Meh. Much thanks to reviewers!! Er... I'm out of babble...
Dinner was a mostly silent affair, with Catty and Korimi 'sneaking' glances between Tala and Liz, and their respective boyfriends exchanging vaguely confused looks.
Well... Mostly silent until Liz got fed up.
"Catty, Korimi... Might I be permitted to ask what you think you're doing?" Liz asked calmly, keeping her eyes trained on her plate. The two exchanged glances before giggling. Liz raised an eyebrow, finally looking up. "No."
"No what?" Catty asked innocently.
"To whatever you're thinking about doing to Tala and me."
At this Tala looked up, and comprehension dawned on Kai and Rei's faces.
"Oooh... Is this about the kinky dream I overheard Catty and Korimi talking about earlier?" Rei asked in a very uncharacteristic lapse of judgment. Liz glared at him.
"It was not a kinky dream." She said, voice low. Rei put his hands up in defense.
"Hey! I was just asking. No need to get all defensive." He returned to eating, although he, too, was now glancing from Tala to Liz and back quite often. Liz stood.
"Compliments to the chef. Unless it was Rei, 'cos I'm mad at him now too." Liz said with a grin, picking up her plate and putting it in the kitchen. She the proceeded to go to her room, and shut and lock the door. Tala stood abruptly after her departure and followed suit.
"And now they're going off to enact the dream for real!" Rei stage-whispered. Catty looked at her brother.
"You're acting awfully... strange this evening. Any reason?"
"Nope!" Rei said, sitting back in his chair. Catty and Korimi rolled their eyes.
Meanwhile, Liz was pacing her room. A steady one, two, three, four, spin on the balls of her feet, one two three four repeat. She was still pacing when a knock sounded at her door. Without breaking the steady rhythm, she marched over, unlocked the door, and then resumed her pacing route.
The doorknob turned and the door opened slightly. Liz didn't look at the person as they came in, closed the door, and crossed her room to sit on the bed. She sighed as she glanced at the rooms new occupant.
"No to whatever it is." She told the red-head on her bed.
"You have no idea what I was going to say." Tala retorted. Liz sighed and dropped to a sitting position, cross-legged, facing him.
"Shoot." She said dully, leaning back, propped up on her arms, looking anywhere but Tala's face.
"I have an idea."
"No."
"Will you hear me out?"
"... fine."
"Look, My sister and Catty are probably going to be attempting to set us up now, right?"
"Yeah..." Liz said, hoping that this wasn't going where she thought it was.
"If we prete—"
"NO." Liz interrupted him. "No way. I've read the stories! Every time a girl and a guy try to pretend to go out to get their friends off their backs they wind up in love. I REFUSE to do that!" Liz said, sitting up straight and crossing her arms.
"...Refuse the plan, or refuse to fall in love?"
Liz fell silent for a moment. Then: "Give me one good reason. And it had BETTER be good."
Tala looked her up and down for a moment before sliding off the bed to kneel in front of her. Liz leaned back slightly as Tala moved closer. He was staring intensely into her eyes, and she couldn't look away. Eventually she fell backwards trying to back away.
"T-Tala... May I ask what you think you're doing?" Liz asked shakily. Tala smirked, hovering over her, propped up on his hands and knees. Their position to any outsider would seem incredibly compromising. But the two didn't notice, they just stayed there, unmoving.
"What kind of reason?" Tala asked, ignoring Liz's question. Liz's jaw dropped. Tala closed her mouth with one hand. "Gaping is unattractive..." He said, then appeared to think it over. "Then again..."
"Don't even." Liz muttered. She finally managed to avert her eyes. A quick glance at the door confirmed that there would be no savior, Tala had locked it as he shut it. She took a deep breath and moved her arms up to try and push him off. Tala caught her wrists both with his free hand and pinned them above her head.
"You realize the reaction our housemates would have should they find us like this." Tala said, smirking. Liz took a moment to observe. Tala's knees on either side of her hips, his right hand supporting his weight, left hand pinning her own hands above her, their faces less than a foot apart.
"They'd either cheer us on, or be freaked out?" Liz offered, hoping to distract him.
"It won't work."
"What?"
"Trying to distract me." Tala replied playfully. "Now that I have you where I want you..." Tala leaned closer, and Liz shivered at the feeling of his warm breath on her face.
"This has something to do with that kiss the other day, when I locked you out, doesn't it?" Liz demanded.
"As long as you don't hang yourself on me, it has nothing to do with it." Tala replied, half playful, half serious. Liz recalled his words.
"You dreamed I committed suicide?" She asked incredulously. Tala nodded solemnly. Liz's jaw dropped again. Tala sat upright, using his other hand to close her mouth.
Liz's radio suddenly turned on, startling them both. In unison they turned to the clock/radio.
"Stupid alarm..." Liz muttered, moving to get up and turn it off. Tala, however kept her pinned.
The daylight's fading slowlyThe time with you is standing still
Liz suddenly seemed acutely aware of the lyrics of one of her favorite songs. For a few long moments the song washed over them, almost to the point where Liz forgot where she was. She hummed the chorus lines, half singing.
Go on, go on, come on, leave me breathless Tempt me, tease me, make me long for your kiss!"That's practically an invitation, you're aware?" Tala teased, whispering in her ear. Liz was dragged back to reality with a start. Her dusty blue eyes snapped back to meet his ice blue ones, lit with mischief.
"I... well... er..."
"It's not like you'd deny me anyway." Tala murmured, lips brushing against her ear. Liz shivered again, closing her eyes.
"I could..."
"I notice you said nothing about your willingness. I don't doubt your ability." Liz suppressed the chills that ran down her spine as his lips trailed softly over her temple, then her cheekbones. He drew back slightly, his lips hovering a bare inch from hers.
"Tala..."
"Shut up, alright?" Tala said, closing the already minute gap. Liz's eyes shot wide open in shock, before they drifted closed in the sensations of the kiss. Sensing her willingness, Tala deepened the kiss, releasing her hands to run his fingers through her hair.
For nearly a full minute they were lost in their own world. Then a knock at the door brought them sharply back to Earth. They looked at each other for a split second, vaguely confused, before Liz broke eye contact to look at the door.
"Liz? Is Tala in there?" It was Korimi. Liz exchanged a glance with Tala, who made no move to get off her. She settled for silence. There was a sudden giggle, obviously from Catty. "Alright, we'll leave you two to your... activities." Two sets of laughter were heard, along with two sets of footsteps as they left. Liz let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"What was that?" She finally asked.
"That was our housemates being nosy."
"No, I mean before that."
"It's commonly called a kiss. Two people who like each other engage in such activities."
"Stop being a smart ass."
"And if I don't want to?"
Liz fell silent, and Tala took it as an opportunity to capture her lips with his again. This time Liz didn't hesitate in returning it. Eventually, though, she pushed him off, sitting in herself as Tala regained his balance rather quickly. They looked at each other for a moment before Tala stood up, offering Liz a hand up as well. Once they were both on their feet, Tala bent down, kissed her once more briefly, and then left the room, leaving a very dazed and confused Liz staring blankly out the door, fingers on her lips.
She seemed in a fog as she quickly changed into a knew-length silver nightgown and slipped between her black sheets. She stared at the glow in the dark star-dotted ceiling as she drifted to sleep, replaying the last few minutes in her head as if on a loop.