"Ray… ray? Are you in there? Wake up, Ray…"
Muffled voiced surrounded her, fading in and out with darkness, as if someone were clapping their hands over her ears and then simultaneously releasing them to hear bits and pieces of their words. If she could only see what was happening, maybe then she'd… why did her head hurt?
"Look, she's waking up! Ray? Ray, say something!"
Was someone talking to her? She struggled to understand, but when she tried to think about it a piercing pain lanced through her head and down her spine. She moaned her agony, unaware of who was by her side.
"Ray! Ray, open your eyes and say something for god's sake!"
Ray was able to hear quite clearly now and understood that someone was talking to her, though she wasn't quite clear yet on who it was exactly, or where she was for that matter and how she had gotten there. She figured she might want to know. Finding the strength, she gently fluttered her eyelashes and, with grave uncertainty, opened her eyes the slightest bit.
"RAY! Oh thank God you're okay, we were all so worried." Ray struggled to locate the voice and, fully opening her eyes, saw that at least a dozen faces surrounded her, all their interests piqued at the drama. Her vision was still fuzzy but as she gently lifted her head she found that one face, at least, was distinguishable.
"Rose! What…where am I? How'd I get here? Why does my head hurt?"
Rose took a shaky breath and took Ray's hand. Delicate, lightly tanned fingers laced with Ray's long ones, and held on tightly. "You're in your and Spell's apartment sweety. You had a bit of a fall. We put you in Spell's bed, because it was the closest. Is that okay, because if it isn't I'm sure that-"
"No, no, its fine." She gave her friend a tremulous smile and withdrew her hand from the death grip she had on it. "Really." Ray wasn't sure exactly how fine it really was, considering Spell had talked at length about all the thing's she'd done in this bed, and whom she'd done them with, in great detail. Ray could only hope that perhaps they had changed the sheets before lying her in it… "Um…" she looked around at the other faces in bewilderment, some perfect strangers daring to stare quite pointedly right back at her.
Luckily, her friend seemed to understand. "Out, out! This girl has just had a concussion. Now go! Shoo!" As the last of the spectators left, grumbling on his way, Dusty turned back to her in anticipation of her needs. "Do you want anything? Some water? A book? Anything?"
Ray looked up and, her vision now cleared, she noticed Race on the other side of her friend, looking down at her with clear concern written all over his handsome face. "Race?" She said the name like a question though she clearly saw that it was him. Why was he here? Surprised and somewhat ashamed, Ray instantly regretted the ungrateful thought when his face flooded with genuine relief.
He ever so gently took her hand in his own, cradling it with care as if it were some delicate porcelain piece, and held it to his lips. His dark, sad eyes filled with warmth. "Yea, it's me."
Ray looked at him, at the sad lines around his eyes, and she watched as Dusty put a hand on his shoulder without thinking, and how he immediately turned to look at her. Ray watched as his sad, deep eyes took on a glow of adoration as he sat there, beaming up at her.
That's when it hit her. It was amazing it had taken a concussion for it to get through to her, but she supposed that that was just the way it had to be. How could she have been so blind?
Race was in love… but not with her, with Dusty! She felt herself go a little weak, and she put her head back against the pillow, mentally kicking herself for not seeing it before.
Oh.
In all honesty, she didn't quite know what to do with this new information, and was surprised that it didn't shock her more, or hurt her a bit more deeply. I mean, why should it shock her? Dusty was quite pretty, her and Race had long ago become the closest of friends, certainly he shared more secrets with Dusty than with Ray. But… still, the fact that she didn't feel any genuine heartbreak was a little surprising. Lord knows if it had been Spot in love with one of her friends… she couldn't even stand to think about it.
Ray took a shaky breath and put two fingers to her throbbing temples. This was all a little too much for someone that had supposedly just suffered from a concussion, not to mention the fact that she still had to deal with the fact that just last night she had slept with the one and only ex-love-of-her-life…3 times! And she was feeling a little- odd about it.
"Dusty?" Ray's voice seemed to echo in the sudden silence, and Rose quickly looked away from Race, a crimson blush of guilt flooding her cheeks. Her hand dropped, but not before both Race and herself registered it. Race's face fell.
"Yea? Did you think of something you want?" Her large brown eyes were hopeful, betraying further her guilt-ridden conscious.
