Alright, here we are, jumping back to standard length, though I seriously doubt we're going to stay that way. Consistency is not a talent of mine. Either way, I hope you enjoy reading, and I will see you at the end -J


Chapter 12: Holidays

The war was over, and apparently the whole school had heard tell of, or witnessed their little skirmish; one of the Emos was already making a web comic depicting the tale. It was safe to say, no-one would be messing with the Head Girl and her girlfriend.

Soph wasn't sure how she felt about the term, but once she moved her stuff into the other girl's room, she supposed she couldn't run from it much more. She only threatened death upon the first three people to say it… And those were weak threats.

The next month or so passed with ease; Halloween came and went and the party that was thrown took a week to clean up. Soph and Kelly had attended as vampires and quite honestly Soph would not forget that night in a hurry. However, as the Christmas holidays loomed in the not-so-distant future, a sense of unease settled over her. It only got worse as the weeks passed, eventually bringing them to the final few days before everyone would take off and go home for Christmas, leaving just a small selection of students, plus Camilla, who would still be around for the holiday itself.

It wasn't that Sophie hated Christmas. She didn't mind it, but she'd never really had to put much thought into it before. Typically, it was a time for her where she got some peace and quiet, maybe read a bit, set up a few tricks and traps without the other students getting in her way. Now, however... What was a St. Trinian's Christmas like? She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she got a strong impression she'd find out; Jones was staying at the school for the duration, which she apparently did most years.

All of this dragged forward the dangerous question of: What the hell do you get Kelly Jones for Christmas?

Worse yet, what do you get her for her birthday? She'd never bought presents for people before... It seemed likely she'd need to get one for her aunt, and probably Annabelle too... Fucking hell.

Her own stress wasn't the only problem on her list, with the term break running head-first at them, the school was hectic, piling work onto Kelly's, already-full, plate. The Head Girl was in a foul mood and students had begun ducking into classrooms when they heard heels striking the floor, whether it was her or not, simply to make sure they weren't caught in the rampage. Soph, for her part, was doing everything she could to help, threatening chavs and emo's alike into a cease-fire until after Christmas, tracking down errant first and second years who were trying to hide and stay at the school over the break and just generally running around like a headless chicken at the other woman's beck and call.

It was appreciated, she knew; she saw it in the softer edge to the woman's sharp gaze when she was giving her a new task, the way she curled into her chest when they finally slumped into bed at night. So, she bore the strain without a word, counting down the days until it would be over and they could go back to existing in peace. It could not come sooner; her patience was questionable at the best of times and her temper even worse. Every free moment she had was spent walking far out into the grounds or down in the gym beating the hell out of the bags, a measured attempt to curb the strong temptation to punch someone. She couldn't imagine herself ever hurting Kelly, but she didn't like the idea that she might lose her temper and say something she'd regret.

"Soph! You got the list of parents from Camilla yet?" Jones barked at her over her shoulder and Soph grit her teeth, refusing to look up from her laptop.
"No, I'm still on the student list someone decided to write by hand." She ground back, typing furiously as she manually inputted name after name into the file. It was a good system, indicating which students went with which car and parent, helping to prevent any lost kids or potential kidnappings. In the case of this school, it seemed a little unnecessary; any idiot fool enough to kidnap a St. Trinian would almost certainly return them as quickly as possible, but that was neither here nor there. Jones had written the list by hand over lunch and expected Soph to get it all onto the system as fast as if she was simply hitting copy and paste.
"Well hurry it up! I want that list done by dinner." Jones snapped and Soph growled to herself, shoving the laptop away.
"You do it then!" She snarled back and stormed out. She wasn't proud of it, but if she'd have stayed, that laptop was going through a window, potentially followed by a chair. No-one followed her, so she continued to thunder through the school until her anger had ebbed. Everyone was leaving in two days, just two days, then they could stop all this. Of course, after that it was only two days until fucking Christmas, but that was practically irrelevant to her at this point.

She needed a break.

Heading up to the dorms, she found Polly.
"Tag in?" She dropped onto the Geek's bed and the red-head gave her a sympathetic look.
"How bad?" She arched a brow and Soph sighed.
"I shouted back..." She rubbed the back of her neck in slight shame, but the other girl patted her shoulder.
"I'll go." With a reassuring nod, the girl took off to go help their tempestuous head girl and Soph went in search of Tania and Tara.

