ACT 4
Katarina tugged on Ashe's jacket, wrapping herself tighter with the warm clothing, while Ashe unlocked her apartment. She could smell the scent of peppermint from the jacket and she found it oddly soothing.
Ashe opened the front door and ushered her in, so she silently complied and walked into the apartment unit. She had to ask herself though.
'Why did I go with her in the first place? I'm pretty sure it's not because of her jacket.'
"Listen, the bedroom is down that hall," Ashe said, pointing at the hall at her left. "You can take a bath at the bathroom there."
"Hmm." She turned and headed down the hall.
"I'll lend some dry clothes for you once you finish."
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Leaving her drenched clothes at the bathroom, she exited the bathroom and stepped back into Ashe's bedroom. She wore nothing but a fluffy towel Ashe had given to her earlier.
When she walked into the room, she found a complete set of clothes waiting for her on the covered bed. She approached it and scanned the clothing, noting that all of them are men's clothes.
'Doesn't she have any clothes that are actually for women?'
Seeing that not single piece of undergarment is present on the bed, she decided to go commando. She put the jean shorts on and the grey shirt and slipped on the pair of slippers beside the bed before leaving the bedroom.
As soon as she had pulled the door open, she caught a nice whiff of the smell of chicken. She walked down the hall and entered the kitchen, where she found Ashe just finishing on filling one glass bowl with chicken soup.
The Avarosa's mildly messy and damp snow white hair is all tied up in a high but sloppy ponytail. She also took notice of Ashe's clothes, since said female hasn't changed clothing. The football jersey and her shorts were still quite damp from the looks of it.
"Here," Ashe carefully pushed and slid the bowl across kitchen island. "Eat this."
Wordlessly, Katarina accepted the spoon Ashe handed her, then started eating the soup, which, by the way, was just utterly delicious, in her opinion. But of course she won't tell Ashe that.
While she ate, she spotted Ashe from her peripheral vision, heading off to the exit leading to the bedroom. She swallowed the spoonful of soup she had eaten before speaking.
"Gonna take a bath?"
Ashe shook her head. "Did you leave your clothes at the bathroom?"
She nodded.
"Alright, I'll go wash them. Excuse me."
Katarina watched as Ashe left the kitchen before focusing her attention back to her warm and delicious meal.
"Achoo!"
In surprise, she snapped her head upward. Just in time in seeing Ashe wiping her nose.
"Staying in those clothes will make you sick." She heard herself commenting.
Ashe was already standing in the middle of the hall, yet she heard her and just waved a dismissive hand.
"It's just the dust."
"Whatever."
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Katarina now sat on the soft, and not to mention comfortable, couch at Ashe's apartment living room, channel-surfing while she waited for the Avarosa to finish whatever it is she's doing right now.
It took at least a few more channel-switching before Ashe finally came back, and based from her current looks, she had already changed out of her damp clothes from earlier.
"Took a bath?"
"Just a quick showe...-achoo!"
Katarina raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're good?"
"Like I said," Ashe spoke through the towel she used to wipe her nose. "It's just the dust."
"Whatever you say, Avarosa."
Ashe walked towards her and she can't help but look at the Avarosa's body. Whatever was restraining the female's chest is gone now, and Katarina can see how... well-endowed Ashe is at her chest area.
Actually, now that she audited the other female's form, she can actually say that Ashe is purely blessed. She has a slim body, a beautiful face, flawless and pale skin, those soft cerulean eyes, a very generous bust and...
"That ass..."
Ashe, who was bending down to pick up her towel that she had dropped, looked over her shoulder.
"Hmm?"
Katarina's face grew warm and she instantly looked away and used her red hair as a shield from Ashe's curious eyes. She seriously did not mean to voice it out, and she feels very stupid because she just did so.
"It, It was nothing." She muttered, hoping her uncharacteristic blush would disappear.
She felt the weight of the white couch shift, so she assumed Ashe must have already situated herself beside her. When she turned back to Ashe, her blush was gone.
"Listen," She patiently watched Ashe, who currently looked a tad bit nervous. "Umm, about my payment to you..."
She raised an eyebrow, instantly knowing what Ashe is describing.
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After much thinking while she was doing Katarina's laundry, Ashe finally came to the decision in repaying Katarina for everything that she had done for her.
'It's probably the least I could do.' She had thought.
"Your payment?" Katarina asked her.
