A.N.: The inspiration for this first scene comes from my mother (who I've been told I'm rapidly turning into—eek!) who actually did gatecrash an all-guys' party at six a.m.!
She couldn't help it. She had never been one to let sleeping dogs lie. She'd always been the bravest—sometimes the only one reckless enough—to sort out problems such as this.
This was punishment in some way for Sarah's party. The party they'd thrown at Caleb's; how she and Reid had walked casually downstairs hand-in-hand, sated, glowing and extremely peaceful. Completely obvious to everyone they had had sex. So what? She wasn't some frigid American little bitch (NO OFFENCE INTENDED!! I lived in California for five years, some of the best people I've met!) afraid to show a bit of breast or leg—a la Kira. But people didn't like seeing—no, Aaron didn't like seeing—that she was, well, in his eyes, she supposed, officially taken. Perhaps he was traditionalist in spite of his hypocritically whorish behaviour.
She wasn't afraid of exuding her sexuality.
And she wasn't afraid, at five o'clock in the morning, despite Sarah's warnings and suggestions they just call the house-parents, to march downstairs to the boys' dorms, where the party had been thrashing since ten o'clock last night. She had been woken at midnight, at one, at two—at three she hadn't bothered trying to get back to sleep. She pranced into one of the open dorms, plonked down on a desk chair, folded her thighs, crossed her arms over her chest and glared resolutely at the guys collectively.
Then it hit her.
There were no girls here.
She didn't know there were any gay guys at Spenser.
She was sure there weren't any.
Oh shit.
A few of the guys shot her glances, and she smirked as they all huddled and withdrew to the kitchen. She could see them through the internal window. They kept glancing at her, and were all whispering to each other—amazing, over the volume of the music. Amazing that Reid and Tyler are actually asleep, she thought, wishing that Reid would suddenly appear in his doorway across the hall. They could have anything stashed in these rooms. Guns. Well, they didn't need guns to inflict dam…No, don't think about it, Lilah thought, taking a deep breath to dispel any fear that might threaten to make her back down. She was more than a match for them if they even attempted to imply they might.
They sent Ryan out. He was a decent enough bloke. A bit on the arrogant side, but weren't they all? But he was nicer than some of the others.
"You want a beer?" he asked. AT FIVE FUCKING O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING! Where they had smuggled beer in from, she didn't know. She was surprised they weren't all actually passed out or puking already. Mind you, a baby couldn't get tipsy off that coloured water.
"No thank you," Lilah said politely. He scuttled off. They converged around him, talking again. She waiting, jigging her foot impatiently. They dispatched another. He was new to her. He didn't hang out at Nicky's.
"You know, you're not showing us any respect," he said vehemently. Lilah didn't blanch. It riled her. ANY RESPECT! I'LL SHOW YOU NO FUCKING RESPECT!! "You're not allowed to be in the guys' dorms, we can call the…" His words trailed off as a gloating smile graced Lilah's lips.
"Wonderful, you call the house-parents," she smiled girlishly, handing him the dorm owner's cordless phone from the dock. She settled in the chair. The boy scuttled back to the kitchen. She glanced down the corridor; Tyler was frowning at her.
"Are you with them?" he asked bemusedly. She shook her head. "Want me to call H.P.?" Code for House-Parents and clues that led her to believe Harry Potter was his closet obsession. She nodded. Ten minutes later, phone-calls were being made by the Provost to the parents and the guys were in deep shit because of the smuggled booze. Reid and Tyler hadn't been certain if she'd been partying with them. Reid had called her a million different things in three languages—English, French, German—before he calmed down and told her that she was a real idiot—putting it mildly—because those guys had been drinking and she was really hot. And fuckable. And they had her outnumbered.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Lilah said gently, pressing a tiny kiss to his lips. He was worried about me, she smiled blithely. "Now I'm going to go pass out. I won't be awake 'til after noon."
"I'll bring you some lunch," Reid said softly, humming slightly as he pressed her lips with his again, his fingers intertwining with hers as he slowly walked her backwards towards the stairs and her dorm.
"Want to come back with me?" she asked, tugging him towards the stairs by his waist. He grinned down at her, his hair tousled and his eyes bright.
"Won't Sarah be awake soon?" he asked, glancing down the corridor to make sure none of the house-parents were still around. Giggling, they ran up the stairs to Lilah's dorm.