She found them instructing a pair of fifth years to dangle the Bursar over the stair rail. She opted not to ask.

"Hey girls. Can I borrow your bike?" She tipped her head while they exchanged a look, one of those silent conversations the pair seemed to be able to have in only a few seconds. They'd found an old broken down motorbike out in the fields a few weeks back and wanted to fix it, Soph had aided in the rebuild, having previously stolen and patched up several bikes and quite enjoyed riding them. It was probably this assistance that led to the pair nodding and throwing her the keys. She would have worried about them already having them on their person, but that, much like the current predicament Bursar found himself in, was not her business.

The twin's helmets wouldn't fit her in a million years, but rather fortunately, St. Trinian's had a plethora of stolen objects stored for Flash, among which she managed to find a suitable one that fit. Beyond that, her old leather jacket, jeans and boots would have to do. If she was going to be doing this often, she'd likely invest in, at the very least, a better jacket. Still, she had things to do, and not a lot of time to do it in, so she took off, happy to race down the road out of St. Trinian's for the first time since the heist.

She really needed to get out more, being confined to the grounds probably wasn't helping her stress.

London was pretty busy; it took a while for Soph to even find somewhere to park and was very happy to find a heavy chain and padlock under the seat. What had the twins been doing?

With the bike safely locked up she set about wandering around. She knew London well enough, parts of it anyway. Drop her in Kensington she might get lost, but let her loose in Camden you'd never find her again. Still, as she wandered between the masses of people, scowling at various shop windows as she passed, she thought on her time spent with Kelly. What the girl liked, what she hated, what she might need... Presents were hard.

Hours passed and she managed to find a very good whisky for Camilla and a bracelet that would suit Annabelle, but she was still drawing a blank for her enigmatic girlfriend. Four hours after she left her bike... something caught her eye. A doorway wedged tightly between a charity shop and a bakery, painted black with purple and deep red roses decorating it. The sign above had a woman with day of the dead face paint, more roses, and the shop name, 'Lexi's'. Honestly, it was a bit tacky, and looked like a tattoo studio or a bar, either way, she wanted to have a look. She had her hopes set on bar, after all this shopping she was in great need of a drink.

It was not a bar, or a studio. It was a shop, clothing and accessories mostly, but a few display cases of miscellaneous figures and home decorations sat to one side. The walls were black, decorated with heavy curtains, tapestries, and wall flags of bands Soph had never heard of. The carpet was a deep purple and the lights all red, giving the place a sombre, mysterious vibe. It was a bit much to be fair, but at least there was no incense to irritate her. Quiet music killed the silence in the otherwise empty shop and Soph shrugged to herself as she started to look around. Aside from the dramatic decoration, it appeared to be your typical gothic shop. Black band shirts, ripped jeans, spiked arm bands and... chokers. Hm...

The display took up a full glass case from floor to ceiling; twenty or so different styles and various colours. There were several she recognised as ones Jones already owned, the padlock one and a barbed wire style, in particular, stood out. She would have to choose carefully.

Apparently she was being a little too careful, as she had no idea how long she was staring at the display before a quiet voice came from her left.
"Hoping one will jump out and ask you to buy it?" Soph turned to find a woman stood beside her. She was about the same height as Sophie, and pretty; long black hair shaved down one side and more tattoos than Soph could count, displayed clearly from under a white tank top and peeking out from shredded jeans. Her ear was pierced only once, but a long collection of various trinkets hung from the single stud. Her eyes were dark under sculpted brows as she arched one at Soph, who was dimly aware she'd yet to answer.

"Er, sorry, I'm trying to get one as a gift for someone and I'm having trouble choosing." She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and the woman's expression immediately lightened.
"Special someone?" She smirked, folding her arms, and Soph was glad for the dim lighting as she felt her face warming. Jones would slap her if she ever called her a 'friend'.
"Girlfriend." She muttered and the woman tipped her head.
"That took some effort, new to dating?" She chuckled and didn't wait for an answer as Sophie stared at her, dumbfounded.
"Just find one you can picture her wearing and trust your gut, I'll be by the till." She waved over her shoulder as she stalked off, heavy boots muted on the thick carpet and explaining why Soph hadn't heard her approach.

One she could see Kelly wearing...

