Little Talks [closed]

Brailynn shifted around on the couch, two cups of chocolate milk held in each of her hands, handing off the slight larger of them over to her friend. "Made sweet to perfection," she smiled, taking a ling sip once she was able, falling back into the couch cushions. "Thanks for the company. I don't know how long a certain someone will be out and..." The blonde flicked her gazd around. "It gets boring."

Chocolate milk. Was it stupid that she could only think of a certain someone when she saw it offered to her? Kayla took it wordlessly from her hands and brought it into her lap, tracing her finger along the lip of the glass, the corners of her mouth twisted in something that couldn't quite be called a frown, but close. She pushed the stupid thought out of her head and drowned it out with a long, inelegant draft from the chocolate milk, downing a quarter of the glass with just one sip. "Boring, huh?" she murmured disinterestedly as she pulled away, wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand. "It's perfect." But somehow lacked that same sweetness from before. She forced herself to glance up from the glass and to Brailynn, leaning back into the couch cushions. "I don't see how. It must be nice to have the place to yourself for a little bit." Kayla wished for that solitude, sometimes. Their dorm felt like a fucking circus half of the days of the week...

The blonde gave off a small shrug, taking another sip of her own glass and offering Kayla a smile. "I suppose," she muttered. "You get used to having roommates for so long though. And once the place gets empty for a while, or just being by yourself after that..."  The former Spring smiled and leaned in closer, poking away at the younger girl's shoulder. "You know what I mean?" Her gaze flickered to the front door for a moment.

"Boys are stupid, but you tend to miss them." She mused, falling back to her spot on the couch.

Sparks jumped up from her skin and hung and fizzled in the air with the teensy bit of contact. Kayla leaned back deeper into the sofa, eyebrows arcing in a light sort of bewilderment. "Umm... sure? I mean, I guess?" Something about that smile on her face seemed to signal something suspicious, like a joke designed to go over her head. She rubbed the back of her neck and craned her head toward the ceiling fan, trying to avoid the mischief in those hazel eyes. Well, when Pres was off all day and night doing whatever he did, she guessed that sometimes, yeah... It did get a little too quiet, maybe.

After a long stretch of silence, she mumbled out her final answer.

"Yeah. I guess."

Brailynn took on a victorious smirk, falling back and grabbing a small pillow to stuff into her lap. She tilted her head, letting her voice drone on in obvious curiosity. "How is your roommate again? You know, the one you went to prom with... What was his name...?" The Guardian tapped her finger against her cheek, feigning her own deep thought. "You probably know all about Richard at this point. And I have tons of stories of when we dormed together but you, you don't say much." And that wasn't very fair was it? She kept her eyes glued on the younger girl, taking another long drink of her milk.

Just the mention of him tied her stomach up into knots. She could feel herself making a face, and she wasn't even sure what kind of face it was. Kayla still didn't trust that look, that voice, the innocuous questions. The Autumn fidgeted with her glass, giving out a sharp huff. "What's there to say?" Her voice was kettle-sharp, pitched a notch on the dial higher than usual. "And we didn't go together. We, just, kinda walked in at the same time. Y'know..."

She could feel herself start to bristle up. Sparks webbed erratically through her hair in one brief flash. "Why are you asking?"

Brailynn allowed the slight smile on her lips to grow, if only to hold back an outright laugh. She always hated when Verona had tried to pick her apart and tease her like this, but now that the tables were turned, she supposed it was a little fun after all. Especially with Kayla of all people. The Autumn was so ruthless and held such an immense power to her that she damn near fell-head-over-heels in admiration for. To see someone so strong be so damn clueless and flustered over a dumb boy of all things...

She hid her snicker behind the back of her glass, tapping her nails against the edge in a soft rhythm. "I've seen him around, y'know, here and there," Lynn mused, eerily keeping a watch on the younger girl from the corner of her eye. "He always seemed weird to me. Either in some corner by himself or off with the sleaziest girls. He doesn't seem like your type at all." If she even had a type.

She huffed. "My type?" Ugggh. Her cheeks burned. "It's not like that. At all! And he's not my type, and he is fucking weird!" Kayla hunched her shoulders. She hated this kind of teasing, and she could feel herself curling up, little by little. "You don't even know half the weird shit about him. It's fucking embarrassing!" And his girls? Really, she didn't want to think about all those girls on the side she kept hearing about. It was enough to make her stomach churn. She could feel herself heating up, her voice getting faster and higher the more she spoke, flustered, the momentum building like a steam train, the smoke practically blowing out her ears. Kayla took a deep, sloppy swill of chocolate milk. "He makes all these stupid puns all the time. I mean all the fucking time! It's non-fucking-stop! And don't get me started on his goofy ass Pokémen annie-may cartoon shit. You know he only ever calls me Pikachu? I don't think that motherfucker has ever once said my actual name! How about a fucking, 'Hey, Kay!' for once? I've known his bitch punk ass since I was thirteen and he's never just said my fucking name, what the fuck is with that stupid fuckin' bull? But no, he does it just to piss me off! Everything he does, he does it's just to piss me off! How dedicated does a guy have to fucking be just to be a pain in the ass? It's like it's his fucking mission! And in the mornings he never wears a fucking shirt, and he's on my ass today for not tossing the cereal box when there's still some fucking cereal in it, and—...!" The lights flickered overhead, and she took in a sharp breath. In. Out. Fuck. She needed an inhaler. But it just felt good to let out.

