Hello hello, it's a little late so I'll make this quick. Hope you all enjoy and I'll see you at the end. - J


Chapter 21: Birthday Surprises

The party certainly had been one to remember, though most of it would be lost in a haze of alcohol and exhaustion for a lot of the girls. Soph herself surfaced from her bedroom a little later than usual, she'd reigned it in a bit, refusing to do shots with Bianca once they made it past midnight, but she was still a little delicate. Her mood did take a sharp turn for the better, however, as she made it up the stairs to the dorm, only to collide head first with Roxy, on her way out of Annabelle's room.
"Whoa!" The blonde yelped and recoiled, looking as though she would very much like the floor to swallow her up where she stood. Soph offered a crooked grin.
"Good morning." She folded her arms across her chest and waited, Roxy seemed to struggle with herself for a good minute before heaving a heavy sigh and ruffling her hair.
"Just get it over with." The resignation in her tone was hilarious but Soph only gave a small chuckle.
"Nothing to say. Well, except the obligatory 'hurt her and they'll never find the body', but you know that." She smiled cheerfully and clapped a hand to the taller girl's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"I'm happy for you." With a wink, she let the girl go and headed off into the dorms to collect her winnings.

Every school Soph had attended had some kind of hierarchy between the age groups, younger students typically had to do as the older ones said, or something like that. St. Trinian's, for once, was not exempt of this rule. The day after a party was always the same, the older girls who had gotten very drunk the night before would mill around whining about their hangovers and the younger girls would clean up the aftermath. Legal drinking age in the UK was eighteen, but they had a proud and noble tradition of underage drinking from roughly thirteen upwards, which is why it was a little strange that students at St. Trinian's weren't allowed to drink until they were at least fourteen. Even then, they were monitored, and sent to rehab if it seemed like they were getting a bit dependant. Honestly, the place was better at curbing addiction than most private clinics. She had asked Kelly about it once, and the girl had shrugged, explaining that it was an old rule from about six Head Girl's previous, but everyone seemed to accept it and she wasn't about to change it. It kept the younger girls from forming bad habits or poisoning themselves, and it meant that someone was still alive to clean the mess up afterwards, so everyone won really.

Of course, there was more than just the smell of cleaning supplies around the school today, everywhere she went she could hear mutterings of Annabelle and Roxy. General consensus seemed to be positive, that the blonde could only help to relax the slightly uptight Head Girl further, but those few who were attempting to stir anything up were quickly reminded of what happened the last time someone tried to mess with a Head Girl and her other half. That said, the pair didn't seem to need much help looking after themselves, Annabelle caught a few emos trying to steal Roxy's guitar and had them suspended from the roof by their ankles, which was certainly enough to warn any other potential pranksters away.

So, since Soph could actually handle her hangovers, she had nothing to do by mid-afternoon (and after discovering her usual loitering spot was occupied by the newlyweds), she opted to take a ride out instead in search of company that wasn't making out in her favourite seat. Her circle of friends was more than a little limited, so there was really only one person she would want to visit outside of the school.

"She lives!" Lexi grinned as she entered and hopped over the counter. Soph allowed herself to be pulled into a hug with a chuckle.
"Yeah, sorry I forgot to text." She grimaced as the older woman rolled her eyes.
"I figured you would, you seemed a little lost in your own head last time you were here. Come on, you can help me close up." She nudged her with an elbow and Soph laughed as she agreed.

Closing up the shop didn't take too long and eventually she and Lexi were settled in her back room. She'd given her a rundown of the Kelly situation while they were working and now the woman was simply laughing at her.
"You're an actual tragedy, you know that? She smirked and Soph tossed a balled up bit of paper at her.
"Rude, true, but rude." She flashed a grin and Lexi chuckled, after a moment though, Sophie sighed.
"I'm working on it, fortunately Kelly has the patience of a saint, so… yeah." She shrugged but was caught out by the older woman's surprisingly intense frown.
"She ever tell you that? That she needs patience to be with you?" Her tone was hard, not one she associated with the woman.
"What? No." She frowned back, confused by the implication. Surely Lexi wasn't assuming… This couldn't be good.
"She's not manipulating me." She deadpanned and waited while Lexi stared her down, caution and concern in her eyes. It was oddly sweet.
"Okay, good. Can't have someone being mean to my favourite, most indecisive, customer." The other woman finally perked back up and they settled into lighter conversations. However, the idea bugged her more than she'd like.

