As she feels Kaoru kinda... founder. and start moving to pass out, Alexandra stops kissing, and adjust her grip, stopping Kaoru from falling. Breathe, Kay. she says, poking Kaoru a little.
Oh my god, was that your... okay, just don't pass out.
Kaoru inhaled sharply when Alexandra poked her, brain finally remembering that breathing was important. She stumbled slightly, quickly putting her hands on the other girl's waist to steady herself. She leaned in slightly for support. She still felt hot. And her heart was still pounding. But slowly the light-headedness and spinning started to fade as her body reminded her that yes, oxygen was good. Oxygen was very much her friend. They should never be parted from good friend O2 again.
Alexandra was still talking, though the words sounded slightly fuzzy and unfocused to Kaoru's ears. Her fingers twitched reflexively. Ahh fk. She had definitely screwed up again. And she had no idea how to fix it. "I'm not...I don't...I mean." She gnawed on her lower lip, still refusing to meet the other girl's gaze. "I'm sorry."
Oh... you're not... I mean...I just figured. she takes adeep breath, and her stuttering stops. Shall we resolve to pretend this never happened? she offers,
Kaoru slowly straightened as she thought. Did she want to pretend it never happened? She definitely didn't want to ruin whatever the two of them had together. She really liked Alexandra. Was pretending the best way to maintain that? And if it were, why did the thought make her kind of...uncomfortable?
Finally forcing herself to meet the other girl's gaze (probably a mistake. Her eyes were really green and this close she could see all the slight color variations in her irises. It was kind of distracting), she asked, "Why did you? Were you...are you just teasing me because Alexis asked me out at lunch?" Her expression was conflicted and confused.
Alexandra takes more deep breaths, and tries not to do the whole "gaze into your soul" thing when Kaoru meets her eyes.
I did because... well, honestly, I just wanted to. and I'm not normally into girls... or people with girl-parts, but I figured, you were fun, it could be nice, why not try it... wow, that sounds bad when I say it that way. just got caught up in adrenaline, I think.
Wingblade picks herself up off the floor with a groan. Did I set that thing to 'bull' or 'bull elephant'?
A familiar pair of boots enter her field of vision. She looks up at the disappointed face of her mentor and gives her a weak smile. "Hey."
"Taken out by tasers and flash bangs? Where did I go wrong?"
=================
Responding to Alexis' distress call, Shayera meets her in the girl's bathroom and surveys the damage.
"What a mess. Hopefully, all that will come out in the wash. I don't know what to do about right now, though."
She thinks for a bit. "Flying home's too far. But, Bronwyn's home isn't that far away; I could probably get there and back before next period if I go now. It's all right. I borrow clothes from her all the time. But I need to go now."
Shayera hurries as fast as her heels allow, leaving the populated area of the campus and finding a private spot where she says the magic word to swap outfits and reveal her wings. Then she speeds off as fast as she could go. "Hey, Bronwyn," she calls on her comm. "Had an Alexis emergency, so I'm going to borrow some clothes for her from your closet. You know the deal: if anything gets wrecked, I'll owe you a shopping trip."
Kaoru visibly paled at Alexandra's response. Wait, she *knows*. D*mnit, she's the fking *Silver Shadow* of course she would. Sh*t, how had she not seen this coming. "H-how, long have you known? That I was...am a girl. Is it...obvious?"
Wait, she had known and kissed her anyway? That...didn't make any sense, did it? Did she think she was trans? ...sh*t was she trans? How had she not asked herself this before? Would that change things? Did Alexandra want to kiss transguy!Kaoru or girl!Kaoru?
Alexis nods, quiet and letting Shayera take care of her. She's glad that she came to help, because she was oddly worried about the boy who had tried to call out to her in the bathroom. Her experience with men attempting to follow her into a place where only girls were allowed was understandably negative.
For now, she sat in the corner, dress pulled off and leaving her in her sports bra and black leggings. Hopefully no other girls would come in and tease her about this. She wished there was some magical means of fixing the dress, like how Puck turned that man in the play part donkey. But magic only made statues and skeletons move around.
Bronwyn had been outside at her lunch table with Mary-Beth and Cassie and Ronnie and everyone (Marco was even there! Which was awkward, but good?) when her ear buzzed. So she faked a phone call Which might have been simpler, right? Ms. No-Mask walk-up-to-the-front-door still isn't the best with secret identities. and ducked aside to take it.
"Oh, sure, of course. Grab whatever you need. Actually, you might want to grab something out of Gabby's old room, she's about Alexis's height even if Alexis has a slightly heavier build... Top floor, as you leave my room it's two doors to the right and- You know what? It's the other girly room that still has clothes in it. Do you know where Alexis is? I can at least get her a gym shirt or something in the meantime."
***
Bronwyn gratefully took Shaun's handful of towels and headed in. "Thanks, I've got this."
"Hey Alexis, everything okay?" She held up a Halcyon Athletic Department shirt and a pair of short, loose running shorts. "I've got some spare clothes if you'd like something to wear while Shayera finds something prettier."
She slid down the wall to plop down next to Alexis, "So what happened? I'm guessing you didn't just trip or something?"
Shayera gives Bronwyn the location of which bathroom Alexis is hiding out in and then focuses on flying fast. She skims the tops of trees and zips through power lines at close to her top speed. When Bronwyn's house comes into view, she quickly decelerates, flies to Bronwyn's room's window and slips inside.
