Dazed and Confused [semi-closed]

Cardio was never quite her strong point. Period. The gravel beneath cracked ever-so-slight every now and then, with every sharp turn or with every sudden leap of her heart, terrified a vexed gamekeeper would catch them at their heels at any moment and bring on their untimely punishment - or do whatever it was that an arcade man could do. A stern talking to. A demand for repayment. A dirty look. It scared her all the same.

Ishiko hadn't hardly noticed her new friend straggling behind, her tight grip and her body pulling with little effort at all. She made sure to turn down one street corner, then another, and back again. (It was a bit difficult to really shake someone off in such a small town.) Once her own lungs wouldn't allow her another step forward, she stepped into an alleyway, resting her free hand on her knee and keeling over.

"W-whew!" She gasped for air, "Are you okay? I'm so sorry - I..." The Summer wasn't even sure of what to say. Out of her better judgement, a smile cracked on her face, a small laugh escaping her. Gods, that was awful.

Evelyn came stumbling in after her, letting herself get tugged into the dark hideaway, shoes scraping against the asphalt. She sucked in deep, rasping breaths, completely pathetic, completely unattractive. Gosh... The Winter doubled over, and then let herself fall back against the grimy wall, flicking her sweat-slicked bangs out of her eyes. Her face was burning from the exertion, her chest tightening.

She smiled. She laughed. Evelyn had to laugh too, if only because she laughed, and the only other option was to hyperventilate.

Ishiko felt a nimble weight tug away at her hand, catching the brunette sinking to the ground out of the corner of her eye. Once she managed to catch a bit of her breath, she found herself stumbling back against the wall, dragging herself down with her. She felt the slight of her hip brush against the Winter's, but she didn't seem to mind. After the heart-pounding race from the furious gamekeeper, it felt like nothing. "Eva-chan?" She was still filled with a few giggled, letting her heavy head rest and fall atop the girl's shoulder with little thought.

She'd only moved to make herself more comfortable, lifting her arm up between them and - ah, that was right, she was holding her hand. Whatever red had flushed out of her face from the run had been quick to make it's return, but she'd thought it rude to just drop her grasp then and there. Plus curiosity got the best of her. Ishiko had never liked her hands. They were always coarse and rough, no matter how much lotion she used, her skin was hard - easy to break and bend whatever came in her way.

It always frustrated her. She wanted to be gentle, like... like her hands. Her dark eyes narrowed, gazing over Evelyn's pale skin. There were small scars here and there, little cuts from what - she had no idea, but her fingers were long, thin, soft and dainty. A part of her envied it, but nowhere near as much as she adored it. Although it was a strange thing to admire wasn't it?

"Eva-chan." She liked it. It was cute. It wasn't her name, but it was close enough, and it was cute. Evelyn let herself sink against the wall, and Ishiko sank with her. Her heart leaped up into her throat as the girl's head fell across her shoulder, and it hung there as they sat there in the alleyway, until their giggles faded into just their heated breaths and the distant sounds of town life.

Evelyn brushed her thumb over Ishiko's hand, just a light, tracing touch, but it sent her blood rushing. She wondered if the near-stranger next to her could tell. It was such a small and trivial movement, but that little bit of... intimacy was something she'd been craving for, for... Oh, it didn't matter. All that mattered was the adrenaline kick, the thrill that seemed to make their panicked flight from the arcade hall feel like nothing. Evelyn lightly twisted her hand around in Ishiko's, lacing their fingers together, and brought a second shaky hand up to cup their hands, together.

Most everything about this situation screamed that it was all wrong. It was wrong to drag Evelyn into this mess, wrong to run and hide into some dirty alley way, and wrong to bring herself so close to someone who was practically still a stranger. She wondered, why then, everything was going so pleasantly. A smile curved at her lips, only wavering as she felt the other girl's hand graze firmly over their grasp. Her cheeks were painted pink, near the same color as her little purse or the lace on her shirt. "Oh..."