She knew that almost anyone could be manipulated, that more often than not, a manipulator was so adept in their abuse that the victim would be unaware of their situation for some time, whether through denial or the mind games. So from an objective perspective, it wasn't entirely impossible that her girlfriend was subtly guiding her actions or destroying her self-confidence. On the other hand, Kelly was… Kelly. She was good, and generally very careful about protecting other people's psychological stability. Beyond that, and probably most importantly, she trusted the bloody woman. More shockingly, given the origins of the relationship, Kelly seemed to trust her. Lexi was right, it was a miracle they were both still alive, but it was one she was indescribably grateful for.

Now, as her usual spot had been claimed during the day by St. Trinian's latest celebrity couple, Sophie made a habit of riding out a couple of times a week at least, whether to meander around the countryside or to head into London and meet up with Lexi. The woman was actually very good company, with a twisted sense of humour and an utter refusal to take any bullshit. So as the week rolled on, she found she was actually pretty... content. The school had settled back into its typical routine, hockey practice was going well (even without Kelly, Taylor and Andrea on the front lines), lessons were back up and running, and Flash came by on Wednesday for his weekly meeting. Annabelle had well and truly come into her own, ruling the school with Roxy at her side to pick up the slack. Soph wouldn't say the pair were quite as effective as Kelly had been, but what could she say? She was biased.

Kelly herself kept in touch as often as she could, a text here and there, a phone call once in a while if they were lucky, but she was out on a mission for the week so those were, understandably, pretty few and far between. Sophie liked to think she was getting better at not daydreaming about her at all hours of the day, but she was pretty sure that was just optimism, as Chelsea continuously teased her about her tendency to zone out.

Because of this, Soph still tended to prefer solitude to socialising, so for a few hours, after Annabelle and Roxy had retired to their room for the night (which they did conspicuously early), she took up her old post on the roof to read while the sun went down. She didn't sleep in the dorms, and Annabelle never really tried to impose any rules on her, so she was often up there long after lights out, reading by the strings of fairly lights once the sun had finally vanished over the horizon.

On this particular night, she'd stayed very late, not wanting to leave only two chapters before the end. Her phone told her it was about one in the morning as she finally stood and stretched her arms high above her head. It also told her she'd had no word from Kelly today, but she tried not to think about that. With a yawn, she meandered her way off toward her room. Honestly, she still didn't sleep much, so getting to bed late was far from an unusual occurrence for her, still, as she stepped into her room, something felt... Off.

The reason became abundantly clear as she reached from the light, only to have her wrist caught in a surprisingly gentle grasp. For half a beat, her heart froze in her chest, a sharp inhale and a light flinch her only physical response. However, that inhale brought with it a familiar perfume, and suddenly the cool, strong fingers wrapped around her wrist were almost comforting. The tension that had set into every muscle she owned dissolved like snow in rain and a slight smile found her lips.
"Evening, Jones." She repressed a grin as the hand on her wrist tightened and pulled her back against the taller woman, an arm wrapping about her waist to keep her there. Not that she'd have moved. Her room was almost pitch black, her curtains apparently already shut, which meant Kelly had been waiting to try and make her jump in the dark. Cheeky git.
"Happy Birthday, love." The words ghosted across her skin as lips brushed against her neck, pulling a delightful shiver up her spine that distracted her briefly from the words spoken. Wait, what? She blinked in the darkness as her brain scrambled, trying to recall the date… It was past midnight, so yes, it was the twelfth.
"Oh shit, it is, isn't it?" She couldn't keep the genuine surprise from her voice, generally speaking, she didn't pay much attention to it anyway, but with everything going on, she'd completely lost track of the days. Her wrist was freed and the light came on, she allowed herself to be turned to meet Kelly's expression of disbelief.
"Did you genuinely forget your own birthday?" She frowned down at her but Soph shrugged, unable to keep her eyes was roaming freely over the gorgeous face mere inches from her own. She would never get tired of seeing her. For a moment, said face seemed torn between amusement and sadness, but Soph wasted no time reaching up to wrap her arms around the older girl's neck, pulling her down a little.
"Hey, don't I get a proper hello?" She scowled jokingly, hoping to lighten the mood. Fortunately, Kelly seemed to allow the distraction and quite happily swept down to kiss her senseless.

They'd been apart yet another week, so really, they could not be held responsible for how quickly clothes were shed. Soph imagined Kelly had probably put some thought into her outfit, and it was a shame to ignore it completely, but as she dragged off the skin tight black jeans and bit and kissed her way up delicious thighs, she wasn't hearing any complaints. In fact, nails scratched at her scalp and long fingers wound tightly in her hair, pulling sharply to drag her to where she was wanted, and after that she didn't hear much but the thundering of her own heart and Kelly's lip-bitten moans. She was interrupted, however, as a particularly hard pull yanked her away from the woman and she was pushed back. Briefly, she was concerned, but as she caught sight of the devilish smirk on Kelly's face her worry dissolved into the pool of heat that had ignited low in her gut. Jones pushed back up onto her knees and Soph found herself pulled forward into a bruising kiss, a quiet groan leaving her as teeth dug hard into her bottom lip.
"Lie down for me." That dark, quiet tone left no room for argument and practically buckled her knees from underneath her as a wave of heat swept through her. Goddamn this woman.

