She practically lunged forward at me, a hand grabbing my wrist, and dragging me up the staircase so fast I was tripping left, right, and centre. The aggressively excited pulling ended with me collapsed breathing heavily on top of her bed wondering what was so important that she had to nearly kill me to talk to me about. Of course I was happy to see her so happy, I was happy after spending the day with two wonderful friends, and despite my unrest with mum everything was starting to look up again…I just would have preferred not to have my arm pulled out of my socket is all…
"Jesus, what's bloody gotten into you then?" Rubbing my arm as I sat up on the white covers of her bed. There was a slight ache from where she'd dragged me, but it wasn't that bad. She, however, looked like she was having some sort of fit where she stood shaking with delight. The wide grin upon her face was only slightly obscured by the way she bit into her lip. I could only compare it to a little child who was completely bursting with energy eager to just spew out whatever was on their mind. It was rare that I saw her like this, she was usually well collected and kept any super strong emotions under her belt. Of course Lydia had been regularly breaking this rule and I had an inkling that this was about the redhead…or as Stiles would tell you strawberry blonde.
"You'll never guess what happened!" She bounded forward, jumping next to me on the bed, sitting cross-legged as she peered down at me as if she had the most amazing news I'd ever hear in my entire life. Which was indeed a possibility, but the chance was pretty damn small…
"What? Did you see someone walk on water? Find an Ewok? Eat dinner with an amazingly talented adventurer/archaeology professor?" She rolled her eyes at my remark, but didn't say anything towards it. There wasn't a hint of a witty retort or even a sign of laughter…I must be losing my touch, first Pavlov then this? What's the world coming too…?
She sighed before talking. I'd never seen her have such difficulty getting her words out before. "Lydia had this really big fight with Jackson…and….and I…she almost kissed me…almost…" There was such as desperation focused on that last word. Almost. It was like she could almost feel it. Taste it. The type of desperation that makes your head fill with frustration and your lips purse in anger.
"She n-nearly kissed you? Like an actual snog type thing? Like lips to lips?" I hadn't even thought…I mean I knew Dori liked Lydia. I knew Dori wanted Lydia something fierce, but I never thought that might be reciprocated. At least not yet. It was a big jump for someone like Lydia…Dori was well aware that she liked both Ladies and Gents, but Lydia? I mean she was still practically in love with Jackass. It just seemed so peculiar. I was dumbstruck. I probably looked pretty dumb as well staring at her like that with my mouth practically on the floor.
"Yeah, that's kind of what I mean by kiss, Char" She rolled her eyes at me, she looked unsure underneath it all…about something. Like she doubted what it all meant. To me a near kiss or any sort of kiss was a pretty bloody good sign that someone liked you or was at least attracted to you right? I mean I didn't have much…well any experience in the area, but it was common sense, right?
"Well…get in there, son!" I cheered in a faux deep voice, which made me cough. I really needed to stop doing silly voices that hurt. It wasn't fun…except that Gandalf one or Jar Jar Binks…they're both fun to do. But that's beside the point, the point is that I hurt my throat and Dori looked slightly disillusioned staring at her hands that rested in her lap. Wasn't she supposed to be excited like she was before? Why did she seem so sullen all of a sudden?
"My dreams nearly came true…"
"I really didn't need to know that much about your dreams…" She sounded so sad, I figured a joke might help. It didn't…I was truly losing my touch with these jokes. I seemed to be making completely duff ones. I just wanted to make people laugh was it really that hard? Was this Karma? I hope this isn't Karma…bad things happen because of Karma…
"But…" She hesitated, stopping mid-sentence as if thinking better than to say what she was going to. She usually wasn't so careful with her words…it was like she was calculating my response. I knew she liked maths, but this was just ridiculous.
"But what?" I leant forward from my space atop the bed, elbows resting on my knees, peering at her curiously from over my glasses. It probably made me look judgmental…ah, the curse of glasses, along with being practically blind and heavily reliant on pieces of glass…you don't know blindness until a clock disappears because it's blurred into the wall.