Rachel cleared her throat a little more loudly than she intended to. "Actually, yes. I did. All I need now is an aspirin, and a glass of cold water." She smiled at her lovely friend gratefully, glad that the new discovery didn't change her feelings towards her at all.
"Of course! Of course I can do that. But are you sure that's all you want? No pillows, no blankets? No? Well, okay… I'll be right back." She practically skidded out of the room in her hurry and Ray smiled as she left, closing the door tightly shut behind her. Race gazed at the door long after she had gone, smiling to himself as if he were unaware there was someone else in the room at all.
"Race?" She startled him from his reverie and he too flushed with guilt. Ray felt the slightest pang, and she tightened her hold on his hand. "I think we… We need to talk."
There it was; the 4 most dreaded words in the English Dictionary. It should have been sending warning bells off in Race's head but he seemed unperturbed as he wrapped his hand around hers and held on tightly, kissing the very tips of her fingers. She resisted a sudden urge to pull away, but just barely.
"God Rach, im so sorry, it's all my fault. If only I'd been paying attention instead of…" his voice drifted off sadly, and he stole a glance at the shut door. Ray sighed and patted his hand, smiling tolerantly.
"That's what we need to talk about." Race looked up in surprise. Ray smiled back at patiently at his sudden expression. "I know you're in love with Dusty." His dark eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest but Ray silenced him with a finger to his lips. "Now, don't try and deny it, and don't apologize. The truth is… I'm happy for you." He blinked quickly, as if her thoughts weren't registering quickly enough, and he had to speed up his actions in order to register what it was exactly she was telling him. She didn't blame him. "I just… I don't think me and you are right for each other in that way. In fact, I'm not sure we ever were. Now stop that pitiful expression on your face. I'm honestly not the injured party here, but if you don't hurry up and do something about Dusty, someone will be. Probably you."
"Are we… breaking up?" Race's voice registered pure shock, and she nodded gently. "Ray, I… I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything, especially not to Dusty. Not yet. I need to talk to her first, and while I'm waiting for her to show up you might as well go and fetch me an icepack. I feel a headache coming on." Even as the first throbbing pains came on, Ray felt quite pleased with herself at the way she had handled the sticky situation so efficiently.
"Sure, of course Ray. You know I'd do anything for you. Just wow… this is… wow!" Suddenly his face split into an ear to ear grin. "Thank you, Ray!" He was trying to contain the excitement, trying to keep it from bubbling from his whole being, but he was failing miserably, so she gave him a playful shove.
"Not a problem. Now get outta here and get me that icepack!" Ray felt his excitement spreading to her, and she smiled when he kissed her on both cheeks, practically tipping over with happiness. As he smiled into her eyes, leaped out of bed, and dashed out the door, she wondered if she'd ever seen him so happy.
And a tiny voice far inside her heart wondered if she had ever made anyone as happy as she had just made him.
Lauren, known to her friends as Logic, stood at the kitchen sink, up to her elbows in, as she liked to call them, multicolored rainbows. She blew some soapy bubbles from her gloved hands and laughed as she watched them float around the bright room and pop against the glass pane of the window. The sky was an azure blue, the setting sun was leaking orange and pink water colored like trails to enhance its perfection, and she sighed in contentment when the burst of sunshine warmed her upturned face.
This was how Cherry found her when she walked into the kitchen, a protesting wet cat under one arm and an armload of wash in the other. Despite her recent grumbles of mutiny and the sorry fact that her roommate was a pig, she watched with a light heart as her dear friend did not get the dishes done, staring out the window dreamily with a beatific smile on her lovely face. Cherry sighed, dumping both the mewing cat and the finished wash on the polished oak kitchen table with a loud 'oomph'. Logic turned around, barely repressing a yelp of surprise.
"Jesus Mary, ya scared the daylights out of me." Logic said on a soft laugh, her subtle Irish accent drizzling over Cherry's ears like honey.
Cherry, birth name Mary, leaned against the oak table and crossed her arms over her chest in a pose Logic instantly recognized as foreboding lecture. "I see you haven't gotten the dishes done." Cherry said in a voice that was like the false calm before a storm.
"Well, you know, it was just so lovely outside and all and it's just such a day for dreams…" Noticing her friend's rather frazzled look she inclined her head. "I'm sorry. I know I promised, its just…" She gazed up at her friend helplessly, saying wordlessly that the dreamer in her could not be repressed for a day of cleaning.
