"I missed you too, Doe," she said. She wrapped her arms around Dorinda's neck and pressed her cheek to her shoulder. Dorinda placed her hands on the small of Chanel's back, pulling her as close as possible. She looked over at Aqua and Adam. Aqua had tears in her eyes and Adam was smiling. Aqua smiled and waved. Dorinda offered her own smile and waved back. The slow song they were dancing to ended as the DJ put on 'Home' by Chris Daughtry. Dorinda leaned down and sang softly in Chanel's ear.

I'm going home, to the place where I belong, and where your love has always been enough for me. I'm not running from...no I think you got me all wrong. I don't regret this life I chose for me. But these places and these faces are getting old...So I'm going home," Chanel smiled to herself. She'd missed Dorinda's singing. "Chanel...I love you too." Chanel looked up.

"Really?" she asked incredulously. Dorinda nodded. Tears streamed down Chanel's face. Dorinda reached up and brushed them away with her thumb. She leaned down slightly and Chanel leaned up, closing the distance between them. The kiss was sweet...soft and gentle. It wasn't exactly how Chanel had dreamed it would be. It's better. When they pulled away, Chanel kept her eyes closed as she bit her bottom lip.

You don't know how long I've wanted to do that," Dorinda said. Chanel opened her eyes and saw that Dorinda's face was beet red. She smiled meekly.

"I knew you'd come home," Chanel said seriously. "I waited for you."

"I had always planned on coming home. I had absolutely no intention of staying in LA forever. Not without coming back for you. I didn't exactly leave on the best terms," Dorinda said.

"We all know who's to blame for that," Chanel said bitterly.

"The blame goes half and half, Chanel. Sure, Galleria pushed me away...but ultimately it was totally my decision to leave."

The rest of the night was spent dancing and catching up.

"I'm tired," Chanel said reluctantly, stifling a yawn. She pulled out her cell phone to check the time. "Wow. It's midnight."

"Want me to take you home?" Chanel nodded.

"First let me go tell Aqua that I'm leaving," she said. She rose from her chair and walked to where Aqua and Adam were sitting. "Hey girl!" she called.

"Chanel! Oh my God! Is she any different?" Aqua asked, jumping up from her seat. Chanel shook her head smiling. "Hey...I told you she'd come home."

"Yeah, you did. We're going to head on out, ok?" she hugged Aqua and waved to Adam.

"Good luck," Aqua whispered to her. Chanel nodded her thanks.

"Bye guys!" she turned and practically skipped back to where Dorinda was standing. Dorinda waved to Aqua one last time before taking Chanel's hand and heading towards the door. On the way out, they were stopped by Galleria.

"Dorinda?" the girl asked, disbelievingly.

"Hey...Galleria," Dorinda said, suddenly feeling rather uncomfortable.

"Um...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry about what happened. I never meant to push you away."

"Galleria...it's ok. I forgive you," Dorinda said. She stepped up and gave Galleria a one armed hug, as that was all she felt comfortable with at the moment.

"Chanel...can you ever forgive me?" Galleria asked as she and Dorinda pulled out of their hug.

"I'll try," she said. She didn't hug Galleria, and all three parties were aware of the reason. They gave Galleria one last smile and then they were out the door. They hailed a cab and headed back to Chanel's apartment.

By the time they got there, Chanel had fallen asleep on Dorinda's shoulder. When the cab driver stopped, Dorinda paid him and lifted Chanel effortlessly our of the car. She carried the smaller girl to the elevator and to her apartment where she twisted the door knob and realized that it was locked.

"Chanel? Come on, sweetie wake up," Chanel's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Dorinda. At that moment, she was hit with the overwhelming scent of strawberries. She opened her eyes all the way and cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?" Dorinda asked, setting Chanel on her feet.

"Nothing...it's nothing," Chanel said, digging in her purse for her key. Don't jump to conclusions! "Mom?" Chanel called once they were inside. Receiving no answer she went to the kitchen where her mom usually left her notes on the refrigerator. She saw a pink slip of paper hanging there. After reading it, she turned to find Dorinda looking around the room. "Well...mom is spending a few days with her new boyfriend, Luc." Dorinda nodded.

"This place looks exactly like it did the day I left," she said softly. "I had a great time tonight," she said, looking at Chanel.

"So did I. Will...will you stay with me tonight? Please?" Chanel asked shyly.