"What if I'm like…the side hoe?" I had to stop myself from laughing, hiding my giggle with a hefty cough. That was a rather ridiculous thing not just on her part, but on anyone's part. Firstly whoever made up the term 'side hoe' needed to be shot and secondly Lydia was many things, but a cheater? A full blown cheater? I wasn't too sure about that. That seemed more like Jackass' area of expertise.
"You'd never be side hoe. You're main hoe material. If you get side hoed i'll beat someone up." I was somewhat serious. I wasn't really much of a fighter…in fact I was more of a run-hide-don't-die type of girl, but Dori meant a great deal to me and I wasn't going to see her treated badly or anything of the sort if I could help it. I was going to see her with Lydia, I was going to draw fanart and write fanfiction about them and make them their own personal blog. Dydia the blog. I was going to get this relationship to work even if it killed me…or Lydia did.
"Charlotte…you're about as violent as a bunny rabbit. You wouldn't, scratch that, couldn't beat someone up!" Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper, her delicate hands twisting into the mass of blonde waves atop her head in a frustrated fashion and I was worried she might even pull her hair out if she tugged any harder.
"I find your lack of faith disturbing..." I watched her scowl at me for the reference before continuing safer in the knowledge that I wasn't dealing with someone completely different. This was still Dori…just a tad more emotive than I was used to. "But, be that as it may…I would for you…Dori, you're my sister." I sighed heavily, scooting backwards further on top of the bed leaning against the headboard. I calmly stared at her for a few moments deciding upon my next words…I wasn't the most talented in this area and really I wasn't the best at comforting people either. But I had to try. And try I did.
"Look, just because Lydia had a big fight with Jackass before your 'thing' doesn't mean that you're not important to her….Dori, Lydia sees you as her best friend; she's never not around you…I don't know how two people can get along so well…it amazes me…" My voice was perhaps the softest it had been around her in a while. I usually didn't need to speak to Dori like she was some fragile child. But Lydia meant a lot to her. I wasn't sure what it exactly was in terms of feelings, but whatever it was meant a great deal to her and I'd stand by that and I'd support that. Not out of duty either, this was because Dori deserved to be happy. She's been through as much as me.
She had lost her mum right after she was born. She'd grown up just with her dad and then been forced to accept a new family, all before moving to a different country. It wasn't easy for her, it wasn't easy for me. Perhaps that's why we got along so well at first? Because life wasn't and hadn't ever been kind to the two of us, but we kept on smiling and kept going. Even if there was a tonne of crying on my part and hardly any on hers. We both had to find someone who could relate to us. Each other.
"You don't know how two people get along so well? Have you seen you and the boys?" There was sarcastic lilt to her voice. But that wasn't the same thing. That was the boys, and they didn't need me. They had each other, I was an addition…an admittedly hilarious add-on, but an add-on nonetheless.
"That's different…" I protested weakly, shaking my head and thinking back to the two of them. How much fun I had with them that evening, the way we had tickle fights and made stupid comments during the movie. The way they laughed at my screaming as I got scared, the way they let me use them as a shield to hide my face from the screen. They were too good to me. But it wasn't the same as Dori with Lydia of that I was certain.
"No it's not. You get along with them so well…" I glanced away from Dori's earnest face and looked around her room once more. There was a wall off to the side that was being painted a dark array of colours…why? She intended to paint a galaxy on it with white and glow-in-the-dark paint. It was currently a mess with pots everywhere and a sheet of white fabric laid on top of her carpet, but she would get there. Photos littered her walls, there were ones of us, mum, dad…and even a few of Lydia and Allison. It made me yearn for photos of the boys to put in my own room. But I still felt too awkward to ask about that just yet.
"But I'm not in love with them…" My eyes returned to her, she was staring at me with an odd look that I couldn't quite place. It was all sorts of serious.
"…yet" (wasn't sure how to foreshadow future stiles stuffs…) I could barely hear her make the comment under her breath, I chose to quietly ignore it and anything she was implying. The main issue right now was that Dori was literally wearing herself ragged with the thought that Lydia would never like her and she was trying to divert the attention away from her in whatever way she could.