She spent another twenty minutes staring at each in turn until she finally settled on one she'd been going back to over and over again. It was a black leather strap, similar to the padlock that appeared to be her favourite, but in place of the heavy lock sat an intricate Celtic knot, attached to the leather itself rather than hanging off of it. It was beautiful... She nodded to herself.

Wandering over to the till, she found the woman again.
"Finally chosen? Man, I had a bet with myself you'd be here 'till closing." She chuckled and Soph gave a sheepish smile, rubbing a hand over the back of her neck self-consciously.
"I'm not great at shopping." She sighed and Lexi hopped over the counter.
"I got that, here, show me which you'd like, we'll stick it in a gift box for you."

The woman was very helpful, and quite frankly, she was a human being who didn't reside at St. Trinian's, so while Soph was waiting for her to box up Kelly's gift, she made a little conversation.
"Is this your place, or?" It seemed a good enough route to go, as the woman glanced up with a smile.
"Yep, the one and only Lexi." She chuckled and Soph tipped her head.
"No offence, but you seem a little young to own a shop." She smirked as Lexi outright laughed.
"Definitely not offended. I'm twenty six, had this place about three years." She shrugged.
"How old are you, like, twelve?" The teasing edge to her voice helped negate the insult but Soph still recoiled dramatically, a hand on her chest as though physically wounded. She held this act until she felt the joke had run its course then immediately snapped back into a casual stance.
"Close, seventeen." She shrugged, pulling yet another laugh from the woman.
"Wow, practically a baby." She smirked as she tied a ribbon around the box.
"Rude." Soph snarked back and Lexi winked.
"You know it. Right, here we go." She dropped the box on the counter and Soph pulled out a lump of cash to pay for it. She tended to avoid using her bank account, as the statements went to her mother's house, so typically she paid for everything with cash.

"We change stock pretty often, so come back some time, yeah?" Lexi smiled as she held out the receipt, Soph finished pocketing the small box and grinned as she took the tiny slip of paper.
"I will, Valentines Day's not far away, and quite frankly I'm shit at shopping." She chuckled as she turned on her heel and aimed for the door.
"See you around, Lexi."

With that done, she started heading for her bike, she'd been gone a long time today and Jones was probably going spare. A glance at her phone revealed nothing, not a single text, so either Kelly was still pissed at her for storming out, or she was giving her some space to fume in private. Either way, there would be a discussion later.

At that moment, something caught her eye in a shop window. She stopped walking and backed up a few steps to stare at it.

"What the hell were you two thinking?!"

Kelly's rage upon discovering her hip flask, now quietly melting its way through a desk in the chemistry classroom, slowly sizzling and collapsing in on itself as the acid inside ate it away, had stayed with her.

Without delay she walked in, enquiring after the hip flask in the window. The man was more than happy to oblige, but as he asked whether she wanted it engraved, Soph paused. Did she? What could she put on it? A thought smacked her in the side of the head and she grinned as she made of note of it for the guy and arranged delivery. It would be sent to Camilla, as anything for any of the students was always thoroughly checked over before being handed out and she couldn't risk Jones laying hands on it.

There was a lot more of a bounce to her step as she left the final shop, making it back to her bike in record time and racing back to the school. She wasn't in any real hurry, but with that weight off of her shoulders, she was quite eager to see Kelly again. She could probably deal with the older girl's terrible mood considerably better now.

A quick stop in their room to pry up a loose floorboard and stash her gifts and she aimed for the roof. It was past dinner already and if Jones was going to be anywhere at this hour, it would be up there.

Sure enough, her hands on the low wall in a very 'stressed-out' position, stood Kelly. She didn't turn around as Soph approached, but as she made it within five feet or so, she spoke.
"Nice ride?" Her tone was tired, Soph felt a pang of guilt as she wrapped her arms around the older girl's waist from behind, pulling her upright against her. Relief swept through her as Kelly relaxed into her arms.
"It was okay, definitely needed." She sighed quietly, pressing her lips to the girl's shoulder.
"It'll all be over in a couple of days." Jones spoke to the sun as it worked its way under the horizon and Soph chuckled.
"I know. It's okay, I just needed a little breathing room." She squeezed the woman's waist gently but had to let go as Kelly turned around.
"Downsides of dating the head girl?" She arched a brow, still clearly a little down. Soph shook her head with a gentle smile.
"No such thing. I like helping, I just have a bad temper." She ducked her head in slight shame but a gentle hand on her face tipped it back up, lips pressing to hers before she could formulate another comment. She smiled to herself and wrapped her arms back around Kelly's waist, keeping her close as she revelled in the moment.
"You're not too bad." The teasing tone to the other woman's voice was something Soph had missed over the last week or so, it was nice to see mischief dancing in dark brown eyes once more.
"Of course."