With her own free hand, she made a reach for Evelyn's, softly pulling it away from their hold and towards herself. "My heart is still racing," she whispered. In a slow, nimble manner, she placed the Winter's hand over her chest, pressing her in closer - to feel the soft beating. "Can't you tell?" She had known what she was doing, for the most part. There was a strange sort of spark in her eyes.

Oh.

Oh.

Evelyn, at the very least, had the grace to keep looking her in the eyes (bright and pretty eyes...), but that might have just been her brain turning to mush. Her face was burning. Her whole body was burning. Could Ishiko feel the fresh sweat from her palms, or could she play that off as being from their panicked escape from the arcade? Her heart was beating fast, and it matched the pounding in her own chest, so loud she was afraid Ishiko might hear it too.

She swallowed.

Damn it, Jace would know the exact thing to say right then... But she didn't have anything. Evelyn just stared back, not taking her hand away.

"Y-yeah. Mine too." It almost came out as a squeak.

Damn it.

A slight giggle escaped the girl. It felt as if the rush of their run had come flooding back to her head at once, her head was whoozy and light as a cloud. She let her own burning hand fall again and creep back towards the other girl, grazing over Evelyn's shirt and feeling carefully for her own heartbeating. It might have been her imagination, but she thought that she felt it. "Airashīdesu." Her dark eyes flickered up, to be sure that no one had found them after all and begun to draw her hand away, but not before snagging her finger on one of the small buttons just over the Winter's chest. An accident. Or teasing. Maybe Ishiko had allowed herself to linger like that for a moment too long.

"Cou- Could you help me to my room?" She cleared her throat. "I don't know the way yet."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

That little touch paralyzed her. She couldn't breathe again until Ishiko pulled back again, an eternity later, with that little tease of skin on skin contact, fingers brushing over the buttons and thin fabric... Her head was spinning. It was like being drunk. That was it. Evelyn barely heard her when she spoke again, still trying to regain control of the more civilized part of her brain... She still hadn't taken her hand away from over Ishiko's own heart.

Help her. To her room.

She wasn't imagining things right now, was she?

She definitely wasn't reading too much into it. Properly.

It felt insidious.

"Yeah," she still answered, almost as immediately as she regained coherent thought, drawing her hand back to tuck her hair behind her ear. "Y-yeah... Um... Wh-what House are you in, ag-again...?" If she'd ever told her, she'd completely forgotten. Evelyn might have forgotten her own name then. She stood up, taking Ishiko's hands lightly in hers to help her to her feet. Wow. Her knees felt like they were about to buckle underneath her.

She knew the basic way back to the school at least, so Ishiko supposed it wasn't exactly necessary to hold on to the girl, yet she found her fingers tangling back into Evelyn's grasp all the same. "Summer," She answered back, her voice warm. Once she'd gotten her breath back, and had taken a proper second to pat the dirt off her back - and, well, other places - she made a small peak around the corner. Looking along the street, it seemed like the coast was clear. "At least it isn't far off now since we ran..."

She offered Eva another small smile and set off on the sidewalk.

Summer. Warm, bright, energetic Summer. Their building was in the same block as every other House, and she probably could've just pointed her in the right direction if she really wanted to, but that wouldn't be very nice, would it? "Yeah, um... y-yeah. I kn-know the way..." Easy, right? She could finally breathe as Ishiko peeled away to check around the corner. Was she just checking for the game shop owner, or was there more to it than just that?

No. That'd be shifty. And they weren't doing anything wrong.

They were just walking. To her dorm.

You know. Nothing weird about that. Who the fuck was she kidding?

Evelyn nodded with a light, bashful smile as she gave the go-ahead, following her out back into the open. She lifted up a hand. Her fingers twitched. Hesitation crept through her blood like a paralyzing venom, but then she just sucked in a breath, mustered the courage up in her gut, and clasped her hand firmly in hers. "Th-this way."

It wouldn't be a long walk. They could take their time.