It was something she did often. Sometimes, most of the time, she didn't like people knowing what was going on in her head and in her heart…maybe she felt vulnerable…or maybe that was just the way she was, but either way to have her allow the focus being on her feelings wasn't common and I felt the need to help her. She needed to have these moments that were purely about her issues sometimes because otherwise everything just keep building and building doesn't it?
"Look Dori…you aren't Lydia's bit on the side…she was happy to spend time with you….she was happy with your bouquet, she was happy with the fudge you left in her locker, even the really geeky letters…it's just a matter of getting past Jackson and with the way things are going to be honest I think you have a pretty decent chance….he seems like an asshole, in fact he is an asshole, he's the biggest Jackass I've ever met, and normally Lydia can deal with that..." I shuffled against the covers and popped my back uncomfortably. My night's sleep hadn't been the best and I'd apparently slept funny or maybe I did something round Scott's.
"But?"
"But she's drifting…I don't need to spend time with you lot to see that…so maybe you and Stiles can finally start up your point counting" It seemed forever ago when we ended up in that conversation with him at the start of the year. Had I known everything that was going to happen…well I'd probably have gone through with it anyway. It was certainly true, however, that Lydia and Jackson were drifting apart. They weren't constantly attached to the others face anymore for one thing.
"Oh we already have, your little boyfriend's got zero and I've got ten?…no twenty points!" She was apparently doing rather well on that front, I had no idea what their scoring system was, was it one point per action or…?
"Do you rub it in his face every time?" I asked, pushing my glasses further up my face once again. I'm telling you I need better fitting glasses, if I got into a fight or had to run for my like It'd probably be like Velma from Scooby Doo 'Jinkies, I lost my glasses!' and then I'd get nobbled by a monster or cannibal…
"Of course I do!" She grew a cheeky little smirk on her pale features and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She was trying to hide her previous worry and letting me be led down a different subject other than her. Well I'll go along with it, but it won't bloody last forever.
"Dori…that's mean…you know how much he loves her…"I sighed, he did really care about Lydia a great deal. The number of texts I'd gotten about her was a fair few although they were decreasing in number lately…probably because of the whole 'incident' we had. But I knew he was practically in love with Lydia and I could 100% see why, she was attractive, smart, confident, and had an amazing arse. She was what you'd probably consider a Goddess playing a Mortal.
She was the Queen Bee, the ever lovely Lydia Martin and he'd been smitten with her for years. There was no denying that. And now? He was just competing with one more person, I think he revelled in the challenge. Stiles was a problem solver and despite appearances kind of competitive. I'd learnt that when he nearly killed me getting to the last cookie earlier in the evening...my neck still hurt from that…
"See I don't think he does…" She stretched out along the bed, lying on her side to watch me. She looked so tired and melancholic again. I was worried for her, but it was nice to just get to sit down and talk with her. We rarely got to do this anymore and I'd take what I could get even if it was a kind of serious and sad topic.
"I think he's obsessed with the idea of her, I mean he understands her…and he knows Lydia Martin isn't perfect, but…I mean from what he's said to me…" Her voice drifted off, a rising intonation in her voice as if she were confused…or not quite sure. She picking at the covers beneath her, and I pulled my knees up to my chest hugging them closer to me narrowing my eyes slightly at her.
"You've talked to Stiles about this?" I was concerned by a heavy feeling that welled up inside me at the idea of Dori talking to Stiles about this…about anything really. I wasn't sure why I felt like that. It wasn't exactly a crime for her to talk to him or for him to talk to anyone really…Sometimes I confused myself and I really didn't like it at all.
"Yeah…someone had to talk to him when you weren't." I felt that like a physical blow to the face, turning my head to look at the white duvet underneath me. I took a deep breath to keep myself calm, I was still so guilty about that…so sorry…so, so sad. I felt like I'd never be over it or be able to forget about it and maybe I shouldn't forget it. But I wanted to. I wanted the pain to go away, so I could just walk away and frolic through fields with my boys. Not sit there mopping in a darkened room at the idea that I'd treated them so badly, that I'd treated Stiles so badly.