They remained up there for a short while, enjoying each other's company in peace. Sadly, however, duty called and they had to start downstairs.
"Have you spoken to Annabelle? Do you know if she's going home?" At the bottom of the stairs, Kelly looked to her and Soph frowned to herself as she held the door open for the other woman.
"I haven't. I'll go check with her, meet you after lights check?" She tipped her head and Jones gave a soft smile, catching her hand to pull her in for a brief kiss.
"Thanks." She muttered against her lips before she pulled away turning to walk off and leaving Soph to grin to herself like an idiot as she watched her go. Damn that woman…

She found her cousin in Camilla's office, sharing a drink with their dear aunt. Deciding she had time, she accepted the offer of a drink and dropped onto the sofa beside Annabelle.
"So what brings you here girly?" Camilla's tone was casual as she handed Soph her drink and took up residence in the armchair beside them. Soph took a sip before nodding to the girl beside her.
"I was looking for Annabelle actually; wanted to ask if you were going home tomorrow?" She tipped her head questioningly and the other girl shook hers.
"Daddy wants me to, but I think it would be best if I stayed here. I don't think he'd let me come back." She sounded unsure and Soph nodded, taking another sip of her drink.
"Well, you're not the only one staying. Me and Kelly will be around, and I think we have Polly, Andrea and Taylor as well." She paused as she took a drink.
"And Kelly thinks Chelsea will be back before too long. Apparently she doesn't like to spend the holidays with a particular boy, gives them ideas." She shrugged while the other two chuckled and Camilla piped up.
"I will also be here, oh, and of course, dear Flash usually makes and appearance. Poor bugger." She shook her head and took a hearty swig of her own drink while Soph and Annabelle exchanged confused glances.
"Flash?" Soph frowned and her Aunt shrugged.
"He doesn't have many people to spend the holidays with, so we usually leave a place setting available to him." She sighed sadly and they all took a moment to silently contemplate how sad that actually was. Their spiv spent Christmas with a bunch of school girls for lack of better options… Grim. The silence was broken by Annabelle as she perked up.
"So, got something for Kelly yet?" This question prompted them both to turn to her with great interest. Soph scowled.
"I went shopping today. I got her something for Christmas and something for her birthday... One of them will be delivered to you, actually." She paused to nod to her aunt before sighing.
"Took a lot of bloody effort." She grumbled into her glass, but Camilla giggled.
"Well, that's what you have to do my dear; I'm sure our dear head girl put just as much thought into your gift." She smiled reassuringly and Annabelle nodded in agreement.

Soph drained her glass, not enjoying the direction of the conversation and deciding a hasty retreat was in order.
"Well thanks for the drink, but speaking of Kelly I should probably be getting back to her. She's stressing out enough as it is without me dropping off the radar again." She winked and stood up, aiming for levity but earning deeply amused smirks from her relatives.

Camilla and Annabelle looked at each other for a second before turning back to her in unison and making a whip cracking sound. Soph managed an affronted scowl.
"I am not whipped; she's just stressed at the minute..." She could feel a blush fighting its way up and turned sharply on her heel as they made the sound again.
"See you later you two." She grumbled as she stalked out.

They may or may not have been quite accurate in their assessment, but that was not the point. She continued to sulk until she'd made her rounds of the school, ushering any lingering students up to the dorms for lights out. Only when she trudged back up to the dorms herself and found Jones leaning comfortably against their bedroom door did her mood alleviate, bringing a slow smirk to her lips.
"All clear?" She arched a brow, jerking her head toward the darkened room.
"Yep, best get to bed, lots to do tomorrow." Jones shrugged away from the door and instead turned to walk through it. Soph followed but lingered in the doorway for a moment, just watching the girl as she began to prepare for bed.