Kayla let out a deep breath, and some of the storm seemed to have left her, a cold bitterness flooding in to replace her hot flash of irritation. All those fucking girls didn't leave her mind for a second, swirling around her skull just along the fringes, just enough to be a splinter in her thoughts. "How does a guy like that have the whole school all over him?" she asked, quieter this time, pacing each words. They were on him like flies. Constantly. All kinds, too. Not just the party girl mall slut types, but the quiet bookworms, the bombshells, the sporty ones, all of them. She curled her nails into her palm, biting her lip. "This whole academy's full of stupid sluts."

It was as if a storm has suddenly surged it's way through the room, the air around them thick and sparks bouncing again and again off the girl's skin; though it felt nothing close to painful for her. Brailynn chewed away at her lip, staring into her glass and listening in on her shrill rantings. For some reason, she could only picture them lile little kids on the playground. Way back in early school, her mom had always told her that boys picked on a girl whenever they had a crush on them. (And that it was always acceptable to bully back, if need be.) It such a silly idea, but it sounded so familiar that the blonde couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, sorry... I've never seen you so..."

The guardian took a deep breath to calm herself, letting it loose slow and fighting down any more giggles. "I just think it's funny how he happened to walk into the dance with you. Or how much he hangs around you or chases you around like a weirdo. What's the deal with that?" She played the question off like nothing, shrugging and setting her glass down on the thin coffee table before them. "He's gotta have some nice things about him, I guess. Girls are stupid when they want someone to love."

She huffed, and she seemed to inflate, red cheeks puffing out. Like a blowfish. "Wh-what's so funny about all that?" If she wasn't imagining things, it was almost like Lynn was making fun of her. Kayla hid defensively behind her glass. "I don't get what you're trying to say," she said, knowing exactly what she was trying to say. The implication had been creeping up on her little by little, almost making her choke back up her chocolate milk. "I told you. He just likes to annoy me."

And all the nice things about him? Pres didn't show that side to anybody else. Not to his circus of girlfriends and friends with benefits, or any of his dumb friends, at least. The good part of him felt like a second personality he hid, something he only showed when he let his guard down in the safety of their own dorm, with his cheesy aprons and stupid games... All those other girls didn't know her Preston. They only cared about a pretty face, or a status symbol, or whatever he was to her, but it wasn't the nice things about him.

She let out a low dude, just shut up, feigning careful thought and letting herself slump over closer to the girl, playfully running into the Autumn and bumping arms with her. The blonde's hair brushed over Kayla's shoulder as she stared up towards the roof. "I think he likes a little more than that," Brailynn said with the coyest of smiles. Before her dear friend had the chance to get any good reply in, she snapped back up into her place, eyes brimming. "A little birdie told me you two were heading out on a mission soon! What did you plan on bringing?" The Guardian had spotted mosst of the details in the offices as she passed through. Sorta. Hey, if someone left the mission file out on the open desk and she just happened to spot Kayla's name in it, then there was no harm in taking a peek, right?

Lynn leaned in, and Kayla leaned further, eyes wide as sparks cracked between them. She had to just come out and say it, and Kayla felt her insides twist, her toes curl up, her face deepen in color even more than it had before... and just when she was reeling, Brailynn had to bounce back with another attack, half-changing the subject, keeping her disorientated. "How would you know about that?" was the first thing that came sputtering out of her mouth, her head spinning.

Pres and... her?

Oh, gross.

It was like Lynn was forcing her to look at him at a whole new angle, and the thought alone made her want to shrivel up and die right there on the sofa.

Kayla curled her lip, flashing fangs. "I-I don't know. Clothes and shit? Nothing special?" It was some monsters out in Ireland, some portal trouble or something, and he had promised to take her... Maybe it wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but he was already making these stupid vacation plans when they were supposed to be on official school business. Not that she was complaining. Free cruise was a free cruise.

With a click of her tongue, she was back in her feet, sprung clear off the couch and shaking her head. This poor girl. What would she do without her help? "But it is a special occasion. Sorta." She'd seen the cruise papers, copies of the tickets, and she'd been on her own sea vacation a good once or twice. "You'll need a swimsuit! Something cute, but not too revealing; comfy clothes, another dress! Maybe not as fancy as the Winter Formal, but-" Ah, she'd have to teach her how to do decent work of her make up and maybe give her some tanning lotions and...
... Come to think of it, didn't they have one room together? Lynn bit the inside of her cheek. Another matter to be discussed. She beckoned Kayla to follow her, throwing a small wave over her shoulder and walking towards her room.
"Come on! And leave the sour face!"

What the hell, man?! Kayla just groaned, but she got up anyways to follow, sighing in resignation. "Whatever." But she had to deal with her sour face, no matter what. "There's no way you'll catch me in a swimsuit. I'm just telling you now." How far was she going to take all this teasing?

Like Preston would ever like somebody like her, anyways...

Kayla's bitter words completely breezed over her. "Yeah, yeah." She flung open her closet, thumbing her way through rows of cramped hangers. "But we have to find one for you anyways." And not getting the tiniest little peak? They'd see about that. Brailynn had managed to drag out a few of her older pairs, pulling one out on each hand and spinning back towards the Autumn, beholding them. In her left hand, a simple black bikini, with spaghetti straps and small ruffles over the chest; in the right, a red and silver tight one peace, held with thin silver rings and split far down the backside. "Take your pick," She cooed.