Obediently, she lay down, letting Kelly guide her to stop just short of the pillows. She had no idea what the woman's plan was, but damn if she didn't want to find out.

As she watched, Jones tipped her head with a smile that should be illegal, leaning down to trace astonishingly gentle fingers over her jaw to her chin, pressing a barely there kiss to her lips.
"So good." The words were a breath and Soph swallowed hard at the pulse they sent through her. Her eyes fluttered shut and a shaky sigh left her but Kelly didn't pull away, she waited, her hand gentle but grounding as she carded long fingers through her hair. Once her mind settled, she opened her eyes and found the question in the other woman's face. She was always so careful, Soph couldn't help her own soft smile as she bit her lip, giving a small but decisive nod to signal she was okay.

One more moment of searching her face and Kelly's smirk returned in full force, making Sophie very glad she was already laying down.
"Headboard." The single word was a command, and almost out of reflex, Soph's hands flew to grip the bars, the woman's approving nod sent a delicious tremor through her but any other thoughts were swept away as Kelly moved slowly forward. She was probably giving her time to object, should she wish to, but what lunatic would say no to Kelly Jones kneeling above them? She shifted her grip to make room for long legs but as soon as they were settled she made to lean up and continue her earlier activity. A groan of disappointment left her as a hand on her head stopped her short, pushing her back against the mattress. The chuckle that left the other woman was pure sin as she smirked down at her.
"Say please." It wasn't a question, and another day Soph might be inclined to fight her a little, but right now her mouth watered and her knuckles turned white with the effort of keeping her hands to herself.
"Please." It was practically a whine and the hand on her head moved to slide into her hair.
"Good." There was that word again, and Soph bit her lip hard to contain an involuntary whimper, her thighs pressing tight together against a wave of heat.

The pressure pushing her back vanished and she wasted no time leaning up to claim her prize.

Coherent thought wasn't really available for some time, but the last thing that entered her mind was that she wanted every birthday to start with the sight Kelly Jones gripping tight to the headboard above her, head hanging forward and eyes shut tight as expletives and Sophie's name poured from her lips.

And who could blame her?

Loud knocking was not the way she wanted to wake up. She growled in annoyance as she rolled over to hide her face in Kelly's neck.
"Am I allowed to kill people on my birthday?" She grumbled and pouted as she felt the other woman laugh, gentle fingers combing soothingly through her hair.
"Only one of us is licenced for that, and it's a lot of paperwork." Jones' smirk was audible and Soph groaned as the loud banging came again.
"Only if they find the body." She muttered, a little petulant, and Kelly snorted, but before she had a chance to answer, another voice joined their conversation.
"Sophie Frances Daniels, open the damn door!" Annabelle called out and Sophie heaved a monumental groan, rolling onto her back to stare up in despair.

Oh, she was going to kill her.

Of course, Kelly could be relied upon to comment as her soon-to-be-dead relative continued to beat down the door.
"Your middle name is Frances?" She wasn't quiet as amused as she would have expected, so that was something, but Soph could still only hum her affirmative as she scowled at the ceiling.

Despite her best efforts, her scowl faded as lips pressed to her forehead.
"It's nice. I don't have one." With a warm smile that melted Soph into the mattress, Jones got to her feet, striding smoothly across the room and only pausing to grab her robe and pull it on before unbolting the door. Soph smirked to herself as she sat up, pulling the sheets up to her chest to keep from scarring her cousin too badly as the door swung open.
"Good morning, Annabelle." Kelly's tone was smooth and far too smug, Soph had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing, particularly as the brunette was obviously caught off-guard.
"Kelly! I didn't know you were back." The poor head girl sounded almost apologetic but Soph's view was still obscured by the door.
"Got in after midnight, can we help you?" Jones leaned against the door jamb and Soph snorted as she got to her feet, opting to step in before Kelly stared her into the floor.
"Er, yes, I- Oh, Sophie!" Annabelle smiled as she appeared, still wrapped in the duvet.
"Morning." She grinned and her cousin seemed to relax a little, a smile finding her face.
"Happy birthday, sorry to er… interrupt." She smirked and Soph couldn't help but chuckle.
"We were sleeping, up late and all that." She gestured aimlessly and grinned as she caught Kelly's eye roll in the corner of her eye.
"Well, aunty asked me to come and get you, she's in her office." With that, she, quite elegantly, turned heel and fled. It was impressive that she managed to make it look like she wasn't just embarrassed by the situation, but Soph and Kelly were too busy smirking at each other to really think on it for too long.