The first week of October had brought with it the stunning changing leaves, the crisp autumn air, the chill about the ears that brought many—such as Lilah—to wear thick knitted hats with pompoms on the top, thick, hot soups and casseroles to the lunchtime menus and the thicker coats out of storage. P.E. was indoors from now on, after the first rain. The boys were like restless caged animals in the dorms, watching the window for any sudden change in the rain thrashing the glass.
"Miss Shakespeare—!"
"I didn't do it!" Lilah said, jerking awake and glancing around guiltily. Everyone else in her English class laughed.
"Guilty conscience, Lilah?" Mr Sears smirked. "The Provost requests you go to his office immediately," Reid glanced warily at her. What've we done wrong this week? She asked him. It's Monday, he responded with a shrug. Probably the party last night.
No one saw us last night, did they? she asked. They could get busted for her having had a boy in her dorm after-hours last-night. Reid shook his head almost imperceptibly. She shrugged.
"Do I need to take my things?" she asked.
"I would think so," Sears sighed, scrawling something across the board. "Hurry up." Lilah gathered her things and shot Reid a look that told him to take notes for her, which he, grumbling, did. Lilah stalked out of the lecture theatre and across campus to the faculty building, almost freezing in the process. The Provost's office was stuck in the Victorian era, candle sconces still on the walls either side of the flickering fireplace. She stuck her head around the door.
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Was he going to land her in shit for breaking up the party last night?
"Yes, Lilah, come on in," Provost Stephens smiled, waving her inside. She took a seat in front of his imposing desk and glanced around, waiting for him to say something. "I'm sorry to pull you out of your lecture, Lilah. I just wanted to have a talk, see how you're settling in to life here at Spenser. Are you enjoying yourself?" Relief swept over her.
"Yes sir," Lilah beamed, answering honestly.
"I understand you have become friendly with Reid Garwin and his friends," Provost Stephens smiled. Yeah, we've been getting friendly a lot, Lilah smirked to herself. "They're a wonderful set of boys." Lilah grinned. "And how are your classes going? I know you were concerned about the workload."
"I'm doing really well," Lilah smiled blithely. She'd gotten an A+ in the last History assignment, 100 on the last English quiz and she prattled on with the native-French teacher like a natural. "I've been managing my time really well." Plus I can animate objects with my mind so I can write two papers at once, she thought with an internal smirk.
"And you've joined the swim-team. Your mother was a regional champion, too," Provost Stephens smiled. "I know you had a bit of trouble last week, but I'm glad you're getting involved." She'd been forced to come and see the Provost last week because of her absences, and explain why she wasn't at school. He had excused her, and though he suggested perhaps going to see one of the school-counsellors, he let her be.
"Well, the boys kind of make it difficult to avoid," Lilah laughed softly. She couldn't go anywhere without Tyler wanting to tag along, to the book shop or just hanging out at Nicky's after lessons. She and Reid were joined at the hip, and she was growing more and more in like with him every day.
"Well, wonderful, wonderful," Provost Stephens smiled. "Wonderful. And I'm sorry about the ruckus last night. I assure you we have no tolerance for that kind of behaviour in our students, and they have been punished. I don't want you to think Spenser is just one of those party schools you see on MIT or something." I think you mean MTV, Lilah thought, not correcting him.
"Well, if that's all, you can go on back to your lessons," Provost Stephens smiled. She knew her father had made an incredible donation to the school to extend the library. No wonder he's taking such good care of me, Lilah thought, smiling as she said goodbye and picked up her things, closing the door behind her, rolling her eyes. She had missed the end of English, so headed straight to her History lecture before the bell.
Lilah didn't realise just how many boys had actually been partying last night until she walked into her History lecture later on Monday morning. Half the class was missing, a quarter of the guys were still sat in their seats. Oddly, it wasn't the Sons who were missing—Reid and Tyler were both notorious for ditching lessons, especially eight a.m.-start lessons on Monday mornings. Lilah could tell Tillman was disappointed some of his best students were absent, but Caleb was still there, so all was well. Caleb was the best male student. Although she had never studied American history before (and she had been branded 'Redcoat' by Reid, who wouldn't let her borrow money even for the vending-machines during break because it that would violate 'No taxation without Representation') she was the best overall student. Tillman could always count on her to put her hand up to ask a complex question nobody had thought of or to have finished the essays he assigned three days early so he could proofread it. She loved History.
She loved that Reid sat beside her every lesson with his thumb stroking her thigh.
And the fact that she could draw on his face with Tyler's coloured Sharpie-markers when he fell asleep.