She follows the directions to Gabby's room moving quietly. She peeks inside and raids the closet looking for something pretty.
Shaun stepped out of the men's room, trying to look a bit more confident than he felt at the moment. "Hey lad, I don't think ye' should bother her. She's..." How do you say "batshit crazy" in nice words? "...she just needs some space."
The portly underclassman visibly flinched as Shaun approached. "Ah! Y-Yeah, yeah okay, okay I'm going!" With quick breaths he fled back towards the lunch hall.
...what the hell was that about? Shaun rolled his eyes, then gave a look at the women's room entrance. She's still in there, and still off-kilter. I can't just leave her here, what'll happen if she goes off on some random? But I can't go in, or she might go off on me! After a bit of thought, he leans against the near wall and starts keeping watch...after ducking back into the men's room for some more paper towels.
A short time later Shayera goes rushing past, and Shaun can faintly hear the sounds of her comforting Alexis in the bathroom. Well, that should help...I think...I hope... Then the heroine came back out and rushed off, not even bothering to register him. Man she is laser-focused.
A brief time later, Bronwyn arrives, promptly pilfers some towels, and goes in. Shaun's simultaneously surprised and happy to see the acolyte again, giving her a pleasant wave as she entered the fray. Partially out of curiosity, and partially out of wanting to catch Bronwyn when she exited, he inched closer to the bathroom entrance and started listening in...
Alexis wasn't sure that she wanted of all people Bronwyn to be there. She thought about ignoring her, but then she might not fix her armor. So she replied, staring in the corner while curling up tighter.
"I won't look nice in those. Kaoru won't think I look nice," She claimed about the sports wear being offered to her. "High school girls are supposed to look nice so they can go on dates with their friends and lovers. If I was a boy right now, it would be okay."
She glances off to one side when asked about what happened. "I thought they'd found me. I ducked to avoid fire. I landed on my food and ruined the dress, and everyone laughed at me when I was scared I'd end up back in the barracks."
Alexis tightened her grip on her knees. "I don't want to talk about then. Can we talk about something else?" She asked, looking at Bronwyn now.
"What's it like to be in love?"
Happily there are a lot of pretty things to be found. Gabby's dresses tend towards the frilly and floaty, though there are a few more sleekly fitted ones available as well. Going by her closet, her fashion sense actually looks very similar to Bronwyn's, especially before Shayera started filling it with designer labels. The difference of course is that Bronwyn's closet is filled with all the dresses that almost never get worn instead of the rotating leggings, shorts, and tops that cycle through her dresser.
Outside of the closet, the room is almost spartan. A desk with almost nothing on it, a large standing mirror, a book shelf with a bunch of obvious gaps, and just So many pictures. Pictures of Gabby and a huge number of different smiling, happy people are all around the room, almost no one appearing in more than a single picture. The shots of Bronwyn that are up are all from when she was much younger, most of them of her and Gabby in matching dresses when she was much younger, with the most recent one of her as a gawky tween in a sprawling family picture at Gabby's and Gabe's graduation from Halcyon High.
Her nose hadn't picked up any approaching new scents, but as Shayera looked through the room, she suddenly heard the creak of a floorboard in the hall, and a quiet "What the hell?"
***
Bronwyn gave a quick blink. "I know they're not the nicest clothes. Just if you wanted to cover up while we were waiting for something pretty. But umm... you know you don't have to dress nice unless you want to, right? I mean, I get wanting to look good, but you want to look good for yourself, right?"
She moved in very slowly, though not gingerly, to give Alexis a comforting side hug, withdrawing with a gentle smile if Alexis flinched or seemed uncomfortable.
"Just so you know, me and Shayera won't let them bring you back to the barracks. But it's okay to be afraid, you just need to know that-"
Alexis tightened her grip on her knees. "I don't want to talk about then. Can we talk about something else?" She asked, looking at Bronwyn now.
Bronwyn nodded.
"What's it like to be in love?"
Bronwyn paused for a moment at Alexis's question, but began to answer, cautiously at first, but more rapidly as she stopped worrying about how it all fit. "It's not like any one thing. Sometimes it's just the worst. You can't focus on anything, and everything you try to say or do comes out stupid, and sometimes you don't even realize that until way later." She gave a small smile as she continued. "Sometimes it feels like you've got some kind of fever. You're just hot and flushed, and prickly and sensitive and nothing seems quite real. When they're gone sometimes it feels really lonely, like you're not really complete, like you just found out that something got left out when you were made. But sometimes when you're alone you barely notice, because you know that they're with you in so many of the ways that matter.
"You just get to feel home. Like everything is right and nothing will ever be wrong again. You get to be better than you used to be because of them."
Suddenly her cheeks pinkened. "This would be one of those times where everything I say comes out stupid and I didn't realize it at first"
"Umm... why do you ask? Has Kaoru said something?"
Alexis gas her attention on Bronwyn more than she'd ever done before. She looks enthralled with the idea of being in love, the way that she had it described. "...Kaoru said that you should only date people if you're romantically involved, which means being in love. But I don't get how you could only date someone you love if you don't get to know them without dating first," She said, frustrated. "I want to see if I will fall in love with him. But I need to date him to see if that happens."
She leans her head back against the tiles. "Kaoru said he hurt the last person he dated. I don't understand how you could hurt someone, unless they tried to touch you when you didn't want that. He also doesn't want to hug because men aren't supposed to do that. I understand if he doesn't want to touch, but I don't get why men don't hug. It feels nice to hug," Alexis told her.
