Hi everyone, sorry it's taken me so long to come back to this… Lost inspiration there for a while. Apologies if it doesn't flow on naturally or there are any continuity issues. Also, if you have two seconds I'd really appreciate it if you check out a new fan video I made for Simone & Annabelle. I haven't made videos in ages but I really enjoy it and would love if people could enjoy what I'm doing too. For some reason it won't let me past the whole youtube link but the end of it is watch?v=j4n8YJHq4CA. You know the rest. And without further ado, here's the chapter!

Night was beginning to fall and yet Annabelle and Lucy had not moved from their spot in the pool. They had spent the last few hours kissing, touching, and telling stories. Annabelle learnt more about Lucy's catholic upbringing and her parents' extreme disdain for gay people. Lucy learnt more about Annabelle's time as a student of St. Theresa's, the torment of Kat, and of course Collins and Kristen. Annabelle told some details of her and Simone's affair but wanted to remain somewhat careful as this was quickly becoming a very fragile situation. She loved the sense of adventure though. She always had. The fear of getting caught, the excitement of a new person and the escape from everyday life.

The girls planned different routes around the school and back to the dorm room, one designed to take longer so no one would notice two people dripping wet and draw their own conclusions. Annabelle was second to make it back and hastily entered her apartment, successfully avoiding suspicion. This was until she heard a knock on the door. "Yeah, come in!" she yelled, halfway out the bathroom door. She was greeted by Simone, who looked slightly taken aback by a half-naked Annabelle drying her hair. "Oh hi, what's up?" Annabelle asked.

"I um… I had an interesting conversation with Lucy earlier."

"Oh yep, mmm hmm… When you say earlier… Like, how earlier is earlier?"

"It was just after lunch, why do you ask?"

"Oh! Because… because I haven't seen her around all afternoon. I just thought it was weird, that's all." Annabelle continued drying her hair and wandering about the apartment, acting casual enough to convince Simone she was being truthful.

"I think I upset her…" Simone said, looking for some kind of comfort or recognition.

"What makes you say that?" Annabelle asked.

"Well, I mentioned something about sexuality and how she wasn't to talk to you about it anymore, then she got in a big huff and started calling me out about our relationship, WHICH by the way I have no idea how she knows about."

"Oh yeah, that…" Annabelle replied, a bit too complacently for Simone's comfort.

"Did you know about that?"

"Yeah, well… Kristen told her. Which by the way I'm not happy about. But that combined with big-mouth Gemma I'd say the whole dorm knows."

"WHAT? And how is it possible that you don't care about this?"

"Simone, I'm not ashamed of what we did. Besides, they're teenagers, they'll be talking about something new in five seconds."

Simone paused and felt both reminiscent and annoyed at Annabelle for her lack of concern. However, it was this free spirit that she once fell in love with. She was too proud to admit that this bikini-clad girl in front of her, and the attitude she was currently exhibiting was insanely attractive. Still, she had to ignore this for now. "Well… I suppose I better go and find her."

"Hey! No, don't worry about it. Give her some time to cool off, you don't want her going crazy at you again. I can find her."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea, with everything that's being going on?"

"Yeah, no sweat. I'll lay down the law if I need to, promise." Annabelle quickly threw some sweatpants and a tshirt on, and was out the door before Simone could beat her to it.

Annabelle gently knocked on the door of the neighbouring dorm, and opened it to find Gemma and Jessica staring back at her. "Hey girls, I was wondering if you'd seen Lucy?"

"No, but you should know where to find her, right?" Gemma replied, snarkily.

Annabelle bit back with "evidently not." She gave Gemma the stare and continued her search elsewhere. She was sure Lucy was going straight back to her dorm, and couldn't understand why she wouldn't be there. With no luck in the dining hall, library, or anywhere indoors, she ventured outside. She found herself concerned for Lucy, what if she hadn't made it back safely? As she paced between the moonlight archways of St Theresa's, a sense of panic heightened. Suddenly, she felt someone grab her from behind and pull her strongly towards them. "Fuck!" she whispered, as loudly as is possible for a whisper.

"Hey, it's just me, it's okay."

"Jesus Lucy, what are you doing? Did you not go back to your dorm?"

"No, I did. But Gemma started questioning me and I freaked out and I started thinking what if what me and you did is wrong, and what if I am going to hell, and what if people find out and I jeopardize your whole career and everything is ruined and -"

" - Stop." Annabelle hushed the young girl. She grabbed hold of Lucy by either shoulder and stared into her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything. And you're not going to hell, don't be ridiculous."

Lucy took a few deep breaths to calm herself, her misty eyes staring back at Annabelle.

"Hey…" Annabelle replied softly. "It's okay…" and enveloped her in a warm hug. "I was starting to worry about you, out here on your own."

Lucy was shivering, still in her wet undergarments. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Annabelle rubbed her back to warm her up, and gave a quick glance around to make sure no one could see them. She cupped her hand on Lucy's jaw and stroked her cheek with her thumb. "Just don't do it again, okay" she whispered before pulling her in for a kiss.