After school on Friday
"come Cat, we have to pick up Sofía and Naomi" says Jade
"I can't feel my toes" says Cat as Jade swivels quickly and picks Cat up
"that's the second time today, how's the pain" says Jade as she walks out of the school and towards her car
"less but still painful, less than yesterday which is amazing, I can't wait to see Sofía giggle when she finds out she gets to spend the whole weekend with Naomi" says Cat
"you bounced back fast, that talk you had with her at breakfast must have been really something" says Jade setting Cat in the passenger seat and getting in the driver seat moments later
"it was something actually, she talked about the things she heard me say and do, my jaw dropped, I had no idea I was THAT loud, the wall between her and I's rooms is already six inches thick as it used to be an outside wall, I thought she wouldn't hear me, I was stupid to be so careless, it was those sounds that made her think our brother was doing something to me, looking back I can understand why she thought that, Brian was out with his friends on those nights but Sofía didn't know that and that's because he didn't want to be there and hear me, he'd tell me I would need to release some stress if you know what I mean" says Cat as Jade starts her car
"ok but why is HE the one that has to tell you about that, if she heard him say that to you I can see why she thought what she did" says Jade as she turns onto the road
"Sofia doesn't understand that kind of thing, she doesn't get sexually frustrated, at least not enough to need to work herself up enough to make noise like I was, Brian understands, nobody else in that house does, not everything is explained by me being bipolar, Brian may be autistic but it's because he's autistic that he can tell the difference between a Bipolar aggressive episode and a sexually frustrated aggressive episode, I don't know how but he can" says Cat as they turn onto the street Sofía and Naomi's school is on
"wait you can't tell the difference" asks Jade
"unfortunately no I can't, though I have been learning, it's not as easy as it looks, to me it just feels like an aggressive manic episode, it's not until I self play that I realize it isn't and despite what people think I don't self play just for how good it feels, I have to have a reason to, maybe I should have done it more but based on what Sofía told me this morning I'm glad I didn't" says Cat as they turn into the school parking lot and wait for Sofía and Naomi
"that's going to be changing, depending on how their weekend sleepover date thing goes Naomi could be living with Sofía, something about not having enough time to make sure Naomi feels safe and her older brother holding his relationship with his girlfriend back to compensate, depending on how our date goes tomorrow I'll be remodeling your bedroom, taking down drywall and fixing the sound issues with special insulation" says Jade
"please don't call it my room, it's our room" says Cat
"but I thought you weren't ready to commit to anything until the date tomorrow" asks Jade as Sofía and Naomi spot the car and head over
"I haven't felt as safe as I did last night since Tori and I were together, screw the date, I want a sleepover, all weekend long, after all Sofía and Naomi shouldn't be the only ones that get to have fun" says Cat
"oooh Naomi looks excited" says Jade as Sofía opens the door and her and Naomi get in the car
"Naomi told me about some sleepover at my house, am I missing something" asks Sofía as they do up their belts
"it was a surprise, when we get home get Naomi settled in your room and come down for snacks and I'll explain everything" says Cat
"wait you mean she's going to be in MY room all weekend" asks Sofía trying to hide her excitement
"yes, now shush, Naomi, did your mom pack your bag for the weekend" asks Cat
"yes, I'm actually nervous and excited" says Naomi
"why nervous" asks Cat as Jade exits the school parking lot
"my brother said things were about to change, I don't like change, is Sofía changing schools or something, I don't care that she's a C student, she's dyslexic, bad grades are expected, the school hasn't done anything to help her, it's like they want her to fail, please don't take Sofía away from me, I need her by my side, I failed the math test yesterday because she wasn't here" says Naomi
"quite the opposite could happen Naomi, all I'll say is this sleepover is a test of compatibility" says Jade as Sofía realizes the intention as Jade turns down Naomi's street
"why are we at my house" asks Naomi as Jade pulls into Naomi's driveway
"your mom forgot a few things in your bag, she messaged me during lunch, the bag is on the kitchen counter, can you go get it" says Jade
"you promise you will wait here for me" asks Naomi as Jade turns the car off
"absolutely, to prove it here are my car keys, I can't go anywhere without them" says Jade handing Naomi her keys
"ok, I'll be right back" says Naomi getting out of the car, heading to the front door
"Sofía she has trouble processing her emotions, she doesn't yet realize it's possible to love someone who isn't family" says Cat
"wait so she might like like me" asks Sofía
"her family believes she does, the problem is you can't just say 'I love you' to her the first few times, she might freak out, in this case actions speak louder than words, her mom suggests movies and pyjama snuggles, snuggle bug the hell out of her Sofía, if all goes well she will fall asleep in your arms, that's when you can start introducing love factors like kissing, start with kissing her cheeks, use your legs to calm her down by rubbing them against her legs" says Cat
"then what, what if it escalates to more physical stuff" asks Sofía
"she won't be ready for that yet, she may escalate to kissing you on the lips but that may be it for a while, are you comfortable with this" says Cat