" I don't have any clothes here."

"So borrow some of mine," Chanel offered. Dorinda smiled and nodded. She grabbed the phone to call Mrs. Boscoe.

While Dorinda was on the phone, Chanel walked to the bedroom to get ready for bed. Dorinda came in a few minutes later, saying that Mrs. Boscoe said it was perfectly alright for her to stay.

"Doe...can I ask you something?" Chanel asked.

"Sure."

"Come here for a second," Chanel said. Dorinda looked confused, but she walked over to Chanel none-the-less. Chanel grabbed Dorinda's shoulders and pressed her face into her chest, inhaling deeply, taking in the powerful strawberry scent. When she pulled away, she was chewing her bottom lip.

"What's wrong?" Dorinda asked concerned.

"Are you...the person that saved me in the alley two weeks ago?" Chanel asked. Dorinda looked down at the floor and nodded.

"I was on my way to see you. I passed the alley and I heard someone screaming for help. I walked closer and I saw that it was you, so I picked up the nearest heavy object and whacked the guy over the head with it. I call the cops and told them where the guy was laying and what he'd done. Then I picked you up and brought you home."

"Did you knock on my door the next day and leave?"

"Yeah...I was gonna stay. But I heard you telling Galleria to leave. I didn't exactly feel like seeing her, so I left," Dorinda said quietly. Chanel stepped up to her. Dorinda cringed, fearing Chanel was going to strike her. Instead, Chanel put her hand under Dorinda's chin and lifted her head up.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "For saving me. I don't know what I would have done if not for you." She cupped Dorinda's face and stood on tip toe to lightly kiss her. Dorinda smiled at her. Chanel turned and stripped off her dress and shoes, discarding them in a pile on the floor. She slipped into bed in nothing but her bra and boy shorts.

"Coming?" she asked when Dorinda did nothing but stand there. Dorinda nodded and also stripped down to her underwear. She climbed into bed on Chanel's left side. The smaller girl turned and draped her right arm across Dorinda's stomach and rested her head on her chest. Dorinda's right hand went into Chanel's hair and the left one went to her hip. "Goodnight, Doe. I love you."

"Love you too, Chuchie."

-------------

When Chanel awoke the next morning, she reached to her left, expecting to find a warm body there. When she found nothing but cold sheets, she sat up abruptly and looked around frantically, fearing that last night was all some horrible dream. She smelled bacon cooking in the kitchen. Mom can't cook.

She stepped out of bed and put on a pair of volleyball shorts and a cami and went to the kitchen. There at the stove stood Dorinda, clad in a pair of basketball shorts and a cami. She sighed with relief and walked to stand beside the girl.

"Hey you," she said. Dorinda turned to her and smiled.

"Morning. Hungry?" she asked. Chanel nodded. Dorinda finished the cooking and they sat and ate in silence.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Chanel asked as they did the dishes.

"Sure. You go pick it out and I'll finish up here," Dorinda said smiling. By the time she finished, Chanel had picked the movie put and popped it into the DVD player. "What are we watching?"

"X-Men 2!" Chanel said proudly. Dorinda gave her an 'are-you-serious?' look. Chanel gave her the goofiest grin she could manage and nodded.

They were halfway into the movie and were both pretty bored, so Chanel decided to make conversation.

"So...about last night..." she said, pausing to see Dorinda's reaction. When the girl looked at her she continued. "Does it make us a couple? Are we together?"

"Do you want to be a couple?" Dorinda asked. Chanel nodded slightly.

"Yes...but...if you don't want it, it's totally cool," she said, looking down at her hands sadly. She was slightly startled when she felt Dorinda's hand on her arm. She looked up, willing the tears not to form.

"Chanel...I totally want that," Chanel couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Seriously?"

"Chanel Simmons...will you be my girlfriend?" Dorinda asked. Chanel responded by throwing her leg over Dorinda to straddle her lap. She placed her hands on either side of Dorinda's neck.

"Yes, Dorinda Thomas. I will be your girlfriend!" she said, kissing Dorinda deeply. At that moment, Dorinda knew that this was exactly where she needed to be.

The End

-------------

A/N: Ok. This story is finished! I'm kinda sad about it though. I like this story. I realize that this chapter was a little long, but I didn't feel like it would be right to split it in half. And I know it was a bit rushed, but I'm no good at fluff.

So tell me what you think! I welcome your opinions with open arms :-)