"...I also want to help Shayera. But I need my armor fixed still. I shouldn't be out in the open exposed. They'd find out and come for me if I was seen recovering. I want to be a normal person, but I also want to help in the way I can. It's hard, hiding who I am," She says a bit sadly.
Changing topics abruptly, she elects to get Bronwyn's side of things. "Why does Shayera not want people to know you're together?"
Outside the bathroom, Shaun blushes as Bronwyn describes falling in love.
He'd never been in love. Between training, his hobbies, and dealing with hero stuff, he'd never really given a relationship any sort of thought. That wasn't to say it didn't come up from time to time, he was a teenager for God's sake, still working his way through puberty. But he'd never been attracted to someone in that way, never even asked someone on a date. Come to think of it, he wondered if his old man disapproved of that too. Lord knew he and mom were hitched quick...
He sighs as a particularly familiar worm starts its usual jig. Worry about that later. Right now, just listen.
His face scrunches in thought as he considers the new information on this "Kaoru." So he's a guy, probably from school. Dated in the past, did something rough to his other. And, OF COURSE, she wants him bad. A guy who will likely break her heart, and cause her to go psycho again. Phenomenal...
Also, who the heck thinks men don't hug? I hug...not a lot recently, but I'm willing. What's wrong with hugging? He rolled his eyes as he checked up and down the hallway. Jeez, the more I hear about this guy the more he sounds like a complete douche.
Changing topics abruptly, she elects to get Bronwyn's side of things. "Why does Shayera not want people to know you're together?"
Shaun's ears are on fire. They're f~~&ing WHAT?! He swallows hard. Oh, I was NOT supposed to hear that...! Wait, does that mean Wingblade's with Bronwyn AND Bran!? Yikes, that can't be an easy relationship to untangle!
Cassie had been enjoying herself outside in the yard with Bron and her friends. Sure she'd had to but into conversations the others were having, and neither Ronnie or Marco had checked her out, but at least she'd been around other people, and Bron was pretty good at making sure she felt included. Well, she had done until she'd gotten a phone call and then hurried off. After that, Cassie's conversation with Marco had sort of died, and she'd sat awkwardly in silence surrounded by Bron's friends.
Standing up from the table, she made her way back into the school buildings planning to head to her locker to grab her stuff for the next period, even if it wasn't due to start for another 20 minutes. On her way though she'd seen that guy,.. Shaun lurking creepily outside the girl's bathroom. Pausing only for a moment... (Why would they want him on their team?), she'd marched over and poked him in the chest.
"You know its kind of creepy to hang outside the girl's like this?" she said. "What do you think you're doing?"
Oh God, what if Bran knows they're together, and he's into it!? Ugh! I knew he was a bastard! Next time I see him, I gonna-! He's poked out of his thoughts by a semi-familiar face.
"You know its kind of creepy to hang outside the girl's like this?" she said. "What do you think you're doing?"
His ears start burning again. "N-Now, hold on! I'm not doin' anythin' like that! I'm just...makin' sure a friend of mine is okay, that's all." I've met her before...where have I met her before? Must have been at school...no, I saw her somewhere else too... "Listen mo neach brèagha, this really isn't the best time ta' be 'round here."
Since I first saw you. Bone structure, the way the held yourself. how you modulated your voice. She smiled You aren't bad, But I'm the Silver Shadow. She says
We should call it a night. tell me anything fun you find in the data? She says, letting Kaoru make the next move.
Cassie looks at Shaun doubtfully. "A friend of yours? That seems unlikely! Get out of the way and we'll see what whoever's in there has to say." she says, pushing past the Scot and into the room to see Bron and,.. some girl in her underwear sitting next to each other in the corner of the room.
"Uhhh, Sorry Bron." she says, "I don't want to get in the way or anything but,.. You know that guy, Shaun is just outside listening in?"
"...ouch. An' ha, that ain't hap-" She was already past him. "Whoa hey, hang on here!"
"Uhhh, Sorry Bron." she says, "I don't want to get in the way or anything but,.. You know that guy, Shaun is just outside listening in?"
Shaun's face turns sheet white. ...oh f$&$ me, why can't I go one day without this kind of shit? He braced himself for the inevitable backlash...
"Okay, umm. There's a lot there." Shayera! Why did you tell her?! It's fine. It's fine.
"It can be okay to go on a date with someone to see if there's a connection, but usually you interact some other way first, and then decide that you want your relationship to be romantic. But love and attraction and romantic feelings aren't binary. You can have a little thrill at seeing someone cute without it meaning you would want things to go further, or you can like the idea of spending more time with someone without being in love. If you want to spend more time with Kaoru, you can just tell him that. Outside of stories, people don't really just fall in love. It really does take time to build something real. Just try to spend some time with him. And guys hug, but not everyone likes hugs from people they don't know very well. If you have a hard time telling if someone would like a hug, you should probably just ask first. "
The door into the bathroom was still open a crack, so Bronwyn skipped over the super-stuff and dropped her voice to barely above a whisper. "...And Shayera doesn't want people to know that we're together because I asked her for that. There are important people in my life who don't think girls should be with other girls like that. If we told people about our relationship they would find out, and they'd be really hurt and upset. So I asked her not to let people know until I can tell them the right way."
Then suddenly the door opened and Cassie came in. "Uhhh, Sorry Bron." she says, "I don't want to get in the way or anything but,.. You know that guy, Shaun is just outside listening in?"
Puñeta!