But today it was weird. The boys had all been indeterminately suspended and the parents were still trying to convince the Provost not to call the police. That's what Tyler said anyway; his mother was head of the P.T.A. and knew all the gossip of Spenser. It was strange to think such a social-butterfly of a woman could have such a bashful child.
Kira sat glaring at Lilah or pining at Aaron's empty seat beside her. Lilah's hand flew over her paper as she wrote down her notes, alternately nudging Reid to wake him up or pointing out the passage they were reading from to Tyler in case Tillman called on him to read—as he did every lesson to make sure one, at least, of the Troublesome Two was actually awake.
Some of the boys eventually filed in, shame-faced, shooting Lilah glowers she might have been scared off had she not had the Power and could smite them down just because of those looks they gave her. Aaron took his seat next to Kira, who immediately started petting him affectionately, running her fingertips through his hair.
Tuesday morning, after the previous night had been spent at Nicky's, Lilah woke up cuddled with Reid, in his bed, still in only her sweet Lena knickers and Reid's vest. She smiled softly and snuggled closer, kissing his collarbone tenderly, sighing as she hugged his waist. Reid sighed and nuzzled her sleepily, lips pecking at hers, hot arms wrapping around her.
"I am awake, you know," Tyler's voice said groggily, and Lilah giggled as she glanced over at Tyler's messy bed; he was propped up against his pillows, getting a little bit of PSP-playing in before the mad-dash for the showers and breakfast.
"Morning Tyler," Lilah said brightly. "Reid—get off me!"
"So I take it you guys had a good night last night," Tyler smirked, book-marking her page.
"Could've been better," Reid sighed, stretching luxuriously under Lilah's duvet as she whipped a t-shirt off the floor and tugged it on, giggling up at her from the pillow until she dug her fingernails into him as she wrapped her fist around him. Tyler giggled as Reid yelped in a most unmanly way.
"Come on, you lazy wanker, get out of bed," Lilah said, tickling the soles of Reid's feet with her nails, one place she knew apart from others he was extremely sensitive to tickles. He squirmed and curled up tight under the duvet, peering owlishly over it at her to see if she was going to do anything dangerous to any other parts of his anatomy.
"Fine. I'm going to go and shower." Lilah was back and dressed in twenty minutes, hair dried and styled glamorously like a pin-up, like he loved it, a coat of her new favourite mulled-wine lipstick on, eyelashes curled luxuriously. I could audition for St. Trinian's, she thought, rolling her eyes at Reid as he slept. She got a washcloth from Tyler's stash, rinsed it under the cold-water tap and attacked Reid with it. He yelled indignantly at the rude awakening. Grumbling, he ambled to the showers, returning freshly-shaved and smelling gorgeous.
"I have to get my things from my dorm," Lilah said, and Reid came with her to her room. She barged in and stilled as the person lying under her duvet yelped and sat bolt-upright at the rude awakening. Lilah yelled ecstatically as she saw who the blonde girl was when her shoulder-length golden locks settled.
"TALLI!"
"ZIGGY!" Talli shrieked, catching Lilah in her arms as she launched herself onto the bed at her best-friend, who caught her and knocked them back onto the bed, straddling Talli's hips, hugging the life out of her, suffocating Talli in her chest. It was Talli: a beautiful oval face with stunning sapphire eyes, a pert little nose achieved through surgery after it was broken during field-hockey, the sweet smile, her short golden-blonde hair tousled.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Lilah yelled, ecstatic.
"I need air!" Talli giggled loudly, and Lilah released her, beaming.
"Lilah, who's this?" Reid asked smilingly.
"She's my lover," Lilah said, keeping her face completely serious. Talli grasped her face and planted a kiss on her lips; Tyler (who had accompanied them downstairs) and Reid—she rolled her eyes—moaned at the show.
"Wow!" Talli stopped still, gawping at Reid over Lilah's shoulder. "Jesus, Lilah, you don't mess around, do you?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" she demanded excitedly. Talli laughed as she reached over and pulled her black quilted Chanel handbag closer to her.
"I have things for you," she beamed, rooting through her handbag, pulling out a full sheet of Hotel Chocolat 'Caramellow'. Lilah melted, moaning, undoing the corner of the Caramellow bar and smelling the chocolate. "And there's plenty more where that came from. And look—" Talli produced an industrial-sized box of PG Tips teabags, and the book.
"Oh my gosh!" Lilah gasped loudly, reaching for the book, ecstatic.