"Yes," She nodded. "My mother had always taught me to be a gentleman, and I guess not repaying you for what you've done for me is counted as an act a gentleman wouldn't do."
"You're a girl." She heard Katarina say in an 'are you stupid' tone.
"I am, but I was raised to be a boy, so..." Ashe let her answer trail off.
"What kind of mother does that?"
"Actually, my real mother's dead. It's my stepmother who raised me like this."
Ashe took a peek to see Katarina, since the redhead didn't utter a word, or at least a syllable, at all. She found Katarina with an apathetic expression. Seeing that the Du Couteau doesn't give a damn about what she said, she decided to return to the original topic.
"You said you just need me to pretend as your boyfriend, right?"
"I told you, forget about it. It's a stupid...-!"
"I accept."
Katarina stopped talking and gave her a look.
"I'm not playing games here, Avarosa." Katarina growled. "If this is a joke, I suggest you stop playing with fire."
"As a gentleman, I should fulfill a lady's request." She replied, but she then muttered a little joke. "I'm cold, so I'll survive the flames."
"What?" Katarina questioned, not really catching her muttered words.
Ashe blushed and waved her hands in front of. "It's nothing. Nothing at all."
'I guess she's not the joking type of girl.' She thought, feeling a bit embarrassed.
Katarina crossed her arms in front of her. "This deal will only end after three months. After that, we go our separate ways and never see each other again. Understood?"
She nodded, agreeing with Katarina's terms.
"Alright then,"
Ashe's face became almost as red as Katarina's hair as said girl suddenly leaned towards her and hovered her face just a few inches from her own.
She opened her mouth to speak, but she suddenly lost her words when Katarina abruptly gave her cheek a quick kiss. After doing so, Katarina pulled away and sat back down to her place, smirking when she saw her blushing madly.
"You better get used to that, Ashe." Her blush became more pronounced when Katarina put so much emphasis in pronouncing her name.
"What...-! What do you mean by that?" She asked, now feeling fully embarrassed.
"We're going to do more than just a that little innocent act."
For the first time in her life, she feels like her poor circulation was regulated in that moment, due to the fact that her face felt so warm.
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She finally calmed down from her blushing frenzy and is now discussing the 'rules' of their 'relationship' and the 'mechanics' of how it will go.
"Rule number one," Katarina raised one finger. "You can't touch me sexually."
"I never planned to." She automatically replied.
"What, am I too ugly for you?" Katarina narrowed her eyes at her, suddenly trailing off topic.
"What? No! It's just that, I was raised to be a gentleman, and a true gentleman does not do such a thing to a lady, especially when the lady didn't give him permission to do so."
Katarina rolled her eyes at her. "You're more of a gentleman than my brother."
Ashe opened her mouth to ask about the mentioned sibling, but Katarina started speaking again, giving her no chance to ask and sate her small curiosity.
"Rule number two," The middle finger joined the index finger. "When you greet or say goodbye to me, a kiss on the cheek or forehead will suffice. This rule's a must, since some people might get suspicious if you were to just wave at me or something like that."
She nodded again, understanding Katarina's point.
"Rule number three," Another finger was raised. "Under no circumstances, flirt with another girl, or man. I don't want to hear my 'boyfriend' being a playboy, or being referred to as a gay guy."
"I'll do no such thing, I assure you." She replied, sounding very confident... before she added in a quiet murmur. "I don't even know my preference yet."
"Well, you can explore that part of your life after the deal's done." Katarina stated, obviously hearing what she had murmured.
"Are those all the rules?"
Katarina nodded, looking sure. "For now, it is."
She nodded as well before standing up. "I'm sure the dryer has already dried your clothes. I'll go get it."
"Hmm."
Ashe excused herself before leaving the living room, the rules given to her still being processed in her brain.
"Hey! Wait! I thought of another rule!"
Ashe turned around and headed back to the living room. She stood at the doorway and looked at Katarina expectantly, patiently waiting for her to say the fourth and new rule she had recently thought of.
"Rule number four, this relationship will never have any feelings involved."
"Understood."
"Oh, and I expect a gift from you every monthsary of ours."
Ashe's eyebrows furrowed. "Monthsary?"
"Yes, it's a small occasion where you and I 'celebrate' our relationship every month."
"But we're not even in an official relationship."
