Chapter 19 - A Much Needed Girls' Day

Author's Notes: I own nothing, save for the storyline, the mistakes, Dahlia, and a new character I'm about to introduce.

"I thought the point of today was to actually spend time together, not watch you buy your 'nearly-endless' Ramen supply, which only lasts about a week when you don't wake up with a hangover." Dahlia and I were out this morning, doing some shopping in the city, once again sticking mainly to Carson and the surrounding areas. However, today we weren't at one of the dollar stores. We were at Rite Aid.

I squealed, ducking the cup of instant noodles that flew at my head, courtesy of my laughing roommate. More than likely because she knew it was true. She spent nearly five bucks on Ramen a week, and it only lasted her about that long. When she was stressed, woke up with a hangover one or mornings, or just ravenous, it dwindled much quicker. "Damn it, I missed. You're too freaking short!"

"Maybe you're just too tall in your heeled sandals, ever think of that?" I asked her sweetly in return, not even bothering to hide the smile to match my tone. She just 'pfft'ed me, waving a hand toward me dismissively.

"Go pick that up, you're closer to it."

I stayed right where I was. "I didn't throw it."

"But, you're closer to it." Apparently, that was the logic my roommate was going to use, then.

Which prompted me to walk directly behind her, holing onto her so that she couldn't really move. "Now you're closer to it." I told her happily.

"I meant closer to it in height, not by distance, honey." Her voice was completely innocent, which prompted me to smack her on the ass.

"Point for originality, but still, you just had to throw in a short joke?!" I asked her, letting her go and picking up her cup of noodles, tossing it back at her. It missed, careening onto a shelf and knocking over a few already scattered items on it.

"Well, apparently, since you're so short, it's affecting your aim." Dahlia replied honestly, plucking the instant lunch off of the shelf and tossing it into her cart, while we beat a hasty retreat out of the general area.

I just rolled my eyes at that. "My aim's always sucked. Just ask Simon, he'll tell you several horror stories about me and my horrid aim." A flash of several he could actually tell came to my mind in vivid Technicolor, making me shudder a bit. "On second thought-"

"Oh, I'm already going to. You suggested it, and it's the potential to get dirt on you, so I won't pass it up." Dahlia informed me happily, giving me a happy grin over her shoulder, as she pushed the cart into the cereals aisle.

I didn't bother telling her that Simon would more than likely would keep his mouth shut on anything particularly horrific. Unless we got into a banter war and started trying to one up one another. Then, there was no telling what could come out of either of our mouths. "What's with you embarrassing me at every point the three of us are together?"

"Oh, no reason!" Her tone immediately made me suspicious, and I showed it by narrowing my eyes at her, the bitch. Which she utterly ignored, because she ended up walking to the end of the aisle.

"Get back here and explain yourself, Hissam!" I tried to make my voice all powerful and threatening, but the look she sent me clearly said that I did the opposite, mainly because she appeared to be on the verge of laughing.

"Royal England called, they want their dialect back, because you clearly don't pull it off, Pipsqueak."

Oh, so that's the way she wanted to play it. Well, I can play it that way, too. "Only if you give back all the salt dishes Japan wants from you, Dollface."

"Never gonna happen, Spitfire." Her tone radiated smugness.

Gah! I hate that name! "I will poke holes in all your Ramen cups!" The threat held no merit, because I ended up laughing halfway through it. Damn it, why couldn't I keep a straight face when I was pretending to be mad at someone?!

"It sounds like you're going to be laughing too hard to do much damage!" Dahlia was laughing herself, but I couldn't freaking point that out because of my on laughter. However, I could...

"Umf!"

I ended up laughing harder, simply because she looked about ready to fall over and die...but was still laughing her head off. "You...little...bitchling!" she gasped, holding her stomach from where I ended up whacking her with my purse.

I couldn't actually form an appropriate response, due to laughing so freaking hard and the fact that I actually beat my roommate out at something. However, I could see Dahlia reach for the cart, grabbing one of her instant salt dishes (maybe it was the same one I grabbed, I wasn't sure) and whip it at me like she'd done before. However, her aim was like mine in this case, and ended up careening into three boxes of Cocoa Puffs, knocking each and every one of them over and off the shelves. And we only ended up laughing harder as a result, unable to even try and get away.

