Laurel's POV :
A kiss too far, I've clearly said too much to Dinah and crossed a line that I didn't even notice was there. It's been an entire week of her passive aggressive avoidance. I've tried to ignore the way she flinched when I bumped into her coming out of the shower. Then pretended to be unfazed when she skipped our daily breakfast routine. I played cool while she kept having one of the girls take on my cleaning duties at the bar, literally snatched my duties from under me.
Sometimes I catch her staring when she thinks I'm not paying attention. But little does she know, I'm always paying attention. For instance, I notice how she never uses her reading glasses to read; but instead as a chew toy as she reads. Or, how she uses the smallest bowl for ice cream just so that she won't eat the carton, but somehow manages to do just that. I always pay attention to her even though I may not always listen.
I'm paying attention to her currently from across this hot van. She surveil's Mia and the canaries as they execute their mission while I surveil her. The way her intense glare penetrates through her black mask when she focuses. How her tight leather suit accentuates the weightier parts of her body when she leans forward into the screen. My thoughts quickly escalate into inappropriate territory, and I wish we were alone.
"You do realize I can see you," a husky voice says. William snaps me out of my trance.
"Huh.. what?" I ask, -He glances back and forth between me and Dinah, - "Did you say something?" I ask.
"Yeah, I said... you realize I can see you," he repeats, "you've been staring at Dinah all night. What's going on with you two?" he asks.
I slap him in the back of the head causing him to flinch forward in his seat. "Say it louder," I whisper, "also, there's nothing going on."
Dinah looks at us and I play it off with a smile and a wave. She returns my kind gesture by shaking her head and squinting in our direction. I smack William in the arm, "Wave," I demand. He does as he's told, and she returns her attention to Perrie. William pokes his head in front of me to block my view.
"Oh my God, you're doing it again," he whispers, "you can't keep your eyes off of her."
"Mind your business, I was just thinking and she happens to be in my line of sight."
"So her ass is in your line of sight," he jokes, "want me to tell her to scoot over?"
Before I can justify my wonton staring, Dinah and Perrie rush out of the van without any warning. "Keep and eye out," I tell William as I dart after them. When I finally catch up to them they are at Mia's side, along with the two canaries that were meant to be her backup. I don't know how they lost control of the situation, but as expected, when Dinah shows up things get back on track.
There's nothing for me to do now but watch and wait. Perrie kicks a man twice her size into a large crate, then Riley piggybacks off her and punches another man across the face. He hits the ground and Dinah jumps over him to land a blow with her staff. Mia and Nina are in the middle of a screaming match with one another while at the same time tag teaming another guy. "You were supposed to be the lookout!" Mia yells. She shoots her arrow at Perrie's opponent, snagging his shirt into a large beam before he can charge her.
"Ladies... argue later, fight now!" Dinah shouts. Mia straightens up on command, but young Nina is too busy sneering to notice the man in all black creeping up. Mia quickly raises her bow but is scooped up into the arms of a hefty size bald man. I spring toward her. "Look out Nina!" Dinah shouts. I let out an ear shattering cry before he can strike. He falls to his knees and Nina knocks him out with brass knuckles.
Once the dust settles we're all that's left standing. We clear the warehouse and head back to the van. Mia and Nina argue the entire way back, it reminds me of why I don't want children. I hear the words careless and irresponsible fly out of Mia's mouth and get flashbacks of the talks I had with her father. "Okay, enough," I hear Dinah say, before pulling Mia aside. Leaving me alone with the other three.
Perrie jumps into the van first, and though my focus is on Dinah and Mia, I can hear the other two girls whispering amongst themselves. "Laurel..." Nina says, a wide smile on her face. I try to ignore her but she jumps beside me, "thanks for the save," she says. There's a certain amount of unease as her brown eyes sparkle when looking at me. "Do you think Riley and I could stay with you and Dinah tonight?" she asks.
"Yeah... no," I say, trying to breeze pass her. "What's wrong with Mia's? She has an entire mansion."
"She's so uptight and strict," Riley interrupts, before I can get into the van. "She has us running drills at three in the morning," she complains.
I look up at William and Perrie, and they nod. "It's true," Perrie says.