Cherry shook her light brown head of hair and laughed. She sat in a chair at the table, pulling one out for her friend. "Come on, sit down." Logic didn't need to be asked twice, instead pulling off her yellow gloves and throwing them on the counter. "I must seem crazy sometimes," Cherry began. Lo cocked her head in curiosity but said nothing, waiting for her friend to continue. "I mean, I'm always cleaning and never dreaming… but I do dream. I suppose," she sighed, tracing the patterns of the table with one finger, her amber eyes soaking up the last bit of sunlight, "I mean I guess that I've just been too busy to sit and dream. I'm working on a new movie, and if that's not hard enough I come home and the house is messy. You know what a neat freak I am."
Cherry searched Logic's unblinking brown eyes and Lo bit down on her lip, nodding guiltily. "I also…" Cherry's voice choked and her hazel eyes shimmered in sadness "I just, I don't know. I don't know if this is what I want to do, or do I want to act, or do I want to direct? And I miss my friends too. I mean, obviously I love you, or I wouldn't be sharing this house with you, I just… they, my best friends, they always knew how to make it better again." She sniffled, brushing away a runaway tear and gazing at Logic again, searching for compassion. Logic was mesmerized by the green and gold flecks, so it was a minute before she said anything.
"I do understand. I'm sorry. But you have your whole life ahead of you to find out what you want to do. Or you don't ever have to choose. You could do all of them, and you're amazing at everything you do. So don't worry, okay? I know it must be hard to be away from all your best friends, but you do have me if that counts. Remember when we met?" Logic asked, distracting her friend from her doubts and fears.
It worked. Cherry laughed, her eyes lighting up in a lovely glow of warmth. Logic felt herself beaming. "We were both meeting for the first time, and your mother and my mother kept pushing for us to get closer… And then you tried to take my Cookie." Cherry's eyes turned to slits at the thought, referring to the small stuffed cat she had had since birth.
Logic laughed, "Yea, well I learned my lesson the first time around. I don't think after the wild war cry or the slap in the face, that I'd ever do it again." Cherry giggled as well, her heart shaped face caught in the last rays of pure sunlight, the green in her eyes swirling like a churning, silent sea. Logic almost caught her breath.
"Now, can I ask you something?" Cherry's voice, a simple comfort, had Logic nodding. She'd do practically anything to help her friend from retreating to sorrow. "Finish the dishes." With that, Cherry kissed her cheek and sauntered out the back kitchen door, leaving Logic alone with a pile of dishes and a growling, wet pussycat.
"Oh dear..." Logic said on a drawn out sigh; back to the many bubbles and window of darkening sky. Grabbing a towel with little sunflowers at the bottom, she did her best to dry off their cat, a stray that had adopted them a few months ago, and smiled when the feisty thing leaped from the towel's embrace. Humming an old lullaby, Logic got to work on the stack of unclean dishes, distracting herself with memories of her childhood as the first stars twinkled in the twilight. First kisses and old crushes, stuffed animals and stuffed bras, dress up and heels, barbies and makeup… my, how the years had flown by.
The dishes done, surprisingly quickly when done with practicality, Logic took off the gloves and wiped her soapy hands on a lovely dress of butter yellow, which enhanced the glow of her light brown eyes. She had only just turned 17 and she was living independently, sharing the inheritance her family had left her with Cherry, who had agreed to move in and, despite Logic's protests, pay her back. They were a few hours away from New York City, in a relatively rural area. Cherry had thought she would lose her mind from lack of civilization within the first few days, but had eventually grown to love the little cottage. Almost as much as Logic had the first time her eyes had set on it.
Logic wandered around the house, ending up in the front room, tracing the window frames, marveling that this was their house. Now, here they were, two old friends who'd never lost touch, sharing in this dream, each trying to live out their own. She'd never thought she would do it, and now that she had, her life seemed far more structured than most of the girls her age. House, job that she loved so far and would work into her career, pet, food in the kitchen… what more could a young, independent woman ask for? And yet…
And yet, still something was missing. It was a hollow ache in the deepest part of her heart. Sometimes, in the deep quiet night, she'd clutch her chest as if she could tear the throbbing out with her bare hands, and let the tears silently slip down her cheeks, like living stars. Why then, she wondered, did she feel so empty?