"Yeah, I should probably...head home." Kaoru pulled away reluctantly and immediately felt cold. It was an annoying side-effect of standing thisclose to someone for an extended period of time. She considered handing over the USB copy she had made. But...well...she might need to use it as an excuse to talk to her if Alexandra decided to start avoiding her.
She took a couple of steps backward before adding. "You know...there's this movie thing going on tomorrow-" She checked her watch. "Or I guess technically today after school. You should come with. You can watch me be more awkward and flail about helplessly." She gave a small, shy smile before turning around and heading out.
Man, she was tired. And she had so much to unpack. But...probably not tonight. I mean seriously, not one but two girls had made moves on her the same day? Not to mention...other things she now had to think about. Which reminded her...
She glanced at her phone. Bronwyn still hadn't responded to her texts about the movie thing. A knot of anxiety formed. Had she overstepped by asking her? She probably had. The girl was probably trying to think of a nice way to say no. She should probably just give her an easy out.
7:03pm Hey, me and some others are going to catch a movie after school. Do you want to come with?
7:06pm I...don't actually know what movie we're seeing though. I let someone else pick.
12:13am Actually it's no big deal. The lack of a movie choice is kinda sketch. Should've asked for details before texting. I'd hate to go to a movie and realize it was for a genre I hated.
12:14am Plus you probably have rodent training. Should've remembered. Sorry!
-----
Besides from the myriad of half-formed thoughts forming in her head, the journey back to her house was uneventful. She had tried to process everything that happened that day, but her brain just refused. It had been stressed enough as it was, and was simply refusing to tackle any more without sleep.
She quietly entered the house, kicking off her shoes by the entrance and trudging upstairs to her room. There she discovered Shadow sprawled lazily across half of her bed, sound asleep. He didn't budge as she started rubbing his stomach. She quickly got changed into some PJs, wrapped herself awkwardly around the sleeping kitty so as not to disturb him, and settled in to try to sleep as best as she could.
Arrrrrrrggggghhhh. I totally ghosted on him!
Bronwyn: Maybe?!
Bronwyn: Sorry I didn't reply right away
Bronwyn: grounded, so I am phoneless at night.
Bronwyn: grounded means probably no... I'll see what I can do to unlatch the parentals
Bronwyn: time?
I think I should ask him. He already tried to help people during the museum thing. Plus, since Mary-Beth doesn't love the whole 'Acolyte' thing, it'd be nice to have someone else be a face of Bran. Good to have someone good with computers around who isn't Abacus too. Computer stuff should keep him safe and out of the fray too, perfect support role. Good thing I already made some spare Gae-Deargs.
She glanced at her phone again as she awaited his response.
Oh man! I should make a little Gae-Dearg-y USB stick!
Should I tell him that this isn't a date? Nah, he said it was a group thing. The default is that it's not a date.
***
What. The. Hell.
"Thanks for letting me know Cassie." Her voice was tight with anger. "Alexis, I'm going to be right back, okay? Cassie, would you mind staying with her? Someone's bringing her some better clothes."
Gracefully she stood up straight from where she'd been sitting, already stalking towards the door with long strides.
"Hi Shaun," she bit off each word, "How can I help you?"
Alexis listened as attentively as any eager student to Bronwyn's life lesson, nodding along as she gave her lecture and answered her questions. She was very glad to have heard all of this.
Though some girl who was kind of familiar, also somewhat cute in a plain way stepped in and pointed out that someone had been outside eavesdropping on them. That someone being Shaun. She panicked a little, eyes going wide. Did he hear about her not wanting to go back to the barracks? She hoped that he wouldn't tell someone, who'd tell another person, until someone who knew heard it and then-
Alexis flinches as she curls up tighter. She'd just gotten to be here for real. Being a real student, and now it was all in jeopardy? "I shouldn't say things. Soldiers don't question, they obey. Chain of command. The phalanx is only as strong as the weakest shield arm," She muttered, the anxiety creeping up on her.
No. She had to be strong, for Shayera. For her not-date with Kaoru. She couldn't let what she'd gained be lost because of loose lips. Her eyes snapped open as she stood up quite suddenly. "Bring him in here. I want to talk to him."
"Um,,.. yeah OK." Cassie says, making her way over to the girl in the corner, where she kneels next to the girl. "Ummm, Hi. I'm Cassie... Are you OK? What happened to your cl...Phalanx? Oh Ok." she says as Alexis suddenly stands up...
It couldn't have been more than a few seconds gawking at the pictures of young Bronwyn, but Shayera cursed herself for getting distracted for those precious moments wasted. She had enough fashion sense to recognize that most of the dresses were a few years out of date, but fortunately Gabby had enough taste that they weren't horribly dated.
The sound outside meant that someone had detected her presence somehow. Rolling her eyes and making a snap judgment between the teal colored dress and the much more neutral light blue, she tosses the dress that can't decide whether it's blue or green to the bed and tucks the other under her arm. Rather than make an attempt to exit via Bronwyn's room, Shayera pries open the window in Gabby's room. The window hadn't been opened for a while, and made a pretty loud sound when she yanked it up.
She was halfway out when the door to the bedroom swung open. "I'msorrybutI'mborrowingthisforafriendandIhopeyouunderstandbutIreallygottag oyoucanaskyourparentsaboutmesonicetomeetyoubye!"
She falls backwards out the window and lets her wings take over, orienting herself correctly and pointing toward the school.