She must have been staring for while as Kelly turned to her with a bemused smile.
"What are you doing?" She tipped her head and Soph chuckled, stepping into the room and shutting the door.
"Annabelle and Camilla accused me of being whipped." She spoke to the door as she locked it, Kelly chuckled somewhere behind her. Soph turned to the draws and began hunting for something to wear, forcing back the smile that threatened to pull onto her face. Arms appeared around her waist, pulling her back into a warm embrace.
"Got a problem with that?" Lips brushed her ear and a shiver trailed down her spine. A smirk found her face as she relaxed back.
"Nah."

The next day was full of activity, parents and taxis (for the parents not brave enough to turn up at the school themselves) filled the driveway and students flooded out of the doors to jump on various relatives or scowl at them for making them come home.

Amidst it all, Soph and Kelly moved through the chaos, checking bags and kids were going to the right cars. They divided to conquer, Soph tackling the first through fourth years and Kelly shepherding the girls above the age of fourteen. It was a fair division of labour, Soph could wrangle a child mid-tantrum like she'd been babysitting her whole life (a talent she never knew she had) and Kelly could intimidate the older girls with something to prove without even breaking stride. Together, they kicked ass, and by lunch there were only two cases left.

Tania and Tara.

Kelly remained with their anxious mother while Soph went inside to track them down.

It wasn't hard, they only have three or four haunts they were likely to be in and she found them in the second one she checked. Chemistry. She kept quiet as she slipped into the classroom; they had their backs to the door and were focusing intently on the mixture they were creating. Soph knew better than to startle a first year holding a potentially unstable liquid.

She tipped her head as they seemed to finish up whatever they were making and stopper it, slipping several sealed test tubes into one of their rucksacks.
"Dare I ask?" She folded her arms and leaned back against the desk behind her, arching a brow. The pair gasped as they spun to face her, looking very much like they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
"Just some stuff we wanted to keep working on at home." With a pair of innocent expressions that wouldn't fool a drunk chav, the terrible two turned to face her. Soph arched a brow, and after a long moment of staring, the pair heaved a sigh.
"It's nothing serious." Tania whined and Tara pulled out the puppy dog eyes. Soph narrowed her eyes.
"Will it kill anyone or cause psychological or physical harm to someone who would press charges?" She spoke evenly, pleased as the pair turned to look at each other, clearly thinking through their answer. After several seconds, they shared a nod and turned back to her.
"No." Their confidence was solid and they actually sounded honest as they shook their tiny blonde heads. Soph smirked, shrugging.
"Then I expect to see your notes on the effects, and any adjustments that need to be made, when you get back; call it holiday homework." She winked as she pushed away from the desk and couldn't help but grin at the delighted smile shared by the sisters.
"We're on it." Tara grinned and Tania gave a salute as Soph chuckled, gesturing to the door.
"Come on then, your mum's waiting." She let them walk first, noting the slight drop in their cheery demeanours as they started walking.

They walked in silence for a little while, and Soph wasn't sure why she felt compelled to change that, but… here she was.
"It'll be fine, you'll be back in a couple of weeks." She spoke quietly and honestly surprised herself with the delicate reassurance.
"We know…" Tara sounded more than a little sullen, Soph dropped a hand onto each of their shoulders, pulling them to a stop and sighing.
"Listen." She crouched down to their level, unsure exactly how to say this, but she felt like she needed to give it a shot.
"I don't know what your family's like, but mine suck. They don't like the same things I do, and they're all super boring. I mean, you saw what Annabelle was like." She smirked and the pair giggled.
"Half of them were scared of me and the other half tried to bully me for being different." She scowled and at the look the pair shared, she knew she was right on the money.
"I couldn't talk to anyone, and I hated being there, but…" She squeezed their shoulders gently.
"You guys are lucky. You've got each other." She smiled gently.
"You'll always back each other up, and more than that, if anyone gives you trouble, half the school, Miss Fritton included, will have them begging for mercy in seconds." She grinned.
"That is, of course, assuming, you two don't fix them yourselves." They giggled again and she took this as a good sign.
"Even if you don't call up the army, if Kelly finds out anyone's been bugging you and they'll regret the day they were born… And if I hear about it, no-one will ever find the bodies." She winked and straightened up.
"Your family out there might suck, but they're a necessary evil, they make it so you can keep coming back here… To your real family." She dropped her hands onto her hips as she rounded off her speech with a shrug but practically fell over as, quite suddenly, she was being hugged.