Realizing that a tear was tracing her cheekbone she angrily jerked her hand across her face and stormed into the entryway that led to the front door, hoping to find some inner peace in the comforting night that had emerged from the shadows.
She leaned against the railing, sucking in the clean air. It strained and stung her lungs with its purity, making her want to savor it as if it were something rather delicious. The hint of an apple pie in the oven tickled her senses, the crisp scent of autumn almost making her dizzy, being so accustomed to smoggy air and cloudy skies. Now, as she looked out at that stretch of sky, she sighed with a bit of wonder, a bit of sadness.
"Lord… we haven't talked in a while. I'm sorry. I won't waste time asking for blessings. I appreciate everything I have, thank you very much… its just…" realizing she was talking to air she blushed, and glanced around. No one seemed to be around, so she continued on. "I want… the emptiness. I want it to go away. I don't see…" she blinked back the tears quickly forming like misty cobwebs in her eyes, "I just want to understand it, then I can make it stop on my own. So, um…thank you." Now that her praying, or rather her conversation, with God was over, she felt like running and jumping into the pile of leaves Mary had raked that day. Giddily, she laughed at the thought. She felt as if she should give in to her fantastic notions, and was about to, when something startled her back to the present.
Out of an old, rumbling pickup truck leaped 3 girls, all with some sort of alcoholic beverage in their hands. Rowdily they clambered through the mowed lawn and avoided the flower beds, each voice running over and into the other voices, like a speedway of some sort. Logic could only gape. Where had they come from and why, of all places, were they here?
The three girls, finally having taken notice of her, walked towards her, their faces shining from the inside out. "Hello," the first one called to her, still a few feet away "You must be Lauren. We've all heard so much about you." When Logic still said nothing, she added in explanation "We're friends of Cherry." Now, only a few inches away, the three girls smiled at her becomingly, awaiting a response. The darkness stretched out beyond them in a dejected rejection.
"Oh. Yes. Umm... I suppose, come in, and make your selves at home. Cherry will be home shortly." She prayed that the last was true, because she had no idea where her friend had gone, and she could be back in anywhere from 3 minutes to 3 hours. Logic shook her head, as if to repel the nervous energy, and opened the door, ushering the three mostly faceless girls in from the darkness. Logic still didn't turn to look at them, instead patting her hair, fretting about her makeup. The moment of her abandon was now forgotten. "Please, find a seat. I'll be back in just a second."
The three didn't say a word, merely shrugged and went about looking for some place comfortable, fully intending to take for granted Logic's breezy statement of making themselves at home.
A very few minutes later Logic emerged, her hair tamed into a braid at her back and her eyes brushed with mascara, just because she didn't want to look like a heap of death when meeting three new strangers. As she reassured herself that touching up was absolutely fine, practically a necessity to any hostess, she looked around the front room. Not surprisingly, the girls were not there. Logic puckered her lips thoughtfully. Of course, now she had the perfect opportunity to escape. She could just leave the girls to their own devices until Cherry came home, and they could all be properly introduced, without all the pre-awkwardness. Her eyes strayed to the front door, which was just beyond her reach… it would only take a few steps and the rev of an engine to get out of here and perhaps go into town, see a movie, until she was sure Cherry had returned.
With her body poised, she turned back and sighed, biting back a curse. Damn it all, she wanted a better look at them. Under the dim light they had all seemed lovely, but didn't everyone look just so under a large harvest moon? No, she had to see for herself. Logic took a deep breath and headed towards the living room, her curiosity peeked.
Despite its label as a cottage, the house was actually quite large. They had three bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, two of which were upstairs, a font room, a kitchen, and a living room. The living room was Cherry and Logic's favorite retreat. Done in a deep shade of cranberry red, with a fire on the far side of the room, it seemed to reach out and hug you in its warmth the instant you set foot in it. The west wall was entirely windows, with curtain shades of transparent cream, so that the sunlight would always shine through. Next to the fireplace was a door that led to the dining room, which they rarely used, instead taking their meals in here or the kitchen.
The front wall of the living room had two bookshelves, one on either side of the door, which the girls had cluttered with meaningless knickknacks and a splendid amount of candles, candles they lit when they needed the semblance of peace. Near the fireplace were two very large couches, in clashing shades of purple and bright red, facing sideways from the fireplace and towards each other, with a glass coffee table in between, where you could set your books or your wine glass if they became burdensome.