"It will only be for one night," Nina says, "just until she gets over me letting that guy get the drop on us." She and Riley throw pleading looks at me, then adds a surround sound of puppy noises when that doesn't work right away. So for the sake of my sanity I accept. We jump into the van and wait a short time until Dinah finally shows, but Mia isn't with her.
"I'm gonna take a ride with Mia back to her place," she tells us.
"Oh are you now," I respond. There must have been a bite in my tone because the group goes silent.
Her eyes tighten. "Yes-" she says, "there are some things we need to talk about."
"Lemme guess, lessons in avoidance," I say. She rolls her eyes at me and shuts the doors.
"Hey Perrie," William says, "you wanna get in some practice driving the van?"
"I call shotgun!" Riley shouts. She and Nina fight it out as they follow Perrie to the driver seat.
William reaches underneath one of the consoles and pulls out two bottles of beer. He passes me one and I notice a pitiful look on his face. "No..." I say, "I'm not talking about this with you kid."
He leans back into his chair, "So there's something to talk about then?" There's a look on his face that reminds me of Felicity.
"You really got Felicity smug look down," I say.
"Nice change of subject," he says, "but we are on the topic of the tension between you and Dinah." He presses his beer to his chest. "Just tell me the truth, do I have to tell the girls their parents are about to divorce?" he asks.
"Ha, ha..." I snatch the beer from him after realizing mines is already gone. "I may have over stayed my welcome with her."
"Oh no, what did you do?" he asks.
I feign offense, but I know it was me. "I made it weird by being a bit to honest. She won't say it, but you just know, ya know."
"Hmm, I got ya. Have you tried to talk to her about it?"
I take a swig of my drink, "We're never in the same room long enough," I say, frankly.
He has that pitiful look on his face again. "Change of plans girls!" he shouts. Riley and Nina look back at him. "Laurel needs the Dirty Dancing experience," he says. I give him a curious look, "the time of my life..." he says. The girl's cheer his decision, and Perrie quickly steps on the gas before I have time to object.
It's one in the morning when we stumble into Dinah's apartment. For once, I am not the drunk one but I cannot say the same for Nina. Riley has her arm wrapped around her shoulder and is dragging her off the elevator. At least she is a quiet drunk, but not so much a functioning one. We slide her into one of the chairs, then Riley exhaustively falls onto the couch, also known as my bed.
After scanning the living room, I realize I may have been hasty in offering my small space. Nina pops up from her chair and wraps her arms around my neck. I try to pull her loose without too much noise so we struggle in a silent chaos. "Riley," I whisper, "I think you and I should take the floor and let Nina take th-" I turn just in time to see her convert my couch into a sofa bed. "the hell, it was a couch this whole time," I complain.
"You two can take the bed," Riley says, "she's too drunk, and you're old-er." She grabs Nina and heads to the bathroom.
They're in there for fifteen minutes before Riley re-emerges. I'm already laying in bed when she quietly tucks herself into the nook that I'd laid out in the corner of the room. A few minutes later, my eyes are bombarded by florescent lights and Nina appears from the bathroom. Through squinted eyes I see her primp herself before walking toward me. It's odd, but I don't delve too deeply into the strange behvaior.
There's a loud crash that causes me and Riley shoot up from our partial slumber. Riley switches the light back on and I notice one of Dinah's ugly vases shattered on the ground. Nina reaches to pick it up. "No!" Riley and I shriek. "I will take care of it in the morning," I say, "let's just go to sleep." I'd never seen someone so eager to follow a request as Nina was in that moment.
Just as she is about to jump into the bed, a voice exclaims, "What the hell is going on down here?!" The three of us look upward toward the voice. Dinah is standing in the middle of the staircase wearing a long satin nightgown. "Are you just getting in?" she asks, "and why are Riley and Nina here?" She descends the the stairs and we get a glimpse of her glowing olive skin.
"I told the girls they could stay the night," I reply, "it's only for one night. No big deal." It's apparent by the way she glares at me that she doesn't agree. Suddenly, her attention is drawn toward in another direction. She briefly scans Nina's body, then shoots a look of disbelief toward me. I glance at Nina and shrug.
Her wide eyes look around the room then focus back to Nina, "And where are you sleeping?" she asks.
