Little Talks [closed]

She was unflappable. Nothing could dissuade her from this, could it? Stomach in knots, face burning, she stepped into Lynn's room, eyes scanning the walls like monsters were about to burst through the plaster. Kayla almost had to shield her eyes when she whipped her top choices out of the closet, leaning back away.

How many times did she have to tell her no meant no?

But for whatever reason, she didn't just turn on her heel and leave. It just didn't feel right to cut it short and call it a day, and probably tell Pres this was all a stupid idea in the first place. If she was being honest with herself, in some vague, faded, tortured image in the very back corner of her head, she could maybe, just maybe, envision herself in... well, not a bikini, but... Hey, the fucking idiot was liable to toss the both of them overboard just for laughs. She needed to wear something while she was out on the boat. Did scruffy flannels and skinny jeans cut it?

With him, maybe it'd be okay to dress like that. Just for something like this, this once.

Kayla craned her head away, scoffing, but she couldn't look away completely, ogling the two monstrosities out of the corner of her eye. The corner of her mouth twisted into a hard frown, and she finally let her gaze drop to the floor, rubbing her arm, shuffling her feet. Fuck. Lynn had a way with making her feel squirmy... "Don't be an idiot." It was like being put on the spot, reaching for an excuse, anything to dodge the real reason. Sparks crackled in her messy hair. "Look at me. Drop me in the water and it'll be like the toaster in the bathtub."

There was that. But that wasn't what made her stop dead in her tracks just thinking about wearing either of those things.

Fuck. What am I getting myself into?

The blonde shrugged her shoulders, rolling them along with her eyes and shooting yet another smirk Kayla's way. "I'm sure you'll be fine," She said in a low, soothing voice, but there was no doing away with that small hint of amusement laced into her tone. "Come onnn. You'll be fine!" Brailynn's smile eased up, turning more genuine whilst she took a few steps closer to the girl. "It's really not so bad! They're comfy actually." She leaned in a bit closer, holding them up again so she'd get a better look at them. "You know I'd leave you nothing but Pretty! ... Not that your not always pretty, I mean!" She felt herself blush a little. Lynn was never the best motivational speaker, or one at all really. "You know what I mean."

All she could do was blush right back. Uh, thanks? Kayla felt her nails dig into her arm, screwing up her face at the two swimsuits. Pretty. Yeah right. Kayla turned her head, forcing a smile as best she could. "I... I dunno. I'm not like you." As much as she hated to admit it, she did so much for her at the Formal... If it wasn't for her, she might have bailed, or shown up in the same ratty flannel she had the year before, but instead she'd dressed up and put herself out there and...

Fuck. Whatever. She did feel pretty that night, as much as the thought made her want to cringe into a ball.

But this wasn't a ballgown and a bit of makeup. This would just be her, and she felt exposed just looking at them. If anything, this was the opposite. Last time, Lynn had went all in covering up all her little flaws and inadequacies. Now she was trying to strip her down. It just didn't work.

But what the hell, right?

Kayla rubbed her arm, chewing on her bottom lip. "I'll try the one-piece first..." she finally murmured.

The blonde was beaming. In truth, she had always meant to seek out the one-piece for her all along. It was the more modest of her swimsuits, befitting of her nature, she supposed. While Lynn was absolutely sure she'd look cute either way, she'd offered the girl the option to help ease the Autumn into her new situation. Some might have called that underhanded, but she thought of it as resourceful. It was all for Kayla's own good, of course! It wasn't often you got to take such a nice vacation with someone you absolutely-gave-no-no-shits-about. Whatever time she had, she really had to embrace it. Relax and enjoy herself.
There was enough time for stress and drama already.

She offered her up the outfit, pointing her over to the small bathroom ahead.

Kayla snatched the stupid thing from her hands, pinching the tip of the coat hanger like it was coated in radiation. Fine. She'd play ball. What did she have to lose, right? Grumbling under her breath, she made her way over to the bathroom, head swimming, face burning, off balance.

She let the door slam behind her.

Between this, and the Formal...

Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Kayla let her fingers brush over the thin silver rings up along the back, face twisting in disgust. "Ugh..." If it was either this or the spaghetti strap she'd been holding up, then there really was no winning, but Brailynn always won with this kind of thing, didn't she?

With a sigh of resignation, she hung it up on the rack and slipped out of her shorts, unbuttoned her flannel, letting it all drop in a crumpled puddle around her feet. Now how the fuck did you even put this thing on...?

When she'd finally pulled it up and on, staring at herself in the mirror, she could feel the sparks crackle across her cheeks. "Jesus Christ," she hissed through her teeth, turning her shoulder to glimpse the way it split down her back, and the sparks turned into a small lightning storm. This was ridiculous. She might as well have been dressing up as a clown.

Did she have to walk out in this thing? She deliberated for a few minutes, chewing on her bottom lip, before she forced the air through her nose and cracked the door back open, fast enough that she couldn't regret it, but not wide enough that Brailynn could see the whole picture. Ta-da. Are you happy, bitch? Kayla rubbed at her arms, peeking out from the doorway. "So?"

This was so stupid.

Brailynn lingered outside on the bed, flipping through her Esper messages and practicing at her patience. It was difficult not to let excitement get the best of her. She texted Richard, spied through a certain someone's social account, and had perked up in an instant the moment she'd heard the bathroom door click open. "Well," She leaned lop-sisterly, trying to get a better view as she hid away. "I can't judge you fairly unless you get out here." The blonde was back up and on her feet, tossing her cell onto the pillow and trying to ease Kayla out the door. "Trust the expert."