They retreated back into the room and begrudgingly set about getting dressed. Their aim was improving a little, as nothing was broken, but Soph still found her tie had gotten caught on the ceiling light, and was now just out of her reach. As she stood scowling up at it, Kelly appeared by her side, a far too smug expression on her face.
"Need a hand?" Her wry smirk was straight up rude, Soph refused to look at her.
"I hate you." She grumbled through grit teeth but Kelly only chuckled, reaching up to grab the offending item and stepping close as she threw it about Soph's neck and used it to pull her close.
"Really?" The bloody woman leaned down, leaving barely an inch between them as she offered a, completely unfair, pout. Soph managed to hold out for about half a second before she caved.
"No." She huffed, but her mild annoyance evaporated as lips pressed to hers, chasing away her scowl and sending a delightful shiver down her spine.

It was at this moment, her phone went off.

"Oh, for fucks sake." She cast her gaze skyward, pleading with whatever deity came to mind that she be left in peace with her goddamn girlfriend for five minutes.
"Answer that, I need to finish getting ready." Kelly released her and backed away, heading to the vanity. Soph dropped back onto the bed with a huff and fished her phone off of the nightstand. Glancing at the caller ID, she sighed. Of course.
"Hey, Lexi." She tried not to sound too annoyed, flopping onto her back to stare at the ceiling.
"Happy Birthday!" She had to move the phone away from her ear with a wince at the volume.
"Ease up, you're going to blow up my phone." She chuckled and grinned as the other woman
"Cheeky kid, getting snarky in your old age already?" She teased and Soph rolled her eyes.
"Not as old as you, grandma." She smirked at the gasp that came from the other end.
"How dare you! Kids these days!" Lexi exclaimed, but Soph was quick to respond.
"Hey! I will have you know that I am now a responsible adult!" She gestured idly, despite knowing she could not be seen, and for a long moment, there was silence.
"... God help us all." Lexi's voice, filled with dread, returned, and Sophie repressed the urge to laugh, answering in her own sombre tone.
"I know..." They held the moment for less than five seconds before dissolving into laughter. After a minute, Lexi managed to stop for long enough to get to the "What are you doing today? Any plans?" Soph glanced to Kelly, who was done at the mirror and was now watching her with some curiosity. Shooting her an apologetic look for keeping her waiting, she sat up.
"Afraid I might be busy for a bit, Kelly's home." She grinned to the woman in question, who rolled her eyes.
"Bring her along, I want to meet this mythological being." Lexi insisted and Soph shrugged.
"I'll ask and get back to you, but I have to go, my aunt and cousin are waiting for us." She stood, ready to go the minute she was off the phone. Lexi hummed in acknowledgement.
"Alright, you better, see ya kid!"
"Later." She hung up and tossed her phone onto the bed behind her, turning to Kelly with a smile.
"Sorry about the wait, necessary banter, apparently." She shrugged and the other girl got to her feet.
"Lexi?" She arched a brow, curious. Soph nodded once, stepping forward to meet her.
"She owns the shop where I got this." She paused to tap the choker now sat around her neck.
"I was in there a while trying to choose, then I went back to get it repaired when... er." Her voice trailed off as the words caught on her tongue. They may have moved past it, but Soph still didn't really like to remember the incident. Kelly's gaze softened briefly and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms tight about her waist. Soph let herself be pulled in, dropping her head onto the woman's shoulder and feeling the tension melt from her as a cool hand settled over the back of her neck.
"She gave me some good advice, mostly told me to get my shit together." She leaned back to flash a grin and Kelly chuckled.
"But she's already witnessed my absolute insanity and still likes hanging out, so mostly I visit and rant." She shrugged. Jones seemed to think for a moment.
"Is she hot?" The woman arched a brow with a wry smirk, Sophie hummed in mock thought.
"I suppose." She brought her arms up to Kelly's shoulders.
"But she knows I'm hopelessly devoted to my girlfriend." She could feel the blood rushing to her face and pointedly ignored it, managing a crooked smile up at the taller woman.

