Chapter Text
I close my eyes, fingers crossed, "Please anyone but him, Kabru, Chilchuk, Senshi, but please not."
"Marcille," says the teacher, "You pair up with Laios."
"Oh awesome!" Laios says from the front row. Great, the weirdo gets set up with me. What even is this "special project".
"Alright, everyone come up and get your dissection kits."
Awww, dissection? It's bad enough I'm matched up with Laios, but now he's going to be super weird about it.
"Hey Marcille," he says, "You don't mind if I do the cutting, do you?"
Saw that coming.
"Yeah, if you want to, I'm fine with that," I say with a smile. It's my fault for not giving him a chance, but after watching him up close it's clear he's not weird, he's intense. Like how Falin is when she talks about music. Her face gets serious and when you are a downer about something, it comes through twice as hard.
"Oh interesting," Laios says, "You see this?" He points to the area near the frogs stomach. It looks gross, like a bunch of tiny black balls congealed into... wait.
I raise my hand, "Miss, what's all this black-?" Laios interrupts, "It's eggs, a delicacy in Europe." He licks his lips dangerously.
"Don't eat them! They're full of formaldehyde!" The teacher and I say in unison. Laios pulls his hands away from the frog, a light blush comes across his cheeks.
"I wasn't going to, I was just saying..." Laios goes on, but I tune him out. Outside Falin is making daisy crowns in the courtyard. Her short blonde hair, her long flowing clothes, her beautiful smile, I want her so bad it hurts.
"Are you okay? You seem sad?" Laios asks. "Nah, it's nothing," I sigh. Laios follows my stare outside.
"Oh hey it's my sister," he says excitedly. He gets up from his chair and heads to the window, cracking it open. "Hey! Falin! Over here!"
"Mr. Laios, please return to your seat," says the teacher, angry at the frequency of his disobedience. "Oh, sorry teacher."
Wait, if he is Falin's brother, then that means if I were to go to his house. "Laios, are you good at biology?" I ask when he returns to his seat.
"Yeah you could say that, I got an 87 on my last test," he says proudly. Jeez, I should be tutoring him. "That's incredible, can you help me with my homework this weekend? I don't think I'm getting parts of it."
"Oh sure which parts?" Laios asks, his whole heart laid open. None of it is confusing, I understand all of it. "Well, like the parts we talked about yesterday."
"Sure, that makes sense," Laios says, wool covering his eyes. "Yeah, I have a hike on Saturday with my sister, but Sunday is free." The bell to change classes rings, "Wait here, I want to check something."
He rushes back to the window, waving Falin over. I can't make out what they say, but when he points in my general direction, I act cool. If Falin catches a glimpse of me, I want it to be my good side.
"Why are you sitting like that?" Laios asks. He's wearing one of the daisy crowns his sister was making.
"I'm not sitting like anything!" I say, "What was it you wanted to talk to Falin about?"
"About the hike, you're welcome to come! Normally it's only Falin and me, otherwise I would have invited you without thinking about it."
Hiking? What like walking? Outside? With packs and sweating and...
"Yeah, that sounds fun!" I say, feigning my excitement, "Do I need to bring a backpack or..."
Saturday finally comes, I emptied my school bag and filled it with a couple water bottles, oat bars, apple slices, and a towel in case I get sweaty.
I head to where Laios showed me on his phone, a short walk from the school. One of the benefits of enrolling in a school that is in the mountains to start. But he's not here. I'm not early by any means, he should be-
"SURPRISE!!" Two arms wrap around me, lifting me up into the air. "Falin wait!" I hear Laios yell.
Not only is she perfect, she's strong too? I'm in heaven...
"Sorry about that, I didn't explain what I meant when I said we would surprise you," Laios apologizes. "It's fine, I think I can feel my heart beating again," I say jokingly, Falin still holding me a loft.
"Oh that's not good," Falin says, putting me down. "I'm kidding I-" I start to explain, but I stop when Falin presses her ear to my chest. She deftly moves the strap of my camisole out of the way, her face feels warm. Is that strawberries? Her hand is pressed on my back holding me in place.
"All good! Sounds healthy to me," she says after a good moment of silence. I try to wave air on my face to cool it down. "Need sunscreen already?" Laios asks. "No, I got some zinc to put on, I blush easy," I admit. How lame.
"How cute!" Falin exclaims.
"Yeah, I don't think I ever blush," Laios says. I look at him dumbfounded, "What about when the teacher yelled at you not to eat frog eggs?"
"Is that what blushing feels like?" Laios says, his cheeks growing pink.
Falin claps her hands together, "Let's get this hike going!"
Her enthusiasm does not wane for the rest of the two and a half hour long hike. I run out of oat bars about half way through. Water supplies dried up at the second hour. My towel, soaked through.
"You okay, Marcille?" Falin asks sweetly. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting the hike to go on for this long."
Falin tilts her head, "How long did you think it would last?"
She has a point. "I don't know, an hour tops?"
Laios is kneeling inspecting the shrubbery. Probably looking for gross bugs...
"You're in my brother's grade right?" Falin asks. "Yeah, we have biology together." Falin nods. "You're younger?" I ask.
"Yeah, by a year," Falin says before she starts humming distractedly. "Hey Falin, come check this out!" Laios says, poking the ground with a stick. Please don't tell me she's a freak too. I sidle over and join them, I hate being left out.
"Woah, why do its wings look like that?" Falin asks.