"…look he knows her in a sense…and…but I think he's been 'in love' with her so long that he's in love with the idea of what she is…and to be honest I don't think he'd be too heartbroken if I got there first.." She stumbled over her words and her eyes were large, probably after realising how harsh she had sounded before. Or maybe she was just worried about raising my hackles if I disliked something she was saying.
We'd been at odds so often lately that Dori seemed extra concerned with just making sure we didn't fight. I wasn't even sure why we had been at each other's throats lately, other than the whole 'Incident'. And that wasn't Dori's fault. That was mine. I was the one who'd been an idiot…Half the things that went wrong lately seemed to be my fault. But maybe Dori was right on this. Or maybe she wasn't…Stiles' love-life was none of my business, if he loved Lydia…well great…and if he didn't? Great as well I guess…
"You know what? I don't think he would either…because it's Stiles and he's used to being trampled over…he shouldn't be...God it makes me so angry thinking about it….but he is…" I had pushed myself from the bed and begun pacing back and forth like a caged tiger or a machine on a set looping task. All I knew was that Stiles was that person. The person who let people he cared for walk over him again and again and he rarely complained about it. He'd not complained when I'd done exactly that…he'd let it happen…he'd worried it was his fault and he'd let me take my time with coming forward about it. "Dori, I want you to go for whatever you're after with Lydia…but please try not to hurt my friends in the process…not that I think you wou-"
She cut me off and stopped my pacing as I looked over at her where she rested, now leaning back on her elbows, a small smile reassuring me. "I know what you mean; you're trying to be some sort of saint…a good sister and a good friend and I know it's not easy…we've had issues lately and I know you're just trying to be supportive…" I found myself falling beside her and leaning a head against her shoulder. She smelt like perfume and home, literal home. She smelt how our house had always smelt no matter if we were in England or America. It was so familiar and so comforting, but I wasn't the one who needed comforting…or at least I wasn't supposed to be.
"Especially with mum…I…I know it's going to be hard for you" I let out a deep breath thinking about that. She didn't know about Dori's interest in Lydia…she didn't know anything really. Neither did Norman come to think of it, but there was absolutely no way that he'd have any issues with any of it, at all. He was just too harmless for that.
"God…I haven't even told mum I'm interested in a girl…"I drew closer to her, as she got more and more anxious again. I could practically feel it radiating off of her and into me. When she was nervous so was I, when she was scared I guess I was too…although usually I was the one in her shoes right now and she was her usual confident, happy self. She was the unproblematic one, if you don't count the constant inability to talk about her problems that is. Which I guess was kind of a big thing actually…damn…I needed to start thinking before I ramble to myself.
"You didn't the last few times either…look you don't have to rush this, Dori…and if you did tell her? I don't think she'd be angry at you. I think she'd be fine with it…and if she is? I've got your back…" She pulled back to look at me, a softer look on her face than normal. Not that she was all serious and hard…but tender usual made way to teasing and little smirks the Dori way. But she was genuinely worried about all this and if I could help I'd do it in any way I possibly could. After all I was her sister in everything, but blood and even if we weren't biologically related that didn't matter because I felt more for her than I did most of my real family.
"You promise, Char?"
"I'll be your Chewbacca, Han…now about this whole Lydia thing…how did it go down exactly?" All I had really gotten was that Lydia had argued with Jackson and then bing-ba-da-boom Dori nearly kissed her…or maybe it was the other way around. Like how I wasn't quite sure if Allison's dad had hit Scott or Scott had hit Allison's Dad's car.
She pulled away from me and sat herself up, rubbing her hands down her arms as if attempting to warm herself and I nearly reached for her jacket until I realised she wasn't actual cold. She was just uncomfortable and trying to find her words.
"I don't know. I mean she dragged me out shopping, retail therapy or something, because Jackson had yelled at her about pressuring him in Lacrosse or something…" I found myself nodding along to her retelling like some sort of bobble-head in the back of a car. It seemed like a pretty normal situation, retail therapy definitely seemed like something Lydia would do. I can't imagine her going to a gym or shooting range to get out all her frustration.
"Shopping? For herself?" It seemed obvious, but maybe she was trying to give Dori a whole new make-over…which would be amazing if I'm being honest with you. Could you make Dori anymore fashionable? She was literally Lydia's soulmate in that respect, one of the many things they had in common, a good taste in clothes.