"Riley is letting me take the couch," Nina answers.
"But Laurel is on the couch," Dinah says. It's the most obvious observation she could make which is why the rest of us are visibly confused.
"I figure I let them have the couch, since Nina is gonna have a hang over and Laurel is ol-" Riley responds. I shoot a grave look at her and she quickly tucks herself back into her nook.
"I see... and that's what you're wearing to bed?" she asks. Again, she glances at me then at Nina. I take notice of her tank top and underwear. "Yea... nope," Dinah says, firmly. She grabs me by the wrist and pulls me from bed. "Riley, you will be sleeping with Nina," she says. Her hand tightens around my arm, "and you'll be sleeping upstairs with me. Okay, good night." She switches the down stairs light off and drags me upstairs.
We get behind closed doors and she remains oddly quiet, but I sense she has a lot to say. Her expression softens toward me the longer we stare in silence. She slides the night gown off her shoulders then tosses it aside. I have a visceral reaction to her bare skin, and my eyes quickly veer in another direction. "Get into the bed," she says, quietly.
She bypasses me like an obstacle then slides into her bed. I don't see her do it, but I hear the springs of the bed activate. "Are you planning on sleeping, or are you gonna stand there all night staring at my dresser?" she asks.
I turn around and she's sitting up with a book in her hand. My weary feet make their way toward her, and I ease myself beneath the covers. Doing my best impression of an unobtrusive guest, I intentionally turn my back to her. The sound of rapidly turning pages catches my ear until I hear the book slam close.
"What were you thinking?" she asks, abruptly. I let a few seconds of silence pass, then a book slams across my back.
"Oh, you're talking to me?" I ask. She glares at me with a disapproving look on her face, and I sit up.
"You know damn well I was talking to you," she responds, "How could you think it was appropriate to let her get in bed with you? She was in her underwear."
"You act as though she was naked," I reply, "We've both shared a bed with the girls before. Why are you making a big deal about it?"
"Are you kidding me right now-" she argues, "you know it's not the same."
"How is it not the same?" I ask.
"Because Nina has a crush on you and you know it," she replies.
I scoff at the revelation, "No she doesn't," I say. "She was whining to me all night about her boyfriend she just broke up with."
"Oh my God... you really have no idea." she chuckles, "Nina is bisexual Laurel. Everyone knows she has a crush on you."
Obviously not everyone because this is the first I've heard of it. "I don't believe you. You're just messing with me because I invited them without telling you."
"Oh I'm definitely pissed about that. But no, that's not it." She leans back and scans my face. "I bet she didn't tell you the reason Mia and her were arguing."
"Because she got distracted on the mission," I answer.
"Yeah, distracted talking to Riley about you," she says. I shake my head doubtingly. "Oh yeah, Riley is her little wing woman," she adds, letting out a small laugh. "Didn't you notice how she stares at you?"
"I mean sure, but I thought it was just enthusiasm," I say. She looks doubtful. "I hope you don't think I'm susceptible to her advances."
She raises her eyebrows, "I mean...she is a very attractive young woman." She reaches out behind me and adjusts my pillow.
"Young being the key word. I'm looking at someone with more maturity, someone more considerate," I say while gazing into her eyes, "she's not the one that keeps me up most nights."
She clears her throat, then quickly switches off the light. I watch her moonlit silhouette slide beneath the covers, and I'm left feeling discarded as I stare at the back of her head. Her rebuff causes me to melt beneath the sheets. After a few seconds of silence she shifts in bed; somehow, I can sense the gears turning over in her head.
"So there's someone -" she says. I turn my body toward her til we are looking at each other, half our heads buried in our pillows. "- you said there's someone who keeps you up at night?"
"Yes, you actually," I answer, letting my response linger, "you're the one keeping me up right now," I add.
She rolls her eyes and flips onto her back. "Why can't you ever give me a straight answer?" she asks. I thought I did, but the way she glares up at the ceiling tells me otherwise.
"I'm sorry- what was the question?" I ask. She turns her body toward me again.
"I hope this person is worth all those sleepless nights," she says, softly.
I tuck the loose strands of her hair behind her ear. "I'd say worth a lot more than that. More than I'd ever be able to giv -," I reply.