Here is where she found the three girls, all huddled on the purple couch, wineglasses in hand and smiles on their faces. For a moment, Logic just looked at them all, mentally sketching the picture in her head, her fingers itching for some charcoal and drawing paper. Never before had she seen such a moment of perfection; three beautiful girls, the way the firelight caught the red and white liquid in their glasses, the sheen of happiness in their large eyes, one girl's head tossed back and one's hand on her mouth to catch a shout of laughter. She hated to ruin it.
Turning to go, to leave the three friends be, she put her hand on the brass doorknob that led to the front room.
"Oh, there you are. Please don't go because of us. We'd all love to sit and chat with you, if that's alright?" Logic's hand paused, and she took a deep breath, scolding herself for being nervous of such a friendly voice. Instead of escaping, Lo turned around, pasting a smile on her pretty face, clasping her hands in front of her.
"Hello." A voice from the couch said, as an invitation to their private party of three. Logic couldn't say who had invited her but she stayed, somewhat frozen, in her stance at the door. "Won't you sit down?" The girls all looked at her. Logic looked at them. Clearing her throat in another attempt to get rid of the ball of fear in the back of her throat, she walked down the few steps that led into the quiet room and walked to the couch, settling on the one opposite them.
Before she had said anything, before she had indeed thought of anything to say, one of the girls handed her a wineglass. "Red wine, or champagne?" The girl giggled, her blue eyes dancing in leaping efforts of tipsiness. Logic smiled, rather shakily the girls noticed, and nodded at the champagne.
"Thank you," she said once her glass had been topped off. Now what? She wondered as she took a tentative sip of the bubbling concoction. "Mmmm," she murmured, recognizing the champagne as an expensive and tasty sort.
"Good? I'm Lucks. I've heard a lot about you." She lifted her glass in a mock toast and threw back her head, catching a mouthful of wine and ignoring the other two girl's laughter. When she had finished she licked her lips and looked straight at Lauren, put her glass on the table, and held out an elegant hand. For a second Lauren had been caught up, Lucks reminding her of a brazen lady in years long gone, who the stoic woman might have envied and the dignified men would have sneaked peaks at, so that when she surfaced from her daydream didn't know quite what to do with the gesture. Fortunately she came to her senses in time and took the hand, shaking it firmly. The other girl cocked her head and smiled broadly. Lauren sipped some more champagne and smiled back, observing as she was wont to do. Lucks, the one with the dancing blue eyes, sat on the far left. There was a glass of red wine in her clever hands and her small, stained red mouth was puckered into a smile of curiosity that was absolutely lovely to look at. Her hair was like the honey that Cherry loved to spread thick on her toast, pure and golden, cropped short to a face that was admittedly easy to envy. Logic wondered just how many girls did envy her, and just how many men's stares caused that envy. Unaware of Lucks' usual unique style, Logic skimmed the length of her clingy light blue silk camisole, trimmed with a fine white lace, and a tight denim white skirt. Golden legs, toned and tucked beneath her, were partially concealed by the white knee high socks with bows on them. Lucks was both cute and sexy, a compelling mixture as well as one that Logic had always envied. In Lucks' bright eyes, flushed cheeks, and her open smile, Logic found a zest for life that was startling and admirable. When she laughed, the ring in it went on until you heard it again, craving ever more, like a rich, dark chocolate.
Feeling a need to say something, Logic cleared her throat once again. "I'm Lauren. I guess you knew that. Everyone calls me Logic, though. You must be the friends Cherry's always talking about." Logic felt herself smiling at the trio and receiving answering smiles, as if they were genuinely happy that they should all finally meet.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the one Cherry's been writing me about. Cherry told me your house was beautiful… she told me you were, too. She was right on both counts, if you were wondering." This the second one purred from the right end of the couch, her large green eyes taking in Logic's curves and her flaming hair. Logic felt her cheeks heat up, knowing they were probably now a ridiculous shade of pink, and she took another, less tentative sip of her champagne. Somehow, she thought she just might need it tonight. The enchantress, as Logic had named her, felt compelled to continue. "I'm sorry. I just noticed how lovely you were. I'm Laura, but please, call me Sketchy." Sketchy extended her hand to Lo, her rich, upward tilted green eyes sparkling with mischief, the shadows in them a mystery Lo was sure many men felt driven to solve. Her hair was a dark pixie cut, bangs sweeping down just enough to barely conceal the sparkle of her eyes, lashes lowered in a way that suggested the wine was quite intoxicating indeed. Cheekbones jutted out in triumph, and her pink lips were wet with the taste of wine and a brazen sweep of her tongue. Due to a trip to the mall on their way, all three girls had changed for their visit. Sketchy's décolletage was just enough to spark interest but subtle enough to keep her from being labeled as something crude. A green dress that matched her eyes hugged her very voluptuous figure, and Logic shut her mouth to keep from gaping. It was like a movie star had walked into her house and called her gorgeous. What girl wouldn't gape?