"Uh, no."
"No?" I was confused, was she shopping for Dori then? Obviously she wouldn't be shopping for Jackson…Allison maybe? One of the typical shallow blonde girls I saw her talking to in the hallways…I think one of them is called Sophia, but I can't be sure?
"Apparently she'd talked to you about 'Nerd Chic' or something and I had no idea until that moment that I knew your size in like everything…I'm not even joking. Everything." I had completely forgotten that Lydia and I had talked about her buying me new clothes…I'd made that compromise for literally no-reason, she was very good at manipulating you and I had to admire her for it. I wasn't really surprised Dori knew my size in 'everything' we'd lived together for 8 years, I could probably tell you anything from her favourite cereal to her bra size. So the fact she could do the same was really no new news.
"Oh no…" I shut my eyes tightly just imagining my new wardrobe…she'd probably thrown out all my raggedy jeans and things…what if I only had heels and skirts left?! What if I was forced to walk around in a towel forever?! I had really stumpy legs okay? I was also never able to keep towels from falling down! I'd 100% flash Stiles or Scott…I did not need that…or I'd accidentally flash creepy Matt or Greenberg…or Mr. Harris…ugh…
"Yeah, and then she wanted to come back here to put all this shit in your wardrobe so we did…and I don't know, one minute I'm telling her Jackson is an idiot and she deserves better, the next? We're really close and I…we nearly kiss and then she practically legs it out the house and…I'm stuck in one spot staring at your wardrobe wondering why there were so many onesies in it." Thank God, she hadn't gotten rid of my onesies…I loved those things. But seriously, she just left? Jesus. No wonder, Dori was in such a state. She didn't know whether to be happy, concerned, worried, or angry and most likely she wasn't sure if everything with Lydia had fucked up. But I guarantee come school Lydia will be pretending it never happened and treating Dori like normal. She wasn't just going to blank her. That was my job when stuff went wrong. Because I was a natural idiot…and exceedingly skittish and easily startled…like a deer…or a bunny…or bloggers.
"Hey! Onesies are cool and comfortable….you wanna have a look at my Lydia approved Wardrobe with me and laugh about how unlucky I am to take your mind off of all of this?" I gestured my hand in the air as if 'all of this' was a physical object that the both of us could see. I wonder what it would materialise as if it was an object…some sort of artist piece with hearts and raccoons on it most likely.
"Yeah…why not?" She shrugged and pushed herself off the bed slumping past me, her mood still not the best, but it was something and I wasn't going to let her wallow and brood over it. It was one of many things that were going to happen in life and if Lydia and Dori's relationship was rocky for a while I was pretty sure it'd work itself out eventually. They were just that good for each other.
"We can eat ice-cream and watch what you want afterwards" I followed after her leaving her blue and calming room behind and beginning the walk down the hallway to my own which resided at the very furthest end. Far from the other rooms…I kind of liked the privacy not that I had much real need of it. But it was nice when I wanted to wallow or draw alone. Even if I wanted to phone up one of the boys because I knew nobody would be listening in to our conversation.
"Harry Potter?" Dori was one of those secret nerds. The ones who act cool in public and then have their own dirty little secrets whether its fanfiction or comic-books. Dori had a multitude of dirty secrets including and not limited to geeky things. But the other stuff is a bit too R-rated for us to mention at this time of day…
"Harry Potter it is!" We made it to my room at the halls end and I opened the dark wood door to reveal a…well a clean room? Why was I so surprised I hear you ask? Well, when I left it that morning clothes were strewn about the place, my desk was covered in pens and paper and my covers were ruffled. It was like a hurricane had come through my room and tidied everything up. The posters and pictures on my wall were all lined perfectly, the desk was neat and arranged precisely, my bed sat beneath my window was nicely made and looked better than whenever I had made it myself. The only thing out of place in that seemingly perfect room was the small feminine looking bag that was sat neatly atop the red of my bed covers.