She really knew how to push the line. Kayla narrowed her eyes, sparks crackling across her shoulders, but she didn't argue. There wasn't any point if she'd already thrown this stupid thing on, right? Her bare legs felt as stiff and heavy as lead as she let Brailynn pull her out from behind the bathroom door, eyes lowered to the floor so she didn't have to see her full reaction. The Autumn kept her arms raised, almost defensively around her chest, chewing away at the inside of her cheek.

"Happy?"

Her hand slapped up to her cheek as she looked the girl over. Everything, from her messy hair down to the defensive way she stood, just looked nothing short of absolutely precious in that swimsuit of hers. "You look so cute!" Brailynn grinned. To be extra sure, she stepped around Kayla, inspecting from behind - nothing could be left uncertain! "A few days in the sun too and can't even tell -" Her eyes scanned over the harsh scars, dashed and dotted over the girl's body.

In her opinion, they were nothing to be ashamed of. They made for a strong woman. The Autumn was a fighter, a survivor, but she knew it'd be a long time before she'd ever felt so confident... if ever...

"Hey, I'm very happy. You shouldn't look so down." The blonde swept back around, giving her another smile, reassuring as she could manage.

She took a sharp step back and turned away. "I think a certain someone will like it too," the Guardian murmured under her breath.

Don't give me that shit. Kayla rubbed her hand up her arm, as if that could wipe off the old welts and cuts that pocked her skin. This thing just looked stupid. Maybe Lynn could pull something like this off, but... ugh... Her face flared, and at first she pretended not to hear the last bit. She was exhausted of trying to argue the point.

But at the same time, she couldn't shake it out of her head.

"You think?" she answered, just as quiet, if not quieter.

Nothing he hadn't seen before. They never talked about it anymore. Maybe he was afraid she'd punch him in the throat if he ever brought it up.

But if he'd ever thought of the possibility, he'd probably just laugh his ass off.

What am I even thinking? It didn't matter to begin with. The idea was fucking... weird. Just weird. She didn't want that kind of awkwardness between them, not that she'd ever think that he'd—... well, look at her like that. Ugh.

It was stupid. She did her best to try and close out that train of thought, blowing out a sharp breath. Fuck. She'd just wanted to come over for some chocolate milk.

The blonde said nothing back, that smile still glued to her face as she swung back around the bed, plopping down back beside her pillows and shooting a short glance towards the side table. Kayla truly was cute to her, in an innocent sort of way. It was always fun to tease her and dress her up. While she hoped that the girl could consider the two of them friends, Lynn liked to think of it as slightly more endearing. Helping the Autumn felt like treating a little sister to her, one she'd never had; an adorable, clueless, tempered little sister.

"Come here and humor me a bit, Brailynn called, waving her over and offering her a small cover blanket, to help keep her a bit more comfortable. "How much do you actually know about... boys?"

Enough of that shit. Kayla took the blanket, wordlessly plopping down beside her on the edge of the bed, pulling the cover up over her shoulders. When she'd first met Brailynn, she hadn't expected anything like this out of the two of them. Now look at me. Playing fucking dress-up. She scrunched up her nose at the question. "What about them?" she asked. Honest question. If there was something she was missing, then she really didn't get it. "I've never had a... boyfriend or anything, if that's what you're asking."

She almost tripped on the word, but tried her best to play it cool. Why ask? Shouldn't it have been obvious enough already?

She supposed that didn't really surprise her, no offense to the prickly girl. Brailynn rubbed away at her arm, letting out a gentle hum as she thought over her words carefully. "You've never had a crush or anything?" If she never had a boyfriend, then she assumed any odds of a first kiss were gone crashing out the window. Her hazel eyes fell back to the brunette. "You've never looked at a guy like... like that?"

"S-seriously?" Did they have to keep circling back to this? She realized there wasn't much to do to escape it, not while she was wearing her swimsuit, but the more she probed, the more she twisted the knife. Kayla groaned, hiding her blush behind her hands. Had she ever had a crush...?

Her heart fluttered.

It felt like a lead weight dropped in her stomach. Electricity crackled in her hair, across her fingertips.

"No. That was never my thing. I'm not much of a people person."

She wasn't quite convinced yet, meeting Kayla's assertion with a slight frown. "Nothing at all? You've never seen a smile you like? Or nice hair, or pretty eyes? Stupid jokes?" Brailynn felt more like she was throwing out some romcom's ideal of the perfect guy, but for some reason, all those cheese traits were at the forefront of her mind. Was else did other girls care about? "Muscles?" She suggested after a long pause, shrugging. "Shoe size?

What? "Why the hell would shoe size matter?" she blurted, before shaking her head with a huff of irritation, running her fingers through her hair. She was off track again. Was it even worth answering? Kayla shifted on the bed, not meeting her eyes. "I hate people who smile all the time. Or just clown around. And I hate meatheads." Hair? Eyes? "I really hate gingers. And accents. And the shy, sensitive types make me wanna puke, but I hate people who think they're all hot shit too..."

Really, thinking about it, had she ever had a real crush? No bullshit, no lying to herself, an honest to god assessment.

"I hate men."

Yeah, that was the conclusion she jumped to. The words came out just as she realized them. She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "Sorry."