"Th-thank you." Lo stammered, unsure of how to respond to the compliments from a girl that seemed to scream mystery and sex appeal. She tugged at the hem of her simple dress, wishing she had worn something different, perhaps something prettier, or…
"Sketchy, you're gonna scare the girl to death and we've barely introduced ourselves!"
"Well then why don't you introduce yourself, my lady?" Sketchy snapped with no real venom, before she humph-ed and flopped back against the couch, sulkily taking a sip of her red wine for show.
This little tsk-tsk was from the middle one, the third one, who emerged from the shadows of her two friends and reached for Logic's near empty glass. "I'm sorry if Sketchy unnerved you, she's a bit… friendly sometimes. By the way, I'm Elisabeth, but everyone calls me Spell." Elisabeth, or Spell she supposed, handed Lo her glass back and refilled her own, looking up to smile at Logic as if they were old friends sharing in some secret. Logic smiled back. Spell was drinking the champagne as well. This made Lauren unaccountably giddy for some reason. Pursing her lips and nodding her head she imagined a few pastels and began mentally sketching, once again, what she saw. Spell, unlike the stunning pixie and the shadowed seductress, looked as if she had just stepped off a runway, or some fashion magazine cover, like Vogue. Champagne blonde hair, with platinum highlights and honey waves, curled softly around a flawless face, pointed ever so delicately at the chin. Her eyes were indistinguishable from green or blue, but Logic finally settled on turquoise as Spell raised her dark lashes once again. Blush stained her dramatic cheekbones and her full mouth was in a pout of concentration. Swoop bangs almost covered her left eye, and the total effect was one of some exotic super model. She wore a particularly skin tight white dress, and Logic noticed she had curves but no body fat to speak of. There was a sunflower tucked behind her ear.
Logic leaned back, taking in the image of the three gorgeous girls, different in their own marvelous ways but still equally beautiful, all sitting on her couch. As she did, she felt her resolve beginning to crumble around her. "My god, you three are stunning." She heard herself let out on a breath, her words tumbling before she could contemplate if it sounded too stupid, too anything. Instantly all three eyes were on her; green, blue, and a mixture of the two. They each spoke, in silence, separate emotions.But the one all held true was an unfeigned disbelief.
"I think" Lucks said with a cock of her perfectly plucked eyebrow, "someone's had too much champagne."
Sketchy snorted, though her eyes contradicted it with merriment. "Speak for yourself Lady Lucks." She stuck an expertly curled tongue out at her friend. Before the argument could continue, it was completely halted by a bubbling of laughter from the other side of the couch. The two looked, stunned, to see Logic hastily covering her mouth with her hand.
"I'm sorry, its just, you looked so funny with your tongue sticking out and your eyes crossed…" Logic felt another burst of laughter emerge through the cracks in her fingertips, a bright bubble of champagne induced giggles. Sketchy and Lucks opened their mouths to defend themselves when Spell began to chuckle as well.
"Spell!" They said at once.
"I'm sorry, it's just" she hiccupped "I don't know!" she hiccupped again and fell into a fit of giggles. Logic thought that Spell's simultaneous hiccupping and giggling was so funny that she started laughing again, clutching her stomach as if to stop it. Soon, Lucks began to laugh, and finally she, too, was collapsing with the hilarity that only someone extremely tipsy or awesomely exhilarated may understand. Sketchy pouted for an instant before Spell and Lucks fell on her, tickling her with abandon, until she was shrieking with laughter and begging for surrender. The laughter went on for what seemed like hours, champagne sloshed in glasses, wine was drank, and the girls clutched their bellies when it became too much to go on.