The embarrassment didn't last long, as Jones' smirk faded to something much softer, full of that warm emotion that filled her chest to bursting but froze her tongue. She wanted to say… something, but words failed her. Fortunately, Kelly was more eloquent than her.
"Just as well…" The arm around her waist tightened as she leaned down.
"I'd hate to be the only one completely whipped around here." She smirked but Soph couldn't catch the bark of laugher that broke free.
"You know that's far from the case." She scowled playfully but it vanished as Jones leaned down, a far too familiar smile curling her lips.
"Hm, good point."

Surely her family wouldn't mind if they were a little late?

They didn't, though clearly, the delay was expected.
"Ah, good morning girlies. It's five past, so Annabelle, Roxy..." Camilla turned to the other two, who scowled and handed over a tenner each.
"You bet on what time we'd arrive?" Soph arched a brow and her aunt giggled.
"We bet on how late you'd be. The winning guess being thirty minutes." She gestured to herself and tucked her winnings into her purse before standing.
"What were the contenders?" Kelly smirked as they moved to drop down on the sofa, watching Camilla make her way to the drinks cabinet.
"Fifteen." Annabelle pouted.
"An hour." Roxy shrugged and Soph and Kelly shared a grin.

A few minutes later they were all situated with whiskey in hand as Camilla dropped a small collection of wrapped parcels onto the coffee table.
"Happy Birthday, girly!" She beamed and Soph resisted the urge to retreat into Kelly's side at the sudden focus being drawn to her.
"Thanks, er... You guys know you didn't have to get me anything, right?" She grimaced and eyerolls and quiet laughter were thrown around.
"Oh nonsense. It's not every day a girl turns eighteen, take the time to celebrate. Now, open them up before Annabelle gets over excited!" Her aunt proclaimed and Soph glanced to the mentioned brunette, who was, indeed, bouncing impatiently in her seat, much to the amusement of Roxy.

Repressing a strong urge to flee, Soph downed the last of her drink and set about opening her cards. Her mother was short and to the point.

Come and get your things whenever.

Delightful, as always.

Her father was more typical, though he had also included a very large cheque, much larger than was typical. The card explained it was to help her find her feet after school, and she made a mental note to give him a call some time; he was actually trying to look after her, she might as well make an effort toward actually being his daughter. With those done she moved onto her gifts, first opening a bottle of rum from her aunt (they had begun an excellent tradition of exchanging alcohol every birthday or Christmas), then following it with a leather wristband from Roxy. It was actually very cool; dark brown and stylishly worn in, with tarnished silver buckles. She shot the blonde a grin and a nod of thanks as she tried it on; she had to pull it to its tightest notches, but she tried not to sulk too much about that.

Annabelle's neatly wrapped parcels were both rectangular, though one was considerably thicker. She opened that one first, beaming at the sight of the book in her hands; it was the next in the series she was reading. The other gift gave her pause. It was a fairly simple picture frame, A5 in size, but as she turned it over, she was startled into silence at the image inside. It was her and Kelly, Christmas hats slightly askew, too busy staring at each other to notice the camera pointed at them. They looked happy... She was aware of Kelly looking over her shoulder and glanced over to find that same smile on her face.
"You guys were too cute that day." Her cousin broke the silence and Soph turned to offer a crooked smile.
"Thanks, kid." She tried to sound as sincere as she could, and Annabelle seemed to understand as she nodded.

After all that there was one left, wrapped in brown paper.
"That appeared on my desk at some point in the night." Camilla cast a pointed scowl to Kelly, who feigned innocence as she settled back against the sofa. Soph shot her a knowing smirk before pulling the package into her lap. It was easy to open, wrapped kind of hastily, and it was only then that it occurred to her why Kelly had been so pissed off last week when she had to leave. She'd wanted to stay until after today… She'd rushed back last night, arriving after midnight, hurriedly wrapping her gift and leaving it for Camilla to find to find… Just to be there on her birthday. She bit her lip hard as her chest suddenly felt very tight.

Aware of the eyes on her, she pushed that thought away with some difficulty and resumed opening the package, revealing a simply gorgeous leather jacket. She leapt to her feet to shake it out and get a good look. Black, obviously, with magnificent craftsmanship and spectacular tailoring. She pulled it on out of curiosity and spun to face the woman, holding her arms out. It fit nicely.
"Thoughts?" She arched a brow and Kelly cast an appraising glance over her that made Soph almost certain she would be wearing very little beside this jacket later on.
"Not bad." She smirked and Soph dropped back down to sit beside her once more, leaning up to press a suitably PG kiss to her /"Thanks." She pulled back just enough to whisper and Jones' arm caught her about the waist, pulling her tight to her side.
"Happy Birthday, love."