===================
Shayera thinks she made better time flying back to school. Maybe that's because she somehow felt the breath of one of the Pascals on her neck the whole time, even though her rational mind told her that none of them could fly. Regardless, she drops heavily on the rooftop and finds an access door that takes her down into the school. Once inside, she activates her pendant so her dress and heels were back, along with mundane items like her cell phone.
She dials it while striding through the hallways. "Bron? I'm back and with a dress. You sister's home, by the way. You'll probably need to smooth a few things over. Tell her I'll be happy to take her shopping for something nice."
She rounds the corner and sees Shaun and Bronwyn outside the girl's bathroom.
"Is our girl still in there with a wardrobe malfunction?" she asks the two of them, holding up the dress she selected.
"Yes. She'd like to talk to Shaun since he was listening in. Let's go inside and discuss that, okay Shaun?" Her grip was iron on his arm, and her voice didn't do much to disguise her anger either.
Shayera looks a bit hurt and confused at Shaun. "What the hell?"
She doesn't break stride and heads into the bathroom, holding up the dress she'd retrieved. "Here you go. We all owe Bronwyn's sister thanks for her unwilling donation."
She passes the dress to Alexis, gives a confused look to the plain girl in the bathroom, then moves toward the entrance where Shaun and Bronwyn are. "Crisis averted, right? So what's the big deal? Shaun, you're not... perving out on us, are you?"
Alexis blinks, looking at the plain girl there in the bathroom that she didn't know - or did she? She seemed to at least be familiar with Bronwyn, so that made her a friend because Bronwyn was her friend. Nodding to herself, Alexis looked up and happy when Shayera came with a new dress - it was even a nicer color! She took it and promptly shimmied into the garment, checking her appearance in the mirror, before noticing that there was a zipper in the back she couldn't reach.
"Um, can you help me?" She asked the ordinary girl, struggling to figure out if she knew stuff. "I'm Alexis. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for telling us about Shaun. Did...you hear anything?" She asked cautiously. "Please don't tell anyone if you did. Bronwyn doesn't want anyone to know about...uh..." She clammed up, realizing she was about to say stuff again. "And, um..."
What had Shayera coached her to say?
"I was adopted by people who were mean to me. They had kids all sleep in the barracks and made us do work for them. I ran away and Shayera found me," She recited, figuring that it was a good enough excuse to avoid further questions.
"...I'm sorry I'm weird."
Shaun let Bronwyn lead him into the bathroom, his blush extending all the way to his shoulders. Despite the fact that he was taller than just about everybody in the room, he felt incredibly small.
He clears his throat. "Uh...no, I'm not doin' any a that. I was tryin'ta' make sure this one-" He points to Alexis. "-didn't lose her cool like she did ta' other night. 'Course that was before Bronwyn and ye' showed up. But, I wanted ta' talk w'Bronwyn, 'cause I felt like I should...I dunno, make up bein' an ass ta'ya'da'. So I just waited out there, an' then they started talkin', an' I still wanted ta' make sure nothin' or no-one got broken so I listen an' I heard thin's I REALLY shouldn't have an' then bòidheach showed up an' got ta' wrong idea an' now I'm stand-in' here like an idiot an'-!" He looks between everyone in the now rather crowded bathroom. "...I'M SORRY OKAY!? I was jus' tryin'ta' make sure everybody was okay! GOD I am too hungover f'this...!" He slumps against the near wall, hand clamped over his eyes. "Maniacs n' lesbians givin' me a headache..."
Shayera feels her jaw clench involuntarily when she hears Shaun mention lesbians. She glares at him, but isn't willing to speak plainly due to the mystery girl in the bathroom with the rest of them. "Well as I said earlier, crisis averted. Thanks for your help. Why don't you go now? We can discuss things later, when you're sober enough to understand."
She checks the time on Abacus and shakes her head. "Shoot. Well, that just means I'll be really hungry for popcorn at the movies. Say, Alexis, didn't you say Kaoru will be joining us? That's good, since I'd like to meet her."
She glances at Bronwyn and stifles a telling smile. "Thanks again for your help, Bron. We'll see you later. I'll tell you how the movie was, unless you can get your folks to lift the grounding. Then you can see it yourself with us."
"Oh my God, Shaun. Do you have any instinct that isn't to dig yourself in deeper? Like if I threw you off a cliff, what's your first plan, grab a shovel and burrow so fast you never land?!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose hard enough that even with her close cut nails, little beads of blood sprung up on either side.
"Look Shaun, I forgive you. I forgive you for getting me in trouble by going straight for the liquor cabinet; I forgive you for nearly spilling the beans about me and Bran; I forgive you for telling my papá to f%@* off and die, I forgive you for getting me grounded and taking away what small amount of free time I manage to keep for myself; I forgive you for listening in on an obviously private conversation, and why not, I forgive you for then talking about it in front of someone who hadn't been listening about five seconds later. Okay? You're forgiven. Now, forgive me for asking. Could you give me a break? At all? And maybe, just maybe, don't tell anyone within the exceedingly broad range of your big fat mouth every single secret you know about me?!"
Kaoru woke up with a groan. Despite her exhaustion, her mind had somehow kept her awake for another several hours despite refusing to actually think of anything useful. So really it had just spun in circles while refusing to let her go to sleep. What sleep she did have was plagued by weird dreams. Something about a white horse that then turned into a unicorn and tried to eat her heart. She was also pretty sure she slept weird 'cause now her neck hurt. And of course, the culprit of that was no where to be seen. Probably off trying to find a hidden stash of cat treats. He was getting way to good at finding them and tearing the packages open.