Unfortunately, we probably should have tried to, because we were too busy trying not to drop on the floor that we didn't hear a pair of...heels...making their way toward us. Or see the girl whirl around the corner, the girl who was even shorter than me. "Do I have to separate you two?"

Instantly, the both of straightened up, being confronted with said girl, who was around just five feet tall, with very long reddish brown hair that went to her waist, and in white heels, even in her work uniform at a Rite Aid. Her eyes were dark brown, but her smile was playful, and I could tell the question wasn't meant as serious. Her nametag identified her name as Alyssa.

"Heels at work. Damn girl, you have some serious lady balls." Dahlia utterly ignored the question, focusing instead on the other girl's footwear.

And she simply shrugged at the comment. "Thanks for the honesty. Most people just ask how the hell I can wear these here. Or just why I do."

"Hey, if you can rock heels at any time, rock 'em." My roommate stuck out a foot, showing off her choice in footwear.

However, Alyssa's eyes were nowhere near my roommate's feet, instead looking up and down her legs, at the skinny jeans that hugged them and showed them off. "Nice shoes."

...oh holy...

"Clary Fray!" I broke into the moment between them, because hello, names needed to be exchanged! Especially if what I was thinking was happening actually was going to happen! Off of Alyssa's blank look, I pointed at myself. "Me. My name. Not her's."

Dahlia rolled her eyes at me, but the gesture was affectionate. "Dahlia Hissam. Her roommate at U of Pitt." She supplied for the shortest girl.

"Alyssa Davies. Nice to meet all of you." I didn't miss that her eyes were only for my roommate. And the thought made me grin.

"I'm going to be...not here. And leave the cart with you. And use your card to buy sexy lingerie for Simon and I." I told Dahlia, who only had eyes for Alyssa. And her distracted, half-hearted response told me that she didn't hear a word in response.

Something that I was completely fine with.

"So, did you get digits?" I asked my roommate sweetly, having waited for her for twenty minutes before just giving up, sending her a text that I'd be in the book section at Giant Eagle, and heading off to the aforementioned grocery store. She was now catching up to me, I was halfway through a harlequin romance novel that I now wanted to spend twelve dollars on because I was hooked, and it was over a half hour since I'd sent the text.

"Bitch, please, I got a number and I got a date!" She squealed at me, happily grabbing me when I threw down the book and leapt at her.

"Oh my god!"

Her excitement matched my own, the both of us laughing happily in yet another public store, ignoring the stares that were on us. "Okay, details, please! Because I could tell that the two of you were into each other, though I didn't know girls flirted over shoes, but anyway! Details, seriously!"

She laughed at my tangent, though I was far too jazzed to think about any retaliation. "Okay, well, you saw us with the whole shoe thing. And she's the one who boldly came out and asked if you were my girlfriend after you left and that 'roommate' was just a cover." She snorted at my deadpan expression, but I didn't say anything. "Anyway, I told her you weren't, that you were straight and into guys, which made her shiver since she's gay and I thought it was adorable..."

"Dahlia!" I yelled at her, laughing myself. "Focus, please!"

"Sorry, thinking about those legs underneath those jeans and bare in a dress and okay, badness happening!" She laughed nervously, her thoughts clearly getting dirty, and recovered, especially when I held up my purse. "Okay! Anyway, she asked if we'd gone out to eat, and I said that we hadn't, but were planning to hit Hello Bistro, since Bitchtits ruined that for us and we need to hit that again, and remarked that she loves it there, but she didn't get off until two, and I'd be in class by then. So, we kind of made plans to go out there together later this week. But, there's a condition."

"What kind of condition! You have a date!" I told her honestly, though I was idly curious about it.

"It's a double date, since she doesn't like to do single dates right away. And I mentioned you and Simon coming along."

Author's Notes: Welp, that happened. Thoughts? ;)