"Didn't think I'd come here without bringing that, did you?" Talli asked, laughing. "From the look of your Facebook I think you need it." Though disguised as a gothic gold-leaf-embellished Bible, this book was hardly about abstaining from sin. Abstaining from boredom was more like it. It was a communal journal, a scrapbook of sorts, documenting the girls' lives since puberty. Every boy they'd ever gone out with, every sexual position they'd tried and favoured, every night they wanted to remember for the rest of their lives—it was all in that book. Only she and Talli could read it, unless they allowed someone to see it.
"What d'you mean 'by the look of my Facebook'?" Lilah demanded indignantly. Talli slid her eyes over Reid and smirked.
"Well, do you need to add to it?" she asked, brandishing the book. Lilah took it and they both giggled. Lilah turned to Talli. "What are you doing here?"
"I transferred here," Talli grinned.
"How did you get in here—you didn't…with the headmaster, did you?" Lilah asked, inching away from her best-friend who was naked except for an almost-see-through chiffon bra and knickers—Lena, from Agent Provocateur—underneath the duvet, mentally cringing at the image she got of Talli with the headmaster at their old school. So wrong.
"That was a joke. I threatened to tell Mummy about Daddy's affair with the Svetlana," Talli said, her face completely serious, except for the artfully-plucked eyebrows rising innocently.
"Aah, Svetlana," Lilah said, relishing the name. Svetlana, their metaphorical big-sister, the one who was an even worse party-girl than Talli and feistier than Lilah, whom they'd met at a cocktail bar in Chelsea. No wonder Mr Sheldon went for her, she thought.
"But how did you get the teachers to give you references?" Lilah asked. Before Spenser, she and Talli had been two of the most reputable slackers in the school.
"Cash." Lilah laughed.
"You bribed them!" she chuckled.
"It was that or sexual favours, but you know my cut-off age is twenty-six," Talli shrugged, dead serious. Reid choked and shuddered beside her. Lilah gave him a look and he flushed, giggled, and tried not to catch Tyler's eye as his best-friend shuddered with suppressed laughter hiding behind him. Talli's eyes roved over Tyler's flushed, tear-streaked face and she turned back to Lilah.
He's so cute, she heard Talli's voice gush, though her face was only mildly amused. Those eyes!
Don't swoon, Lilah smirked.
Is he going out with anyone?
No, Lilah bit back a laugh. He's really shy. Don't just jump him. He's not like that.
"I can't believe you're here. I can't believe you did this for me!" Lilah sighed, hugging Talli.
"This is so typical of me, Ziggy," Talli smiled, striking her Zippo and lighting a long cigarette. Lilah gave her a reproving look. Talli rolled her eyes, reached over to open the window and stubbed the cigarette out on the stone windowsill.
"'Ziggy'?"
"Yes," Talli smirked at Lilah. "Because she gets all over the place."
"Talk to me when you take an oath of chastity," Lilah said, pinging the shoulder-strap of Talli's pretty bra. She slapped her hand away playfully.
Is he hot naked?
Scorching, Lilah said, smirking a glance at Reid. He raised an eyebrow archly, going through Sarah's bedside cabinet and stealing some condoms from the little box. Talk of seeing people naked—Ollie? Ew!
I was upset and drunk and you weren't there to wallow with me, she said. Don't talk about it, it only depresses me. And besides, you were there first.
Stop reminding me, Lilah thought vehemently. You're supposed to learn from my mistakes.
Tell me about it. You'll never guess what he kept yelling, Talli smirked. Lilah made the unfortunate mistake of glancing at her best-friend. LILAH!!
"EW!"
The boys turned to look at her. Tyler was half-asleep on Sarah's bed, so he yelped as he woke. She and Talli collapsed into each other with their giggles. Tyler tried to hide his flushed face, probably thinking they were talking about him.
Are you doin' that mind-reading thing? Reid's voice poked at her. She glanced to her side and beamed. He rolled his eyes amusedly. What's she saying about Tyler?
Nothing.
"So why are you both giggling?"
"Sex."
"Do you girls mind if I jump in there with you?" Reid asked sleepily, pouting over at them.
"Go and get some breakfast," Lilah said.
"And take him with you," Talli grinned, eyes following Tyler. He flushed bashfully. "See you later, big-boy." Lilah giggled softly.
"Poor baby. You embarrassed him," Lilah sighed, smiling.
"He's so sweet-looking," Talli hummed softly.
"Okay, so spill," Lilah demanded. "What exactly are you doing here?"
A.N.: Cliff-hanger! Evil laugh! (It is a cliff-hanger, by the way!) I liked writing that!