She headed downstairs and made her self a cup of matcha tea, letting the ceremony of making it soothe her. Sort of. The green of the powder kept making her think of Alexandra. Which then led to confusion and anxiety. She really needed to process that kiss. And about a million other things. When it rains, it pours.
Oh man! I should make a little Gae-Dearg-y USB stick!
Should I tell him that this isn't a date? Nah, he said it was a group thing. The default is that it's not a date.
She had already arrived at school when her phone buzzed. She tilted her head at Bronwyn's message. Grounded? Was that her nice way of saying no? But she had already given her several possible outs. But...she couldn't possibly really be grounded could she? She kinda seemed not the type. She quickly shot back a response.
> Grounded? What did you do? Get an A insetad an A+?
> Time is...after school? I had assumed right after classes
> If I find out something more specific, I'll text :/
She was...distracted to say the least. As much as she tried to focus on math equations or Chinese vocabulary, she kept staring blankly out the window. Her mind would try to think about anything that happened yesterday, but it only resulted in her anxiety rising to dangerous levels. And she was not about to have a panic attack in the middle of class. She ended up not having to worry about what to do at lunch as the office had called her in to redo some of her paperwork that had apparently gotten messed up, so that kept her busy the entire time. And before she knew it, it was the end of the day and movie time. She climbed up into a tree near the school's entrance where Alexis had waited for her before to see who would show up.
He's quiet. Very quiet, eyes locked on Bronwyn. His mouth hardens into a thin line. "Yea'. I'll go." Without another word, he marches out. To those paying attention, the telltale mist of tears shimmers in his eyes before he leaves.
Alexandra sleeps... well that night. Dad's rotgut was probably most of it. that and wanting desperately to escape the whole series of impulsive action.
The next day, she was in a bit of a Haze. Any time Bron, or part of her Posse looked to be going in her direction, she ducked out of the way... it had already made her late to 2 of classes. She had also been giving Kaoru space, both for the... for their benefit, and her own... slight sting of rejection
So, when she saw, Bronwyn standing just outside the bathroom she had been planning to hide from Kaoru in, and Shaun walking away, looking like he was about to break down, she suddenly developed a very altruistic attitude toward the poor guy. she turned smoothly, and fell in step beside him.
How have you been adjusting to Halcyon High? She asked though, word is you really got into the double-H spirit back in the Museum.
Shaun tries to quickly wipe the tears away. "What? Who're ye'?" He shakes his head. "Y'know, right now I don't care. F+*% off." He starts walking faster.
I'm Alexandra She says, quickening her pace to match his. And frankly, I mostly need this conversation for camouflage. So, how bout the weather/ local sports team/ algebra test.... whatever, I just need to no be alone near little miss triathlete.
He sighs. ”Yea’, ye’n’ me both...” He slows back down. ”I try ta’ do right by her n’ she bites my face off...like I meant ta’ do anythin’...” He looks at Alexandra out of the corner of his eye. ”Wait...weren’t ye’ta’ tight-ass b~$&# who jabbed my cut on ta’ first day?”
Alexandra's mind is going double speed trying to piece together what his beef with Bronwyn might be. then he recognizes her I'm sorry, just wanted to get you out of the way. I'd had a bad morning and... Damn, still can't do sincere concern. look, you called me Doll, and Alex. People have got worse for one of those. She says.
Oh, and, you might have the others fooled... maybe. But I know a real accent when I hear one. and frankly, yours would be grating enough if it were real. She says
Shaun stops dead in his tracks. ”...what did ye’ just say?” His expression is...worryingly intense.
I said that you're accent is as real as Reaver Industries code of ethics She says.
And, in total honesty, I'd give you slack or being hard to understand, if you were Glaswegian or whatever. But you use American spellings, And the class list on the VP's desk that first day listed you as a transfer from another high school... in America. She says, affecting an RP/BBC accent as she does, just to push the point through.
"Um, can you help me? I'm Alexis. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for telling us about Shaun. Did...you hear anything?"
"Ummm,... No, I didn't hear anything." Cassie replied.
"...I'm sorry I'm weird."
"Don't be sorry. There's nothing wrong with weird. Weird is good. Weird is interesting. Anyway,...." Cassie cuts off suddenly, turning to stare at Shayera.
What's that? There's something,..? A charm? Why would she have an obfuscation charm?
The death glare he gives her is haunting. In a single look, all the pain and humiliation he’d felt in the past hour, plus the thousands of worms she’d just stirred up, zeroed in on her smug expression out of pure, concentrated, fury. He leans in close to her, his breath still faintly alcohol-infused. ”Ye’ should go thank ta’ VP. She just saved ya’ a very long visit ta’ the hospital.”
He rights himself. ”Y’see, some of us don’t have ta’ luxury of bein’ born in a cape, Silver Shadow. Some of us have ta’ work ta’ earn it. An’ I’m not missin’ my shot over somthin’ye’ can’t prove.”
"Thank you. I have to go eat now. I didn't before and my dress was ruined. You're nice. You can come with me and everyone else to the movies after school," She told the plain girl, wishing she didn't have to ask her name. She stepped up to Shayera though, and gave her a sudden hug.
"Thank you for getting me a new dress." Then she let go, and hugged Bronwyn. It was strong enough to pop all the air from her spine.