It was bright pink, looked rather innocent and sat delicately above my bed as if it could do no harm. It had peaked my curiosity rather sharply, but my focus was diverted to my wardrobe and what might possibly lay behind it by Dori who gave a sharp nudge and cough. Surely what was behind those doors couldn't be that bad. After all it was only Lydia and Dori. It wasn't as if I was going to open up my wardrobe to find a rabid grizzly bear or even another world inside of it, although it did feel like those were valid possibilities at that moment in time. There was a distinct bout of nerves in my stomach wrestling back and forth like they were in a cage fight. I wonder who was winning. I just truly hoped that my wardrobe wasn't filled with articles of clothing that I would find too uncomfortable or awkward to wear. I doubt I'd be the only shocked one if I turned up to school in a dress or skirt…it wasn't really my thing. Not that I wouldn't. I mean, I had before, I just was so used to wearing trousers exposing my legs felt weird and vulnerable.
But despite the worry and dread I had as I walked towards said closet, I was grateful that Lydia had cleaned up my room like she had…even if it was inadvertently because of Jackass. The mess in my room was starting to get a right pain and I was constantly tripping over things in the middle of the night or getting annoyed with how it was…but I really didn't like cleaning. At all. I liked cleaning about as much as I liked the idea of having an hour of detention with Mr. Harris after school. Which is to say not very much…or alternatively I'd rather gouge my eyes out with a wooden spoon.
Opening the closet I breathed a complete sigh of relief at its contents. It looked for the most part relatively normal. Yes, there were obviously pieces of clothing that better suited my sister and her future wife; skirts and dresses mostly, but she had kept my t-shirts and my onesies and there was certainly a multitude of jeans and trousers inside that wardrobe. I was certain that half the items in that wardrobe, however, now cost more than my whole bank account and that Lydia hadn't given it a second thought. Despite finding the majority of the wardrobe to be rather decent and not at all life and friendship threatening there was one thing that I did blanched rather badly at. That being the state of my pajamas as I realised half my pajamas had been replaced with what appeared to be rather expensive and rather short night dresses that I was sure I'd never wear which lead to the question…what exactly was in that small pink and shiny back sat rather innocently atop my bed covers. Nothing good I was pretty damn sure, if the giggles from behind me were anything to go by.
I could hear Dori behind me, and I wasn't sure whether it was at the prospect of what was hidden in that bag or it was the fact that my clothes had all been changed about, but either way I was undeniably worried at the sound of her somewhat maniacal giggling. I took small, shuffling steps closer to my bed-thankfully after begging I had been given a double bed…I pulled the 'I need my space' card-and that daunting little bag. There was that feeling in the pit of my stomach the one that said this was the object that would cause my ultimate and complete downfall like Superman's Kryptonite or the straw that broke Alphonse the camel's back.
There was a clear definite tension in the room-or maybe I was imagining it-as I inched my fingers towards the opening of that bag. I'm pretty sure I heard Dori take a deep intake of breath as if she was watching some sort of horror movie or the impending kiss in a romantic-comedy…which she denies she watches to this very day. (I, however, know the truth!)
"Oh my God..." I stared blankly for a moment into the small bag before lifting out the thin lacy material that I was sure I was imagining. "Dori!? Why is your future wife buying me underwear!?" The garment was the sort of thing you saw in catalogues and lingerie shops…lacy, rather transparent looking, and blood red. While I admired the fact it was rather nice looking I was equally concerned as to why I'd need it. It wasn't as if I had anyone to wear it for and I wasn't going to wear it to school…we all know that teenagers have like a sixth sense for these things.
I suppose I should be flattered that Lydia Martin felt I'd had some form of success in my love life that would dictate my need for sexy underwear…however, it was equally awkward and uncomfortable. Where was I going to put it? If mum found it I'd be both dead and buried. If the boys somehow decided to scour my room and found it I'm sure they'd melt into dust and I'm pretty sure I didn't even want to know I had it. It was both daunting and tempting….and severely confusing.
"Dori, stop laughing…this isn't funny…" She was practically cackling, a godawful sound that both irritated me in that moment and made me want to smile because she was cheering up. But did she really have to keep laughing while I was holding lacy undergarments in my hands. Lacy undergarments her future lover had bought of all the things in the world…Dori wasn't kidding when she said she knew my size in everything…Jesus Christ, I was slightly impressed and I horrified.