Both twins had launched themselves at her with the force of a rugby tackle and were now securely wrapped around her waist. Awkwardly, Soph rested a hand on each of their heads, trying to ignore the odd bloom of warmth in her chest as the two tiny menaces clung to her. In that moment she realised she probably wasn't just placating them… If anyone hurt her favourite tiny twins, she'd bloody skin them.

Everyone was gone, leaving Soph and Kelly stood in the driveway, watching the twin's car vanish into the woods.

"Two weeks of peace…" She spoke to the quiet air and felt Jones' arm wrap about her waist.
"Not nearly as daunting as it sounds, trust me." Lips pressed to the side of her head and Soph sighed, letting her eyes drop shut. Of course the woman knew she was dreading it. She'd been so busy running around trying to get the storm over and done with, she hadn't taken the time to consider what they'd actually do during their downtime. Two weeks, just them… How in the hell were they supposed to fill the hours? She panicked when they had a few hours to kill before bed, for god's sake. Jones squeezed her waist and Soph turned her head to rest on her shoulder. It'd be okay, they'd made it this far without Jones figuring out who she really was… Maybe they could keep it going.

Back inside there were oddities to be seen; Taylor and Andrea playing pool and chatting like good friends; there was casual name calling, but honestly it seemed like neither of them even noticed they were doing it. They were peaceful.

Kelly caught her dumbstruck expression and laughed.
"No wars when the armies are away." She winked and honestly Soph couldn't help but laugh as they joined the pair at the table, sparking a doubles game that Soph and Kelly owned, three to none.

Following the third match, Camilla and Polly appeared, joining the teams to make it three on three, on the condition that Soph and Kelly be split up. So it came to be that Soph, Camilla and Polly went to war with Kelly, Taylor and Andrea. It was a dirty fight.

Camilla taunted constantly, looming over her students, shooting harsh barbs and commenting on their skill as they struggled to line up shots. Polly didn't cheat, but her aim was sniper accurate, carefully calculated and executed with precision. Finally, Soph and Kelly were straight up obvious, knocking each other's cues, leaning over the pocket that the other was aiming for, and all manner of distractions. By the time Annabelle showed up, Soph was being chased around the room with a cue for tipping the table, having ruined a perfect game for Jones.

It was fun.

However, Christmas break wasn't all fun and games. The school took a beating every year and there was very little time during the term to fix everything. Over the next few days, Soph repaired three walls, replaced the glass in four windows and fixed six beds. It was oddly nice, to contribute to the maintenance of the old place… Go figure…

She was in the art room when Kelly found her. They'd spent the last couple of days attached at the hip, and nothing had gone wrong yet, which was kind of cool. They weren't talking constantly, just existing in the same space, doing their own things, throwing comments each other's way every now and then. It was peaceful.

She'd wandered off today while most of the others were pulling some boxes out of storage, determined to finish painting the art room back wall while she had the time. This particular wall had been one she'd repaired first, it having gained a reasonable sized hole from an experiment in the chemistry lab next door during the heist preparations. Now it was finally back to its original state, she could hang the paintings back up.
"Not bad. There really is nothing worse than a rouge C4..." Kelly's voice came from the doorway and Soph was struck by a sudden flashback as she turned to see the woman's silhouette, the hall window immediately behind her preventing Soph from seeing her properly.

"You'll have to walk up them eventually."

Jones tipped her head and slipped away from the wall, stepping in properly with a bemused expression.
"What're you staring at?" She advanced toward her and Soph held out a hand, which Kelly took, seemingly out of reflex as she pulled her closer.
"You." She smirked leaning up to press a kiss to her lips, just as she'd wanted to do that first time she'd seen her. She grinned in spite of herself as the woman gave a quiet hum of contentment, her hand coming to rest of the back of Soph's neck.