"I've wanted this since sex-ed class, she started looking at me differently, mostly getting glances of my chest and lips when she thought I wouldn't notice" says Sofía as Naomi appears again, locking the door
"she's on her way back, a bit of advice, don't change who you are when you're around her, it's more genuinely you than when you're around us and she clearly likes that about you, you're not afraid to be yourself around her, if things escalate do not freak out or deny her if you're comfortable with it, mom went along with Jade's plan for this sleepover so she will have to be ok with whatever happens….." says Cat, cutting her speech short as Naomi opens the door and gets back in the car
"ok let's go" says Naomi as she buckles up and leans on Sofía, clearly feeling comfortable
Later that day back at Cat's house in the kitchen
"you checked in on them, how are they doing" asks Jade
"Naomi's already half asleep and the movie just started, I think she's realized that loving Sofía is ok" says Cat
"that would be a little quick, her mom said it might take till tomorrow" says Jade
"I don't think she's fully comfortable with the idea, at least as far as letting us know she's comfortable, I knocked and I heard the blankets rustle, as if to cover themselves up, when I walked in I saw Naomi's pyjama bottoms on the floor beside her, though she denies taking them off, Sofía seems none the wiser about the fact that Naomi is pyjama bottomless" says Cat
"her mom gave her two pairs Cat, it's entirely likely that she tried one pair on and didn't like it and put the other bottoms on, they were brand new, Naomi's mom says Naomi generally sleeps naked so she's never had pyjamas that she was willing to wear to bed, one pair was soft cotton/polyester blend, the other was silk" says Jade
"either way Sofía is easily tempted by things, if Naomi is pj bottomless as I think she is then Sofía might misunderstand the situation and kiss Naomi on the lips before she's ready" says Cat
"we can ask them tomorrow, I have candy, let's go cuddle" says Jade
"you know I can't resist candy" says Cat as Jade picks her up and walks up the stairs
The next morning
"Naomi can I talk to you for a moment" says Cat as Sofía sits down with Jade for breakfast
"am I in trouble" asks Naomi as she walks over to Cat
"did you lie last night about wearing pj bottoms, please be honest with me, it's important" says Cat
"if I say no do I have to go home" asks Naomi
"no but Sofía might misunderstand, she like likes you" says Cat
"I think I like like her too, I've never felt calmer than I was last night, it made me realize she's more than a friend to me, I feel like I want her to catch me, I know it sounds bad but she's cuter and smarter than she realizes" says Naomi
"I want you to be certain about this Naomi, if you suddenly changed your mind about the romantic aspects and want time away from her and just be friends again, well it would be bad for Sofía" says Cat
"I'm almost certain, I've been battling this for awhile, my feelings scare me in general but with Sofía it feels different, it's hard to explain, cuddling with her last night, it's like I found a part of myself I've been missing" says Naomi
"ok word association game, Love, Kiss, Adore" says Cat
"Sofía, Sofía and Sofía" says Naomi confidently
"ok, word of advice, don't be afraid to kiss her, she's been wanting this since she first met you five years ago, also keep your special place to yourself, at least for the weekend, after that if you want you can live here" says Cat
"then what" asks Naomi
"then you can dress as you please in your shared room with Sofía however bottoms are required in the rest of the house" says Cat as Sofía talks about the plans for the day with Jade
"Sofía really loves me doesn't she, I can hear it in her voice when she says my name" asks Naomi
"yes, now let's go eat, Sofía never gets this excited about anything" says Cat as they head back to the kitchen table
Later that day in Sofía's room
"I like like you Sofía" says Naomi
"yay, I like like you too, are you warm and fuzzy, because I am" says Sofía excited
"kinda, my emotions are scary to me so I only half pay attention to them, let's keep cuddling, I like that the most, I like how that feels" says Naomi
"ok" giggles Sofía as she kisses Naomi and cuddles even tighter to her
With Cat and Jade in their room
"what do you think they're doing right now" asks Cat
"probably cuddling, that was most of Sofía's plan today, it was her plan to figure out what the future was going to be like and if Naomi was part of it" says Jade
"she will be, I had a chat with her this morning, mostly clarifying things, she said she has been battling with her feelings, figuring things out mostly, she said that last night, cuddling Sofía, she said it showed her that Sofía is more than just a friend to her, she was indeed not wearing pyjama bottoms last night, she wants Sofía to catch her, I had to convince her not for the weekend but once she's living here she can dress however she wants when she's sharing the room with Sofía" says Cat
"you made sure to tell her that she needs to dress normally in the rest of the house though right, I'd hate for her to get in trouble with your mom or dad" says Jade
"mom and dad are pretty open actually, they believe in body positivity as long as us girls cover our girl parts we can wear as little as needed to cover ourselves if we want, Sofía for example tends to wear her bathing suits because the weight of her clothes bothers her" says Cat
"what about you, do you toe up to the line or are you as goody-two shoes as one can get" jokes Jade