"Thank you for your advice. Come to the movies with us. You can sit on Shayera's other side," She told her, before heading off to grab something to eat before lunch ended.
Despite the initial problem stemming from her accident at lunch, Alexis was still looking forward to seeing a movie for the first time. Apparently it was something that Shayera called a 'popcorn flick', in that it wasn't great but fun enough to enjoy with friends on an outing together. She wasn't so sure about that when it came to pirate movies, but at least it would be entertaining enough.
She stood around in the light blue dress she'd borrowed, happy that it had fit. She'd even been happy enough to invite the plain girl who'd helped her zip up to the movies as well. If Kaoru didn't want this to be a date then she had to bring a big group of people for sure. Shayera was coming, and Hopefully Bronwyn could come, and maybe Shaun if he didn't still feel bad for things that happened earlier at lunch.
She walked over to the nearby tree and took a moment to wait for Kaoru, leaning back against the bark. It was nice, being normal. She wanted to have more time like this.
Then she saw the poster, and her expression stiffened and her eyes narrowed. Her hunters had been there. She had to be more careful and try not to stand out as much. "I'm never going back," She whispered to herself, arms hugging her chest.
Kaoru was sitting in a tree, thinking. Or more accurately worrying. She hadn't seen Alexandra all day. Not that she had been looking. Or...well...she had definitely been looking, she just hadn't been actively seeking her out. She hoped she was ok. And that they were ok. There was a sharp edge to her anxiety over the fact that she still hadn't had time to think about anything. Every time she thought about that kiss, she could feel her face heating up. Which was obviously a terrible thing to do while in school. She probably owed the other girl an explanation. Something to the tune of why she was so messed up. But what could possibly explain that?
She really hoped figuring out her feelings would somehow magically give her the answer. Though that was probably hoping for too much. Uggg, why were emotions so confusing? You go to elementary school and they teach you all about 'happy' and 'sad' and 'angry,' but they never bothered to explain how they could all get mixed up into a weird goopy mess until you had no idea what was what. So once again, she pushed them aside, doing her best to compartmentalize. Tonight. I swear I'll deal with you tonight. Unless a supervillain attacks. Then definitely on Saturday!
She hoped Alexandra showed up to this movie thing. Maybe it would give her a chance to suss things out and see if everything was ok between them. And if they weren't...crap, what then? Was this one of those situations where you just left them alone and gave them space? Or one where you needed to go after them and apologize? Or maybe she just...shouldn't do anything? If Alexandra didn't want to be friends or...whatever, she should respect that, shouldn't she? She forced the sick feeling in her stomach away.
She was distracted enough she almost missed Alexis heading towards her. She silently watched the other girl walking by herself. ...god I hope other people show up. She needed them to clearly frame this a definitely not a date. She was surprised when Alexis stopped and just leaned against the tree without even acknowledging her. Wait, does she not realize I'm up here? She supposed she was a little high off the ground. The bottoms of her shoes were still several feet from the top of Alexis' head.
"I'm never going back."
"Going back where?" Her gaze followed where Alexis' had been looking. "You know him?" She nodded her head at the poster. "Apparently there's a reward for finding him."
The young girl looked up at the young boy sitting in the tree, and her first thought was how nice his hair looked tousled and sunlit. She wondered if it was possible that Kaoru could be someone that she loved. It seemed unlikely, but she wouldn't know unless she tried. So she turned on her feet, the comfortable sneakers she was wearing better for her than the weird heels that Shayera was comfortable in. She smiled up at Kaoru and gave her a small wave.
"...I used to live in a place with other adopted kids. Except we weren't adopted and we were put to work. It's a long story. I don't like talking about it," She told Kaoru. Her eyes wandered down to her dress, as she modeled it for him. "Do I look okay? I've never worn a dress before today. It feels nice."
She was avoiding talking about the poster. Mostly because she didn't have a conveniently coached excuse for why it rattled her so much.
"Um, Shayera and Shaun and this nice girl who helped zip up my dress should be coming. Did you invite anyone else?" She asked Kaoru, as she gauged the distance. She glanced around first, before taking a running leap to the tree, vaulting herself up to sit next to the boy on his branch.
"...We're going to see a pirate movie. It looks fun. I hope you have fun. I hope you don't think I'm weird, either. I'm trying to be normal, but it's hard. Shayera's friend said I should be tested because I don't think like other people. Does that make me weird?" She rattled off, scanning for other familiar faces.
Bronwyn watched Shaun go with a lot of satisfaction, but a couple pangs of regret.
Before anyone else can leave, she turns to Cassie and the others "Okay. Just to be clear. Yes I'm gay. No I'm not out. Please keep it to yourselves. Thanks."
For a moment she was about to leave, but after a moment she just sighed and looked up at the sky.
"You know what? I'm going to the movie with you guys. I might regret it later, but this has been a grotesquely long week already. You should come too, Cassie." Ugh, is she going to think I'm hitting on her? At least I didn't tell her her skirt is cute. Blerg.
She looked at the neat little semicircles she'd punched into the sides of her nose. "Dangit." She quickly blotted up the blood and slapped a litle bandaid that looked like a breathe-right strip over the cuts.
"Anyone have some sunglasses I can borrow to make this a little less noticeable? Thanks."
***
Bronwyn: You're going with Alexis and everyone, right?
Bronwyn: I need this, I'm coming (-__-) (-__-) (-__-)
Bronwyn: Well, assuming you're not two-timing me, I'll see you there ;-p
Bronwyn: I just managed to only hurt someone with my words, so I'm giving myself time off for good behavior.
