Author'sNote: So, I just wanted to take a second and thank all of you. Really. I don't think I've had so many reviews on this website, not even on my old account. Also, so many encouraging words and dedicated readers! If any of you are artists, it'd be great to see some fan-art (hehehe totally kidding, unless you actually wanna do that). Oh, and to a guest reviewer who said that they drabbled this story; the link wouldn't work. I'd really love to read it! All in all, this is dedicated to a friend of mine who constantly urges me on this story. Without her, I'm not sure how quickly these updates would come. Now, for chapter four!
Four
The following weekend crept up much faster than Kanaya had anticipated and she was glad for it. Afternoons and evenings spent with her mother and sister had suddenly become as quiet as they had been before she left, but these silences were riddled with unvoiced questions and assumptions. Such as, Kanaya assumed that her mother was happy with her curing. She had to be. And she knew Porrim had many questions about her experience but she withheld in fear of upsetting her mother or sister.
Kanaya was seriously ecstatic when she and Porrim made their way to the Vantas house that Saturday morning. Kanaya had taken some of her savings with her and their mother had given each of the girls a little bit of cash so they could get some more clothes. Karkat and Kankri met the sisters outside the house and they began loading in the minivan right away. Kankri and Porrim sat in the middle section and Karkat and Kanaya took the backseat. Mr. Vantas started the van and they were on their way.
Unfortunately, the car ride was not something that Kanaya enjoyed very much. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy herself, it was more of the fact that she wasn't used to it. The entire ride was filled with chatter, whereas she was accustomed to dead silence most of the time. Mr. Vantas was a politician or something and worked very closely to the mayor of Meteor Falls. He talked the entire time about his job, though Kanaya didn't blame him; everyone loved the mayor. Kankri had lot to contribute to the political topics, as did her sister. Karkat was constantly telling them to shut up. Kanaya just sat quietly and watched out the window.
The reached the nearest big city, Skaia, in about an hour and a half and not long after they pulled into the parking lot of the S.G.R.U.B. Mall. At that point, the family completely split off. Mr. Vantas told them to meet him by the fountain at the middle of the mall at around five o'clock. They agreed and split up. At first Karkat and Kanaya hit the book store. She searched for more trashy vampire novels - as she'd already finished the one she bought at the beginning of the week - while Karkat looked through the graphic novels and comic books. In the end, Kanaya left with the first four books of a shoddy vampire romance series and Karkat bought two or three comic books.
In retrospect she thought about why she'd bought that many at once and could only chalk it up to wanting avoid her hometown bookstore. More so, she wanted to avoid Rose Lalonde and her scrutiny. And her determined eyes and conviction and her excellent vocabulary- Be a good girl, Kanaya. She sighed and continued walking around with her friend. Eventually she came across Porrim and the two sisters left the brothers so that they could go clothes shopping.
After Porrim went to store after store, dragging Kanaya along to each one, she finally let her sister pick out a store. Kanaya eventually found a small boutique that had girly clothes that weren't totally unbearable. It had lots of v-necks and skinny jeans but had rarely any floral or butterfly patterns on the clothing. Plus, the whole store smelled of vanilla. Kanaya liked it.
It didn't take long for Kanaya to find some clothes she liked; a few shirts and jeans. Even two skirts and a pair of flats. Porrim even supported all of her clothing choices, being a fashion snob herself. They were both very dedicated to fashion, but they had very different views and tastes. However, despite their differences in the fashion world, it didn't take long for Porrim to find the dresses, pick out a few, and beg her younger sister to try them on.
Grudgingly, Kanaya took the dresses in her hand and took them to the back of the store and into a hallway with four changing rooms. She tried on three dresses but didn't like any of them. The fourth and last dress, however, struck a cord with her. She looked herself over in the mirror for a long moment. It was a long red dress with a leafed pattern on it and a black belt tightened around her middle. Kanaya couldn't help but imagine long red gloves to go with it. She stepped out of the dressing room to go show her sister who was still browsing in the main part of the store, but a familiar voice stopped her dead in her tracks.
"I like it," said the voice, "Very elegant."
The Maryam girl twirled around and met eyes with Rose Lalonde, who had also been trying on clothes. Kanaya gulped, trying to move past her confusion. Why was Rose here? She then calmed down and realized that most of the kids of Meteor Falls do their shopping in Skaia. It was a coincidence, but still, Kanaya didn't appreciate it. She didn't say anything in return but started to leave.
"Wait! Why are you being so rude?"
Kanaya frowned. "I'm not being rude. I am avoiding a situation that I don't care very much to be in. You're just going to say something crude, so I am avoiding it altogether."
"I just believe that you've convinced yourself that you're cured just to make everyone else happy. I think it's bullshit."
"And I think you should respect other people's choices," Kanaya said promptly. "Now, goodbye."
Kanaya started to leave and she could tell that Lalonde was searching for something to say. And then it happened. "The dress makes you look like a dyke."
Kanaya turned around and tried her best not to cry. Rose didn't look very pleased with herself but she'd gauged a reaction, which is what she'd wanted. Kanaya glared. "What the hell do you want from me?"
"I want you to admit it's not real. That you're just forcing yourself."
"I won't admit that because it's a lie. I was cured. Maybe you should seek some treatment yourself," Kanaya mumbled bitterly. Rose's mouth fell open and Kanaya mentally scolded herself. This wasn't her. She wasn't like this. She wasn't mean to others and she definitely never got into arguments such as this one.
"I don't know why you deny yourself. Being gay isn't some terrible disease. It's honestly natural and it's okay," Rose tried to argue but Kanaya wouldn't have it. Who was she to tell Kanaya what was wrong and right? She had no right to say such a thing. Kanaya had her own opinions and they shouldn't matter to the blond at all.
"To you, perhaps. It's not okay to me. I didn't want to be that, so I fixed it. And that's okay. It's okay if you're a lesbian, Rose. But I'm not. So, if you would be so kind, please drop it," Kanaya had summoned all of her strength just to say that. She was trembling the entire time. She wanted to break down but she wouldn't let her classmate see that. Why was she so determined to get this out of Kanaya? Why should it even matter?
"No. I told you; I'll get the truth no matter what."
Be a good girl, Kanaya, she told herself and tried not to say anything in return. Kanaya stayed silent and turned back around and locked the dressing room door behind her. She soon heard Rose do the same. She changed as quickly as she could and folded the dresses over her arms. She then stormed out and frantically went through the store and put the dresses back. She decided to keep the red one though, on a whim. She quickly found her sister, tears streaming down her face.
"Kan! What's wrong? What's going on?" Porrim grabbed her shoulders and tried to hug her sister. Kanaya only pulled away.
"Nothing, let's just pay and go." Kanaya wiped her eyes. "I just want to go home."
Porrim eventually was able to hug her and conformed to Kanaya's demand. The sister's payed for her new clothes and left the boutique. They didn't leave right away of course, because Kanaya knew how rude that would be to the Vantas's. She and Porrim bought themselves smoothies and sat at a table while Kanaya calmed down. They resumed shopping eventually but only one thing was going through Kanaya's mind; she didn't want school to start. She hated Rose Lalonde.