An hour or so later, the girl's sat companionably, enjoying each other's company, rejoicing for the fact of a new friend; or 3, in Logic's case. The firelight suggested a sophistication that the girls had done away with themselves, the stars outside dimming in comparison to the twinkles in all four's eyes. The seating had changed, leaving Spell sitting with Sketchy on the purple couch, who was taking up half of it in mid-slumber. Her ivy colored bedroom eyes seemed heavy with enlightening dreams, her voice husky with exhaustion. Logic and Lucks sat opposite the two of them, chatting animatedly about a wide range of topics, from men to politics to that fabulous new Ben and Jerry's ice-cream flavor. Spell, being an observer herself, leaned back against the plush material and watched Logic's face, capturing her range of emotions in a still memory.
How, Spell wondered to herself in the seclusion, did this beautiful girl not know how intensely captivating she was? At first Spell had wondered if Logic had been pulling their leg about the ignorance of her beauty, and then she thought modesty might have been the cause, seeing that the girl's manners were quite eloquent. But, on further discussion, she soon came to realize that Logic was truly extremely unaware of her own fairness. Now, as she was talking to Lucks, her face caught in the epitome of charm, the moment imprinted itself on Spell's mind. Logic's hair had become unbound in the fit of giggles and resulting pillow fight, and now her splendid crown of riotous curls framed her face in an enchanting red and golden haze. Her face was made up of alabaster angles, sharp and jutting and beautiful in their recklessness. Sketchy had complimented Logic's gorgeous eyes and had received a dumbfounded expression, with the retort that her eyes were a muddy, vacuous brown color, not at all to be envied, as were their three pairs of eyes. Did she not see the way the firelight caught her shining eyes and turned their mahogany depths into a likeness of the fairest auburn, framed by her curling, midnight black lashes? Her wide eyed gaze must set many hearts to beating, thought Spell. She reminded Spell of a pixie one might come across in a garden, if one happened to be lucky to see something so intensely beautiful. Unlike their own clingy, attention appetizing outfits, Logic's outfit set off her frame and curled like a contented kitten to her figure. Its simple frame kept teasing the eye when with a swift motion, her dress would cling like Velcro to a hidden dip or curve. Then the fabric would settle, almost at once, making one wonder what might lie beneath. It was as if she had meticulously chosen it, to be mysterious and overwhelming to the senses. Spell took another sip of the amber fluid and made a mental note to try that technique herself.
The fluid conversation and the healing laughter ceased when a window creaked open in the next room. Logic stood upright at once, and the others followed, somewhat unsteadily behind her. "What is it?" Asked Sketchy, awoken suddenly by the movements around her, whose voice had gone quite small though her eyes had become quite large; Spell felt her nerves jangling and reached for Sketchy's hand to smooth away her fears, as twins or sisters often do.
Logic and Lucks, Spell and Sketch, clasped hands.
"Do you have a weapon?" Spell asked, her voice a cutthroat semblance of calm.
"I…" Logic licked lips that had gone dry in true fear.
"HERE!" Lucks thrust a candlestick into Spell's hands, and at Spell's disbelieving look shrugged with a jerk of humble shoulders. "It's the best thing around…"
Spell sighed, shaking her head as though realizing she was now the most sober person here. A crash came from the next room, along with a little curse.
On her other side, Logic gripped Spell's arms in white knuckled fright. "Oh my god… I'm being robbed!"
Spell patted her hand and gently extricated herself from the rather fearsome grip.
"Wait here." She demanded, her eyes taking on a hint of steel that if the criminal had seen beforehand, might have caused him to rethink the house he was robbing. With only a candlestick to arm her, she crept stealthily to the dining room, thankful for all the practice she'd had at being silent back stage. Gulping, she put her hand on the doorknob, the brass shaking ever so slightly beneath her trembling fingertips.
"On 3. 1, 2…3!"
Spell lurched open the door and with a warrior like cry burst into the room, where even as she swung with the candle stick wildly, almost stopped by the shrill and familiar shrieking. Then, as something collided with her head, and the stars burst into her eyes, three familiar shapes came into view.
"HOLY SHIT!"
"OH MY GOD!"
Before Spell went under, she wondered if she was hallucinating the three unexpected guests in front of her…
And then two visions went black.