Like many times before, I had a revelation while I was lying awake. I've had many of them before - I'll be having another night where I can't sleep, where I just end up staring at the ceiling, going over something over and over in my head. Suddenly, I'll have a realisation, I'll sit bolt upright, and I'll take a moment to process before reacting with an appropriate reaction.
That's exactly what happened the night after mine and Velvette's conversation about her past life. I couldn't stop thinking about how vulnerable she looked at that moment. I just wanted to comfort her, tell her that I'd listen to her unconditionally, maybe even give her a hug, and maybe- oh God. This was where I sat bolt upright, slowly coming to terms with the fact that I had a massive lesbian crush on Velvette. When it finally hit me, I groaned loudly and buried my face in my hands.
I don't know what made me fall in love with her like this. Maybe it was the fact she confirmed that she liked women, or maybe it was that she was comfortable enough to open up to me, or the fact that she looked drop-dead gorgeous in that moment, but it all just suddenly clicked in that moment. I really am just a hopeless romantic, aren't I?
I spent the entirety of my downtime for the upcoming week trying to find a way to ask her out. Even if I was watching a movie with the other Vees, I'd be going over a script in my mind. When I was at work, I'd be trying not to make my crush obvious, but I still kept dropping hints that I liked her. I wasn't openly gushing over her, but I'd do small things, like complimenting her outfit or suggesting times where we could hang out together on our own. I had no idea if she picked them up, but I liked to think she did.
Eventually, the day came when I was going to ask her out. It was a beautiful Friday evening, just after we finished dinner and the sky was turning a dimmer shade of red. Vox had gone back to his TV studio to film an evening show, and Valentino had gone to his porn studios to film...well, porn. That just left Velvette and I in the lounge. Remember when I said I'd ask Velvette for us to do things together on our own? Well, she agreed to design a new collection with me if we had time. And, of course, we had time.
The two of us were hard at work for about 45 minutes. We were sketching, colouring, designing anything that came to mind. We kept it casual as well, gossiping about other overlords and making jokes at their expense. I might have looked alright on the surface, but on the inside, I was terrified. We were having such a good moment, but what if I ruined it with my confession? It felt like a weight in the later course of the evening.
I had to pull myself together and tell her. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I had to do it. My nerves were shot, my heart was pounding, and literally everything was at stake. But, I knew it was go time. Now or never. I breathed in deeply before setting down my sketchbook and pencil. Velvette noticed, so she followed suit and looked up at me with a raised eyebrow and folded arms. Trying to keep my composure, I announced;
"Velvette, I have something to tell you."