Of course, at that moment, her aunt chose to appear with a caterpillar shaped cake, everyone sang at her and she honestly contemplated jumping out of the window. She might have done it, had they not been on the first floor, making such an action relatively pointless. Fortunately, once the cake was cut and handed out, attention moved on, but it quickly conversation turned to Sophie's youth and nothing she could say would stop her relations from spilling all.

Kelly and Roxy found great amusement in these tales, particularly one in which an eight year old Sophie had been caught trying to blow up the neighbours shed.
"... When I finally convinced them to come and stop her we found her climbing back over the fence. She was so surprised she fell off backwards and landed in the pond, scared the poor fish to death." Annabelle started laughing with everyone else and Soph scowled at the memory.
"I still say it would've worked if you hadn't told on me." She sulked a little, vividly recalling how much work she'd put into that, but Annabelle only managed to stop laughing long enough to refute the point.
"It would have taken out half the garden, not just the shed." She snorted and for a moment, Soph wanted to argue… But no, she was kind of right.
"You must have been so adorable." Kelly threw an arm about her shoulders and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, Soph scowled, but it was hardly serious as she jabbed her in the side.
"I was not." Her objection was almost reflexive, but Camilla was quickly on her feet.
"Oh but you were girly, one moment." She shuffled over to the bookshelf and retrieved a thick leather book. In a beat Soph was ready to dash over and catch it from her hands but Kelly's arm tightened around her, keeping her close.
"Oh no you don't, I want to see this." She grinned and Soph continued to struggle. Goddamn this woman.

Already Annabelle and Roxy were hiding their laughter behind their hands as they looked over Camilla's shoulder at some picture or another and moments later Sophie heaved a great groan of annoyance at the photograph now held out for Kelly to see.

It was her, of course. About five years old going on the unruly ebony mop surrounding her head and the red and blue dungarees, mud stained and worn from falling out of trees and scrambling through the underbrush. In her hand she held a stick the size of herself, and her grubby face bore a wide, toothy grin.
"You were cute!" Kelly squeezed her tightly and Soph growled, making a mental note to get some payback next time they saw Alice.

They left Camilla's office in time for lunch, but once they'd eaten they headed back up to her room. Now, Soph was not the best at holding in emotions, hell, she wasn't the best at having emotions, so holding them in was something she was definitely terrible at. However, she managed to hold off on swinging Kelly around by the jacket, pinning her to the wall and kissing her with everything she had until they were, at least, in her room. When she finally pulled back for much needed air, her ego was, admittedly, a little boosted by exactly how flushed and out of breath the older girl appeared to be, but that said, she was about the same, so all was fair.
"I know it's a nice jacket, but it's not that nice." Jones smirked down at her and Soph realised arms were wrapped tight around her waist, keeping her close. Funny how she hadn't noticed that. Unable to say it while looking at her, she dropped her head forward onto the woman's shoulder.
"I don't…" She sighed as she struggled to find the words, those she did manage only coming out as quiet muttering.
"Thanks, for caring about my birthday." It sounded terrible, but she hoped that Kelly was proficient enough in 'Sophie' to figure out what she meant. As always, she did. The arms about her waist turned gentle as they tugged her ever closer, lips pressing against her temple before moving to her ear.
"Always."

There was still a lot of birthday left, so Soph opted for them to take a trip into London to see Lexi, then swing by her mother's to collect the remainder of her things; two birds, one stone.

"Soph!" Lexi beamed as they entered and promptly hopped the counter to dash over and engulf her in a hug. Or try to, Lexi was a skinny thing and only about the same height as her, but it was a valiant effort.
"Happy birthday!" She grinned as she pulled back but very quickly her eyes fixed on something just over her shoulder.
"This must be the famous Kelly Jones?" She stepped around and Soph turned to find the pair of them staring each other down.
"That would be me, Lexi, right?" Kelly arched a brow, sounding suspiciously close to her 'head girl' tone as she offered a hand.
"Lexi Isaacs." The shorter woman took it with a smirk and honestly the whole thing lasted a lot longer than it should. Why did Soph feel like she was missing something here?

Eventually they stepped apart and Soph gave Kelly a questioning look, only to receive a falsely innocent smile and a quick kiss in return. Not done with this, but knowing she would get no answers now, she sighed, turning back to face Lexi.
"How's things?" She tipped her head but the woman flapped her hands about.
"Eh, same old, same old, no-one cares. Come open your present!" She practically skipped back over to the counter and dove behind it in search of something. Curious, Soph followed, Jones close on her heels until Lexi popped back up with a wide grin and a small, neatly wrapped, parcel in hand.
"Here you go!" She tossed it over and Soph just about caught it.