Bronwyn: ...
Bronwyn: ... Okay after I apologize to the [ass hat] who got me grounded in the first place, I'll give myself time off for good behavior (◔_◔)
***
A little after the next period began, Bronwyn poked her head into Shaun's history course. "Mr. Abernathy? Can I borrow Shaun for a couple minutes? It's a quick acclimation thing, I'll have him right back to you."
Shayera grows quiet when Bronwyn shares with everyone in the girl's room that she's gay, trying to fade into the background. When the new girl, Cassie, stares at her, Shayera gives her a small smile.
"Glad you're coming," she says neutrally and produces a pair of designer sunglasses for her.
==============
Shayera hurries out through the crowds, hoping to find the others going to the movies. Though she needn't have worried. She was likely supplying the transportation, and had preordered an entire section of seats once Alexis made the movie pick.
She finds Alexis and Kaoru sitting in a tree (and interestingly enough, doesn't sing the song in her head. She'd never heard it growing up at the lab).
She approaches, looks down at her heels, then back up to them. "I hope you're not expecting me to climb up there," she says with a grin.
"I think we're going to have a big group going. Bronwyn's coming, and I think Cassie and Shaun will be. I've asked for the limo to be brought to pick us all up."
I have got to stop showing off. She thinks.
really? she says, rollign her eyes and ignoring the threat. 4 knives, a taser, and an explosive in your boot makes tough talk a lot less threatening. You flatter yourself. you just aren't that subtle.
Ignoring the fact that I don't have superpowers, and the fact that as a healthy baseline, I need to sleep about 8 hours a night, there's one other fact you've more or less slid over. The silver shadow was a white guy. how white do I look. she says, gesturing to herself.
@Bronwyn (part 1)
Wait...two-timing? She doesn't think this is a date, right? I mean, other people are coming, so clearly not a date. She tilted her head at the last couple of messages. Bronwyn had actually lashed out at someone? That...didn't really sound like her. Kaoru had been actively trying to bait her with a variety of sports jibes and gotten absolutely nothing. Just a smile and a joke. And then more insane niceness. So if this person had gotten Bronwyn upset, he or she must really be a d*ck. After she sent the first several messages response, she hesistated.
Should she? It would be only fair. It would help climb out of the pit of social debt Bronwyn was accuring on her. She typed up the first message and then forced herself to hit send. Which then forced her to quickly send several more messages. And then she quickly shoved her phone into her pocket, hoping this wouldn't blow up at her as well somehow.
< ... Okay after I apologize to the [ass hat] who got me grounded in the first place, I'll give myself time off for good behavior (◔_◔)
> Yes. Alexis & co.
> But it's not a date because it's a group
> So two-timing isn't relevant
> ...why would you apologize to the person who got you grounded? Shouldn't that be the other way around? :thinking face:
> Or is that who you yelled at, and that's why you're apologizing?
> If so, sounds like they deserved it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> But...that doesn't sound like you
> r u ok?
> I could...try to do something
> If you wanted
> Or not
> Whatevs. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"...I used to live in a place with other adopted kids. Except we weren't adopted and we were put to work. It's a long story. I don't like talking about it,"
Kaoru nodded and didn't press the issue further. She didn't like talking about her past either.
"Do I look okay? I've never worn a dress before today. It feels nice."
She blinked. Eyes flicking over the dress for the first time. "I...guess? I don't know much about dresses. It's a nice color though?" She's not...wearing a dress specifically for *this* is she? She knows this isn't a date and therefore you don't dress up or anything, right?
"Um, Shayera and Shaun and this nice girl who helped zip up my dress should be coming. Did you invite anyone else?"
Well at least she inv- "Wait Shaun?!?" Kaoru gave her a look of wide-eyed shock. "Why would you do that? He's such an ass." She groaned loudly rubbing her eyes. "Uggg, I guess it's too late to un-invite him. Crap. Whatever." Well, if she gave him enough context, no way is he going to show up. Pretty sure he hates me as much as I hate him.
And then Alexis was suddenly in the tree with her. Why does everybody keep invading my trees? And more importantly my personal space? ...ok, so maybe it wasn't so bad when Alexandra did that to you yeste- LALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. NOT THINKING ABOUT THAT NOW KTHXBAI. "You probably shouldn't sit in trees in a dress. Or skirt."
She was distracted from Alexis' last question by the sight of some other girl, clearly headed their way. Maybe this 'Shayera' Alexis had invited? Why did she look familiar? Had they met? Probably have just seen her around school. And then she was talking and her voice sent a chill down Kaoru's spine as every fiber of her being started yelling at her to RUN. She quickly stood up, eyes flicking about for escape routes as her brain desperately tried to figure out where she had heard that voice before and why she needed to run from it. The tone hadn't been threatening. The words (at least, the ones she managed to say until they had been drowned out by the alarm bells in her ears) weren't threatening. Sh*t, why did her brain think she was dangerous?
She should get out of there. Right now. But crap, Alexis was there. If there really were dangerous, she couldn't just leave her there unawares. But she couldn't warn her if all she was operating on was this vague instinct and she had no idea where that was even coming from. Sh*t what the hell was she supposed to do? Should she try to put herself between the girl and Alexis? But given the tree, that would be basically impossible. She also couldn't exactly get away easily; climbing down the tree would take too long and jumping would probably result in hurting some part of her legs. She was trapped. But at least she can't fly...