"I've been known to wear skirts without panties on occasion but never outside the house, panty fabric has been changing recently, for the better thankfully, it used to make me itchy if they got wet, I'm talking rip them off in public itchy, dad works for a research company, he noticed how uncomfortable I'd get and he started a study into bra and panty fabric manufacturing, I guess the study's findings finally took in the industry" says Cat
"maybe it was an allergic reaction that the water helped activate" asks Jade
"maybe but all known fabric allergies came back negative when my mom had me allergy tested" says Cat
"they probably didn't take water into account, I know a guy at the hospital that will do much better testing" says Jade
"is a water based allergy even testable" asks Cat
"if the allergen can dissolve in water yes, though you'd have to describe the situation in which it occurs, I had an allergic reaction last year to a shirt I wore, it turned out to be the dye used in the making of the shirt that caused the reaction, it also made me itchy, as with you it was worse when the shirt got wet" says Jade
"I don't want to make Tori feel bad, technically her and I had been dating for a few years, only by text and video chat, only for that month had we actually dated in person, the panties were a gift from her after our first video date, apparently they cost a lot of money, they certainly didn't look cheap" says Cat
"Cat, she asked me to let her buy another set, if you're allergic she needs to know before she spends money" says Jade
"wait why is she wanting to buy me more, her dad told her no when we broke up, that she couldn't buy me sexy type stuff anymore and those panties definitely qualify" says Cat
"you weren't up there Cat, she was two seconds late at stopping me from dropping that jumbo coffee, just before the play started she mentioned that my eyes didn't look right, like they were glassy or something, I wasn't fully listening, I was bracing myself to try and defend myself from the effects of your singing voice, clearly I wasn't prepared enough" says Jade
"you were plenty prepared Jade, an accident is an accident, yes I was angry about having hot black coffee ruin my recently touched up red hair but I was plenty nervous about being the lead in that play, the only person I knew in that play was Trina and Sinjin, I almost faked spraining my ankle to get out of it, I auditioned against you and Tori for the lead as a joke, to try and prove I was equally as capable as putting on a believable performance as you or Tori, Robbie knew I wanted to fake an injury to get out of it, he pulled a gut punch, asked me what you or more importantly Tori would think if you guys knew I faked an injury to get out of being the lead in a play I fought so hard to get" says Cat
"your relatives have influence in Europe right" asks Jade
"depends who you ask, why" says Cat
"I'm asking you, my dad only approved me paying for your medical bill because he feared not letting me do so would cause an uproar in your family and expose something about him" says Jade
"they would certainly try but as long as he has business and some political sway here, it is unlikely that they could successfully get him arrested or convicted of anything, that is as long as he stays in America, if he steps foot in Canada or Europe they have him cornered, regardless of what happens to me and this nerve damage thing" says Cat
"what do you mean, did he do something wrong or something, I mean he's amoral on most things but in general his business is clean crime wise" says Jade
"your mother, she was an Ally of my family back in the world war two years, her family assisted my family, after the war they turned to non war related stuff, like rebuilding countries, your dad turned her against us, they've been keeping an eye on him ever since, you as well, you will have to prove to them you can be trusted, my mom and dad's word won't be enough" says Cat
"what about Sofía's word, I absolutely hate living with my dad since mom left us" says Jade
"why did your mom leave you" asks Cat
"your mother, she was an Ally of my family back in the world war two years, her family assisted my family, after the war they turned to non war related stuff, helping rebuild broken nations, your father turned her against us, they've been watching him ever since, you too, you're going to have to convince them you can be trusted if you're committed to being my girlfriend, mom's word won't be enough" says Cat
"what about Sofía's word, I happen to hate living with my dad since mom left us recently" says Jade
"why did your mom leave" asks Cat
"dad cheated on her just weeks after I was born with her sister, mom stayed with him because I was a baby, then he did it again with his assistant this time, mom was upset but willing to stay for my benefit until she found out the assistant got pregnant because of him, to mom, him cheating is one thing but getting someone pregnant was another, she'd had enough, I don't and never will blame her, though I don't always agree with her, she made the right decision by leaving, Dad's pushing me away, he's more ignorant than ever, I don't think anyone can get through to him that he's destroying what little family he has left, all he has left is my little sister and only because she has nowhere to go" says Jade
"I need to talk to him" says Cat
"it's not going to go well Cat, trust me, if he wants to destroy his family then let him" says Jade
"my belief says otherwise, he needs a good chance to make things right, you got Sofía to understand Brian wasn't doing what she thought he was doing, that's something I thought wouldn't be possible either and yet here you are making the impossible possible, like Sofía, your dad needs a chance to see he made mistakes and at the very least learn from it, I'm not asking you to trust him again, I'm just asking that you let me confront him" says Cat
"fine we can go there Monday after school" says Jade as Cat cuddles into Jade