"Oh god, what if your little nerds find out that innocent Lottie has lingerie!" I refused to believe that my face was getting warmer and that the idea of them finding out was about as bad as them walking in on me naked. Especially Scott…he'd get this really sad puppy dog look of horror that would make you feel like you'd just kicked him. Anyway they weren't my nerds. They were their own nerds. They had total freedom and I didn't own them in the slightest…I don't agree with slavery; there's a reason the slave trade was abolished in the 1800s.
"Shut up! Scott and Stiles are never going to know about this, okay?! They have no need!" I still had the lacy fabric in my hands for whatever reason as I gestured widely around the room, probably looking utterly terrified at the prospect of the boys finding out about this. It wasn't that it was an entirely embarrassing subject…I mean I was a teenage girl right? But they were my friends and did I really want them knowing about the contents of my underwear drawer? No. No I didn't. That was something reserved for me, my mother, and anyone I intend to marry, not my two best and male friends.
"Yet…"
"Dori!" I don't think my voice could possibly reach a higher octave than the one it had found at that moment. While on one hand Dori's laughter was a blessing, on the other I was 100% embarrassed and completely ready to curl up into a corner and die. I'm not even kidding I was fully prepared to do that at that very moment as my Step-sister laughed in my face and I held skimpy underwear…why is it always me?
"Alright, fine I'll shut up now…but please put it away before I can't stop laughing!" I practically shoved the garments away and under my bed where I hoped nobody would ever find them before shoving her playfully towards my bed and setting up the TV.
"So how was your day with the wonder twins anyway?" She had settled herself under my covers, the duvet pulled up to her chin as one of her arms rooted around in my bedside table which held my secret (or not so) stash of sugary confections which I really shouldn't eat in as large quantities as I do…but…what you gonna do?
"It was fun…I told them about Ben…" I set the Philosopher's Stone up and began walking back to her, she'd managed to grab all my sweets and lay them out across my bed like some sort of buffet.
"And?" I crawled my way under the covers, situating myself in a way that I would be comfortable for the next God knows how many hours of Harry Potter I had to watch…but at least we finally got some bonding time in. I had kind of missed Dori even despite living with her.
"They want to play a prank on him…" I fiddled about with the bed covers beneath me, they wanted to get their own back. They wanted to punish him…I still didn't know how they planned to do that when he was all the way over in England…but I was kind of fond of the idea of Ben finally getting a little harmless comeuppance.
"Count me in. When they decide to do it, you get me right away I want to be involved…" There was this mischievous little smirk on Dori's face, the one that said she was imagining all the fun she could have with this prank.
"Is this because he was a bitch or because you two have history?" I've mentioned before how the two of them had a love/hate friendship…well mostly that was because at one point they did in fact date. They dated and it ended rather…poorly. So now they were stuck in some sort of loop, with them not quite deciding if they like each other or want to kill each other.
"Bit of both…" I could deal with that. I could deal with her wanting a little bit of karma for the both of us. Now don't get me wrong…Ben was still my friend, or at least I wanted him to be. But he had done something completely shitty and for that he needed some form of punishment and since I couldn't slap him upside the head from halfway across the world I might as well let the boys have their fun and see what happens.
We finally shut up and started Harry Potter, after all if Dori wanted Harry Potter then Harry Potter would be what she got…a whole marathon…all night and morning long. Despite the fact I very obviously had school the next day. But I didn't complain, I watched the movies and snuggled with Dori hoping it would keep her mind far away from her impending discussion with Lydia because God Knows she couldn't and wouldn't just avoid her. That wasn't Dori's thing…but she'd definitely mope about it if she wasn't kept busy.
I hadn't realised how much I actually missed spending time with Dori, how long it had been since we just sat down and watched a movie. Maybe it wasn't that long, only since the summer really, but it was long enough that I missed it. I missed just being sisters with no outside problems. No girls to impress. No boys to ignore. I missed it and I missed her entirely.
Let me know what you thought of this chapter either here or on my tumblr imaginesofeveryfandom :) Thank you, lovelies!