"Do you want people to suspect that you and I aren't in a relationship because you don't give gifts to me? They will start asking questions, investigate and who knows... They might discover you're a girl."
She frowned. "But...!"
"And, a true gentleman respects a lady's wishes." Katarina swiftly cut off.
Her shoulders slackened in defeat. "Fine, I'll get you a gift every month."
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After getting dressed back into her own clothes, Katarina left Ashe's apartment, rudely declining Ashe's offer for a ride, and hailed a cab to get back home, which Ashe had paid in advance before she could stop her.
Katarina crossed her legs and her arms as she leaned back, ignoring the presence of the cab driver as she started thinking about her new 'relationship status' and her new 'boyfriend'.
She really thought Ashe is the perfect 'boyfriend'. Why?
First of all, Ashe is a girl, which suits her taste at least.
Second, she's so naive. Therefore, she is very easy to manipulate.
Third, she has a 'man' that she can just call and do stuff for her without any questions being asked.
'Like a personal slave.' She thought with a smirk she held back earlier.
Lastly, she gets something free out of it.
Yes, she may be rich, but wouldn't it be nice to exploit the things the Avarosa can give her. Katarina's evil and devious, and she knows that very well. She's quite proud of herself, truth be told.
This deal of theirs will benefit her greatly. Not only because of the free gifts, no, that was just a nice added bonus. Her greatest benefit here is that it will finally stop her father's ranting about her not being in a relationship with a boy.
This plan is full-proof.
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Fourth day of school had come. Ashe slid her Porsche to a park before turning off the engine and exiting the car. She's still somewhat absorbed in her thoughts right now, since this is the first day of her being in a 'relationship' with Katarina.
Too absorbed that she didn't notice a girl she bumped into, and said girl ended up dropping her books on the dirt.
"Oh, I'm, I'm sorry," Ashe quickly apologized, swiftly crouching down and picking up the books the girl had dropped.
"No, don't worry, it's alright."
After picking the three books up, she stood back to her full height and faced the girl. She instantly met a pair of steel grey eyes that she did not expect to see.
"Again, I'm sorry." She apologized for the second time, managing to steel herself from blushing as she gave the books to the girl.
The girl in front of her, who possessed grey and silver-like hair waved a hand, a small understanding smile on her face.
"Like I said, it's alright."
"Oh, umm, I'm Ashe," She held out a hand.
The girl shook her hand. "I'm Riven. It's really nice to meet you."
She chuckled. "I could say the same."
"I actually think bumping into you can be considered to be a blessing rather than a nuisance."
"How so?"
Riven's cheeks mildly colored. "You look really handsome."
Now it's Ashe's turn to lightly blush. "Thanks."
She took this brief opportunity to audit Riven, and honestly, she looks quite beautiful.
"You're not so bad yourself."
Riven looked away and tried hiding her blush. She cleared her throat before turning back to her. "You're the transferee, right?"
Ashe nodded. "I am."
"Well, do you need someone to show you around? Help you explore?"
"Actually, yeah, I do."
Riven smiled.
"I volunteer to be your tour guide, then."
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She's been sneezing a lot lately, and Riven had asked her earlier if she's okay. Of course her answer was that she's fine and it must be just the dust again. Riven seemed to have believed her.
Ashe waved goodbye to Riven before walking inside Biology class. She instantly spotted Katarina occupying the stool beside her own, forehead perched on one hand while she tapped her fingers on the table with one hand.
She saw the pair of red and black earphones plugged inside her ears, so she assumed that her 'girlfriend' must be listening to music.
While she made her way to their table, the girls she passed from the other tables waved at her and some murmured their good mornings to her. Being polite and being raised as a gentleman, she greeted them back with a smile the girls found charmingly attractive.
As she walked past them, she heard a few bits of their murmurs.
"Do you think it's true?"
"Are they really together?"
"Impossible! She's not his type, right?"
"What if it's true? Oh no!"
Ashe felt a bit confused with the hushed murnurs and chatters fhat originated from the students. 'What are they talking about?'
When she was just one table away from Katarina, she suddenly remembered rule number two.
'She did say a kiss on the cheek or forehead will be enough.'
Finally, she arrived at their table, pulled her stool out of the way and leaned towards Katarina. As soon as her cold but soft lips touched the redhead's cheek...
Katarina, whose eyes were closed, abruptly jumped and fell off her stool.
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Author's Note: I cringe at my short chapters, damn it! 😱