Sadly, eventually they had to breathe, and they parted only slightly.
"Miss me over the last couple hours?" Still bemused, Kelly arched a brow and Soph chuckled.
"Always." She stole another kiss before turning to look at the last painting she'd put up.
"I'm not sure if this picture worries me or not..." She squeezed the older girl's hand gently and Kelly chuckled. It was a picture of Jones herself, sat holding a knife before a book shelf loaded with severed heads.
"Don't worry; I only cut off people's heads if they annoy me." Light fingers trailed around her neck as though outlining where the knife would go and Soph smirked, delighting in her own responding shiver.
"I dread to think what happens when they really piss you off." Soph chuckled, turning back to face her, pointedly ignoring a stab of guilt to enjoy the moment.
"Hm, for you, I think the punishment's a little different." Kelly's tone dropped and gentle touch turned to sharp nails, digging just enough to sting. Soph gripped her hand tightly, her stomach twisting oh-so-comfortably.
"Good to know I'm special." She taunted and Jones chuckled, turning to brush their lips together.
"Maybe a little." Her fingers returned to gently brushing across the neck and Soph sighed, bringing her free hand up to the side of the other woman's face.
"You are, you know that?" She muttered quietly, the warmth in her chest constricting her heart like a vice, making it hard to breathe. Jones gave a confused hum, concern flickering in those sharp brown eyes.
"Special." She whispered it against her lips, her stomach in knots. Jones pressed their lips together once more, gentle and lingering.
"Come on, mopey. Everyone's decorating the tree, they sent me to find you." She pulled away, tugging her gently toward the door. Sophie forced away her guilt to give a tired groan.
"Do I have to?" She pouted as Kelly dragged her through the halls.
"Yes, now come on." They scowled at each other for a minute before Soph sighed.
"Fine." She sulked as they walked together, only half serious… The family atmosphere was starting to grow on her, she'd give them that, but if they made her sit around the fire roasting chestnuts she was leaving.

Chestnuts were grim.

They reached the main rec room and Kelly shook her head with a chuckle at Soph's maintained pout before pushing the door open. They were greeted by Taylor and Andrea wielding chainsaws beside a very large, freshly cut, pine tree. Camilla, Annabelle and Polly were opening dusty boxes, exposing ornaments and oh god… tinsel. She avoided helping for a few minutes while she helped Polly set up some music, which, despite Soph's best efforts, ended up as overly cheerful Christmas tunes. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying it, so she resisted the urge to throw the speakers out of the window and took up the end of a string of lights, helping Annabelle wrap them suitably around the colossal tree.

Thankfully, her Aunt was on hand to offer her some 'Christmas Spirit', otherwise known as whiskey, which certainly helped her to improve her mood as she endured Mariah Carey and helped to hang baubles.

By the end of the hour, there was not a square inch of the tree not covered in some kind of decoration and they were all thoroughly intoxicated. Soph was glad she'd gotten her aunt whisky for Christmas, as it seemed like they'd all just drank through the poor woman's stash. Thus, if anyone were to ask, she would happily blame the drink for how much she laughed as they all helped to lift Camilla up to put the star on top to the ridiculous tree, and when they all collapsed and ended up in a tangled heap on the floor.

Once untangled, they settled down for poker and pizza, Camilla taking them all to the cleaners until she decreed, sometime around eleven, that it was time for bed or 'Santa' wouldn't be stopping by. Soph yawned and wrapped an arm around Kelly's waist, tickling her ribs lightly with a small grin; this earned her a gentle jab in the side with an elbow and a playful scowl, but the woman kept an arm about her shoulders, clearly aware of how much Soph was swaying.

They all said goodnight to Camilla, who wandered off to her room, before heading together back to the dorms. Surprisingly, Kelly, Soph and Taylor were actually okay around each other; she had a suspicion that she'd just targeted them for something to target but decided not to comment, content to leave the peace where it lay. At the top of the stairs, they went their separate ways, Soph sharing a conspiratorial nod with Polly before she shut the door and bolted it. She'd handed off her presents to the Geek earlier that day, so in theory, they should be under the tree long before she and Jones came down in the morning.

Kelly, as was her habit, went straight for the bathroom to take off her makeup and brush her teeth, giving Soph time to herself to get changed. It was a sweet gesture, given Soph's dislike for having her shirt off around anyone, even Jones… Maybe someday she'd be able to… but that was a serious maybe.

Within minutes they were settled into bed, too tired to consider any other activities as they naturally gravitated together, legs entwining under the covers as Kelly laid her head comfortably against Soph's shoulder. They barely even spoke, a companionable silence accompanying them to bed, and honestly, Soph was asleep in moments, comfortable and content as the clock ticked them into Christmas day.


I was half tempted to wedge this one and Christmas together, but that would make for a long chapter, so here we are. I have adjusted Lexi's character a little, hopefully made her more interesting and less two dimensional, but we'll see how that goes. Next week, we'll see about Christmas at St. Trinian's. For now, I hope you've enjoyed reading, and I hope to see you next week - J