A/N: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy and as always thx for reviews =)
-13-
Neither showed for math class the day following the interaction, too embarrassed and self-conscious, but finally at lunch they crossed paths again, in the line
up. They avoided each others' gaze. After being served, Laura, hefting her tray, headed for Sofia's table.
"…dance?" She focused on Laurie's voice, about ten feet away. A shy, mousy sound.
"Really?" Sofia asked, looking excited.
"It sounds stupid," Josh said.
"Do you want to go with me, Kevin?" Laurie asked.
Silence at the table. "…yes," Kevin said, as if in disbelief that she'd asked.
Laura set down her tray at the end.
"Laura, did you hear? There is going to be a dance, for the end-of-term," Sofia said. "We get to dress up and have fun!"
She said nothing as she sat down, but smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. Even though she didn't know what a dance was, at least in that context. Why would people dress up to dance?
"Dress up as what?" she asked, after a moment.
"HAH!" Josh said, amused. "That's hilarious."
Laura smiled reluctantly, not understanding the joke.
"In nice clothes," Sofia said. "I'll help you pick yours out, Laura."
"I hate finding dates," Josh grumbled.
"Ask Ms. Sinclaire," Laurie shot. "Oh, sorry, should I be saying Rahne? Or are you calling her something totally different now?"
"Laurie…" David grimaced.
"Please, let us stay positive," Sofia said.
"Whatever." Laurie rolled her eyes and tossed her hair to the side.
…
'The dance' was all Laura heard, from that point on. She consistently walked in on people asking each other out; after complaining, once, quietly to Sofia, she suddenly became
the 'hub'. Everyone came to her to ask—in tentative voices—if she knew whether their intended had been 'asked' or not.
Laura kept track of the names, reluctantly, believing it to now be her responsibility (although she didn't even know what the dance was about); she knew that the confirmed
couples were Laurie and Kevin, Santo and Andrea, Cessily and Mark. Several people were 'going' alone. Josh approached her, when she was alone in the hallway, and asked
who she was 'going' with.
"No one," Laura said, understanding he meant the 'dance'.
"Oh—want to go with me, then?" he asked.
"Thank you, no," Laura said, the response she'd heard given. Josh hadn't looked disappointed; he'd made a joke that Laura didn't understand (waiting for the jerk, huh?) and left. David
had tried next, even though he favored Nori. Laura had declined this, too, not understanding why everyone wanted a 'partner'.
And, if so, why they were asking the wrong people. Laura knew, by chemical scent response, whom desired whom in the school. Half the 'matches' for this 'dance' were not correct.
Sofia insisted on taking her shopping (she'd been horrified when, in response to 'what are you wearing for the dance', Laura had described her jeans and tank top), to a fancy store with
stiff silk dresses full of dangerous ruffles. Laura shuddered, imagining being caught in a combat situation while wearing one.
"Do you like this one?" Sofia asked, coming out of a changing room in a revealing black dress.
Laura tilted her head. "Yes," she said simply.
"So do I." Sofia smoothed her dress down in the mirror, examining her figure. "Have you seen anything that you like yet, Laura? I will purchase it for you."
"No." Laura did not desire one of these death-traps, but Sofia insisted; after changing back into her normal clothes, she took her friend through the store, heaping dress after dress on her
arms and forcing her to try them on. Laura struggled with the zippers and pushed her breasts in place, finding it hard to breathe in the tight confines of the outfits.
Sofia handed a dark green one to her, with black edges. Laura felt more comfortable in this outfit; the fabric was stretchy, allowing her to breathe, and the length of the skirt was short,
allowing her leg mobility. Sofia told her it looked 'stunning' on her and 'showed off her figure'; Laura had no idea what she meant; she only smiled in response and made note of how much Sofia paid.
She did not wish to be a 'charity case'.
…
"Laura—wait up!" the boy called, chasing her down the hall, into the girls' dorms.
She wondered what he could want; they hadn't spoken since that night, two weeks ago, in the garden. Now, suddenly, he had something to say, very urgently, or so it appeared.
"Did somebody ask you?" he panted, after reaching her. He'd chased her for a very long time.
"Ask me what?" Laura responded.
"To the dance."
"Yes."
"Oh." Julian looked disappointed. "Who asked you?"
"Joshua Foley, David Alleyne, Dallas Gibson, and Max Jordon," Laura said. "Mark Sheppard as well. He is now 'going' with Cessily. Is there anyone else you would like to know the status of?"
Julian seemed amused. "So I take it you didn't say yes to any of them?"
"No," Laura said.
"Were you waiting for me?" he asked, somewhat shyly.
"No," Laura said again, honestly.
"Oh." He seemed disappointed. "Well…do you want to go? With me?"
Laura paused, unsure. She had been about to say no.
"What is this?" she asked. "What is a 'dance'?"
"It's just a bunch of people, dressing up and hanging out. There'll be music…and usually like food and drinks and stuff." He grinned at her. "It also means you'll be seen with whoever you go
with…if you get someone really popular, it makes you popular, too. Kinda." He paused, feeling lame.
Laura felt he was trying to sell her something, and wrinkled her nose slightly.
They watched each other for a moment.
"So…." he folded his arms. "Yes or no, Kinney? I haven't got all day."
"All right," Laura said, surprising both of them. He hesitated, then reached for her and kissed her again, this time placing his hands on her hips (albeit rather awkwardly). Laura found it different
to be the one involved in the kissing, rather than the fly on the wall. She let him take his time, having thought about such interactions for a while, and become more curious, as the school
seemed to hum with such energies at the moment.
She thought back to Logan's comments of earlier—'animals get twitterpainted, and humans are no different.' Was this what he'd been speaking of?
…
"Laura, I have heard that Julian is going with someone else," Sofia said, in a worried voice. "Do you know who?"
At lunch.
"Yes," Laura said. "I am 'going' with him."
Sofia looked taken back. "Oh!" Then relieved; she smiled. "I will not worry then. I am sure you will take good care of him for me, right?"
"Yes," Laura said. She hadn't even considered her friend's attraction to the boy when she'd accepted the request; she hadn't really been thinking beyond the two of them. It was odd, how sealed
off from the world touching him had made her feel.
She paused on her spoonful of cereal, and wondered how this information was connected to Julian and herself. Was something required of her? She felt that there was, but she couldn't quite
put her finger on it.
"Hey! You said you weren't going with anyone!" Josh said, disgruntled.
"She said the same thing to me," David said.
"Boys, do not fight," Sofia said, but she gave Laura a questioning look.
As she had not asked a question out loud, Laura ignored this and continued to eat her salad, deciding it would be best to say nothing, and wondering what this Saturday, the night of the
dance—and the end of the term—would hold.