She could feel both sets of eyes on her as she slowly unwrapped it. Inside, nestled in a small box and some tissue paper, sat a necklace. It was pretty cool, an intricately carved onyx wolf on a leather rope. Very her.
"We got them in stock last week, thought it would be your thing." The woman beamed and Soph grinned back.
"Thanks, grandma." She winked and Lexi's smile turned to falsified shock as she gasped.
"Rude!" Their charade didn't last too long, before they both grinned and Soph pulled the necklace over her head, letting it settle over her t-shirt.
"Really though, thanks. Sadly we can't stick around too long, we've still got my mum to see, but I'll text you, yeah?" She tipped her head and the other woman waved a dismissive hand.
"You go on, kid. Enjoy your Birthday." She smiled and Soph nodded cheerfully.
"Oh, it was nice to meet you, Kelly." The older woman turned to Jones, who had been noticeably quiet, but now gave a smile that did not reach her eyes.
"You too. See you around." Why did that sound like a threat?

Soph shook her head as they left, surely it was her imagination. Still, as they walked, hand in hand, back toward Kelly's car, she couldn't help but feel like a tension had set into the woman.

During the drive to her mums she found herself looking at the necklace. It was pretty cool, but she probably wouldn't wear it all the time. Loose jewellery became a hazard very quickly (she'd learnt this many times through various means), and even the hoop in her ear was so small it would struggle to get caught on anything.

An hour of weird silence and they arrived outside her house… Well, her mother's house.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to..." She trailed off; unsure of herself. Her mother was a nightmare at the best of times, she didn't particularly want Kelly to have to deal with that. Still, the other woman took her hand and squeezed gently. It was more reassuring than she'd care to admit and she squeezed back with a grin.
"The sooner we get this shit done, the sooner we can get home." Letting go, she hauled herself out of the car and jammed her hands into her pockets as she turned to face the house she'd grown up in. Somehow it looked more like a war ground from where she was standing.

The doorbell was suitably irritating, and moments later, her mother appeared.
"Sophie. I didn't expect you so soon." Her gaze was hard as she spoke, but it quickly hid behind a cheerful mask as it flickered to Kelly. That slightly sickening 'work face' she pulled on for clients.
"Well, you know, I had some free time today. This is Kelly, by the way." She gestured to the other girl, who stepped forward with a careful smile.
"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Daniels." The smooth, casual, tone was reminiscent of Alice when she'd first met them at the door; Soph resisted a smirk.
"And you, but please, call me Claire." The sweet, condescending, edge to her voice as she took Kelly's hand promptly killed any amusement she may have been supressing. Fortunately, Jones was more than used to dealing with the underhanded and manipulative, and Claire Daniels was nothing on the girls of St. Trinian's.
"Well, come on in." She stepped back to allow them entry and Soph moved first, leading the way into the hall and kicking off her boots. Partially because it wasn't worth the argument, and partially because she knew her mismatched socks would piss the woman off to no end. Sure enough, she caught the dirty look in the corner of her eye as she offered an apologetic smile to Kelly, who toed off her shoes with a mildly amused smirk. A phone went off behind her and her mother sighed.
"Your bedroom's the way you left it. I'll be back in a while." Claire made a hasty departure to the kitchen and Soph nodded without really looking at her, leading the way upstairs.

As they entered her room Soph wasn't sure whether to be embarrassed or not; it seemed like a decade since she'd last been here, but it was barely a year. Things really had changed. Honestly, it seemed almost wrong to see Kelly move to stand in the middle, surrounded by the remains of who she used to be.

The walls were covered in posters, various bands, bikes, and TV shows layered over one and other like papier-mâché to hide the 'soothing' pastel tones her mother had insisted upon. All but the feature wall, of course, that was home to her 'trophies'. Six school pennants, each battered or damaged in some way, were pinned up in no particular pattern.
"What did you do to get out of Cheltenham again?" Kelly's question was valid, of all of them, it was the only one that was blood stained. Soph grimaced.
"Beat up Thwaites. That's her blood, I broke her nose pretty badly." She stared at it as she recalled the day but soon turned away, fishing her duffel bag out from under the bed.
"What did she do? I know she's a complete prat, but what made you lose it?" There was no judgement in her tone, just curiosity. Soph managed to offer a small smile before she continued moving about her room.
"She was spying on Annabelle in the showers. I pulled her away and I don't know… I was pretty angry kid, I didn't really even think about it." She sighed as she routed through her drawers, grabbing any clothes she particularly liked.
"No wonder she's scared of you." Kelly dropped down to sit on her bed and Soph resisted the urge to do a double take. If the older girl standing in her room looked wrong, that definitely wasn't an image she ever expected. She shook her head to clear it and moved to her wardrobe, tossing a few things over her shoulder to the bag before pushing the coat hangers to one side.
"Right then, let's see what I left." With practiced ease, she pressed on the top corner of the back panel, pushing the other edge out enough for her to grab it and pull it out of her way, revealing the meticulously hollowed out wall behind the storage space. Footsteps came up behind her and she glanced back with a small smirk.
"Can't leave all this out in the open for anyone to see." She shrugged and turned back to the dark space.

She'd taken the essentials with her to St. Trinian's but if she was never coming back, there were things in here she couldn't leave lying around.

Cash, penknives, lockpicks, a baggie of nondescript but distinctly memorable pills, and a stack of notebooks that she placed with all due care into her bag. Kelly, understandably curious, reached for one, but Soph slapped a hand over the top before she could touch them. If she was startled, it didn't show, and Sophie swallowed hard before offering an apologetic smile.
"Diaries." She offered by way of explanation and Jones gave a gentle smile in return, leaning in to steal a brief kiss.
"You don't have to explain." She stepped back with a sigh and gestured to the room.
"Need anything else?" She tipped her head and Soph grinned as she shook hers.
"Nah, put the panel back for me? I just need to grab my hard drive." She gestured to the PC in the corner.

The tower she now had at St. Trinians was better than this thing, but she stored all her game data on her external hard drive, so if she was moving out for good, you could bet she was taking that with her.

It wasn't long before they were heading back downstairs, Kelly took Sophie's bag out to put it in the boot of her car while Soph moved through to the kitchen. This would be the hard bit.
"So, you and Kelly seem close." The first words from her mouth were cold and hard. Sophie set her jaw against it.
"Well you get that way when you've been together for nearly a year." She kept her tone matter-of-fact and leaned against the wall, hands tucked into her pockets as she surveyed her mother. To anyone else, the blonde woman seemed fairly at ease.

Sophie knew better.

She could see the line of tension in the woman's shoulders, the cold edge to her eyes, the way she held herself to keep her leg from jumping involuntarily. Claire Daniels was a subtle woman, but Soph had been reading her for almost two decades.
"Richard said you refused to go to America with him, was she the reason why?" Curiosity, ringed in disdain.
"She was part of it, yes." She raised her chin slightly, defiant. She was not afraid of this woman, she lost that control the minute she'd sent her to Claymore. Once you'd faced real monsters, the bogeyman under your bed didn't seem so scary.
"She's a St. Trinian then?" Claire spoke the school's name with disgust and Soph repressed a scowl.
"Last year's Head Girl." She smirked, but there was no humour behind it. Her mother seemed to take a moment to collect herself.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised your taste is appalling." That… was a jab Sophie couldn't ignore. A familiar anger bubbled in her gut and she growled.
"Watch it." She glared but Claire was unfazed.
"Watch what? I'm hardly going to be proud my daughter is parading around with the ringleader of a pack of dogs masquerading as a school. She's pretty enough if you like that sort, so I suppose I could see how you could be lured in. You'd better not be using the credit card I got you for her." Her sneer actually made it onto her face and Soph was upright and away from the wall in a heartbeat. She managed to keep herself from storming across the room, but her rage felt like a hound on a chain, ready to break free.
"You know nothing about her." She took a few measured steps across the floor, her voice low and loaded with as much venom as she could muster.
"She makes me feel safer than I've been since you sent me away." She snarled and to her astonishment, the woman flinched.
"I love her, and if you insult her again, I will do more than set your car on fire." The gravity of what she'd just said struck her in the gut like a rogue firework.

She loved her.

Of course she bloody did. God, how had she not acknowledged that sooner?

Stopping across the counter from her, Soph let out a long breath and took a step back.
"I'll see you around, mum." Her anger was gone, swept away in the wake of her realisation. Now she was nothing but resolute as she stared at her would-be parent. Claire nodded once, stoic as she gestured to the door.
"Goodbye."

Outside, Kelly was leaning against the car, concern written clear across her face. She loved her. Actually, properly, loved her.

"You okay?" When she was close enough, the woman tipped her head but Soph didn't so much as break her stride, moving forward until she was close enough to pull the woman into a long, probably inappropriate for a public place, kiss. She could feel Kelly's smile against her lips and couldn't help her own grin as she eased back.
"Perfect." She met the other woman's gaze and for a moment, the world could fuck off.

She loved Kelly Jones.
"Let's go home."


Fluff, angst, and the start of some back story, I hope you all enjoyed reading. It was a bit of a push to get this done, not going to lie. I spent 24 hours at the weekend drawing instead, because I'm an idiot. But that's life. I hope to see you again next week - J