Wings?
"No idea, but see how the antenna look like fangs?" Laios says pointing to the insect.
Antenna? FANGS?!
"Hey should we bother something that has-" I start to ask, but peering over their shoulders I see what they're talking about.
A butterfly, with part of it's wing injured, is laying on the ground, flapping it's one working wing slowly. Laios tries stimulating the other wing, but when it doesn't react, he stands up and begins to walk away. "Wait, you're just going to leave it?" I say, confused why he suddenly seems so cruel.
Laios looks to Falin, who looks at me as confused as Laios did, and says, "Marcille, it's nice that you care about an injured insect, but... It's a bug. It's a basic building block of the ecosystem. It's part of the flow of life through this forest."
"Y-yeah but..." I'm stammering, crap, "It's just really pretty..."
"A defense mechanism," Falin says excitedly. "Yeah?" I ask.
"Yup, to us it looks pretty, cause we see the pattern on the back as something beautiful, but to a bird that likes eating butterflies, it looks scary and confusing," Falin says, as if reading from a nature magazine.
"Oh, if it was scary then how did it get injured?" I ask, genuine interest.
Laios points to the ground, tire tracks that lead deeper into the forest. "I imagine the people riding that hit the bug by accident, and it managed to fly over there with the last of its energy."
I stare at the butterfly. This is depressing.
Falin puts a hand on my shoulder, "It's okay, next month the monarchs will come back and they are even prettier!"
"We're back!" Laios shouts as he enters his house.
Jesus, I knew Laios was well off but I didn't think he was rich!
"Woah, why is it so shiny," I say accidentally, obsessing over the hundreds of shiny stones hanging from it. Falin shrugs, "I think it's gauche."
"Huh, sure," I say back, "Hey Falin, I've been meaning to ask-hey woah!" I jump back, only half covering my eyes. Falin is in the process of taking her shirt off, revealing a sports bra. With a tug, she pulls the shirt up and over her head. I marvel at how bouncy she is.
"Sorry, what did you say Marcille?" Falin asks, wiping her face with her shirt. "Oh, uh, it was nothing," I say, if she's going to act like it's normal, then so will I.
"Do you want a fresh shirt?" Falin suggests, "Your's is soaked through."
I shrug, "Nah, it's not that ba-" I cover my chest as soon as I notice. Crap. I should've worn a darker shirt. "I'm jealous, if I don't wear a bra, my back hurts," Falin says, trying to ease my blushing worries, "I'll be right back." Falin bounds up the stairs to her bedroom.
I stand in the foyer, waiting patiently. This is so embarrassing.
"Marcille, catch!" Falin says too late. Her shirt collides with my face, nearly knocking me over. "Oh sorry!"
"It's fine, I just wasn't expecting it." I hold up the shirt. Jesus, Falin isn't that much bigger than me, but I could easily fit 2 more of me in here. "I hope you don't mind the color," she says, as if wearing black was a punishment. "No, this is fine by me, I really appreciate it."
"Well you know, girls gotta stick together," she winks as she says this. I swallow loudly. "Um, is there somewhere I can change?"
Falin beckons me up the stairs, and into her room. She jumps onto her bed, turned away from me, and reads a magazine with a large cat on the front. "Just let me know when you're done," she says, focussed on her book.
Is this weird? No, it's fine, we're both girls after all. It's not like I've had the biggest freaking crush on her all year and now I'm in her inner sanctum. I remove my shirt, and unfurl the giant wind sail Falin threw at me. It feels like I'm being watched. The bedroom door is closed, it's not that. Blinds are down over the windows...
Looking around I see what was giving me the idea, next to Falin's bed is a mirror. In the reflection, I can see her peeking over her magazine. Is this my moment?
"Are you curious?" I ask. Falin hides her face behind the magazine, she's acting like a little kid with her hand in the cookie jar.
"What about?" She asks, as if she doesn't know. "Falin, I saw you looking at me," I say, "It's fine with me if you look." That was bold of me.
Falin turns around to face me, her normally squinted eyes are wide open now. They're the prettiest shade of orange-ish brown. "I'm sorry for ogling you without your permission," she says finally.
I put my hands behind my back, pushing my chest out, "It's fine." Walking closer to her, I notice she isn't staring at my boobs, she's staring at me. Making eye contact with someone this long feels weird. "Did you want to do something?" I say, ready to let the cutest girl in school fondle me.
"I want to kiss you," she says bluntly.
My face must have exploded considering how quickly she took it back, "Or not, that's fine too, I just, you're really pretty, and you seem smart and-"
"Okay," I say cutting her off, "Kiss me." In my head preemptive fireworks are going off. She's almost as red faced as I am.
When she stands up she's at least four inches taller than I am, her bangs tickle my forehead when she leans down to kiss me. "I've never... kissed... anyone before," I admit, my heart skipping a beat, "Is that alright?" She nods, lips centimeters from mine, waiting on me to close the distance.
As the smell of strawberries fills me with courage, I say, "Okay, here goes." Her lips are thin, but fit so perfectly between mine. What should I do? I want her to touch me. When she starts to pull away, I follow. One kiss isn't enough. I need more.
"Hey, Falin, Mom says you need to shower before dinner, Marcille if you want to go in first-" Laios swings the door to Falin's bedroom wide open, no knock.
"Oh okay brother, we'll go in just a second," Falin says. I'm hiding my chest and face against Falin. Wrapping her in a tight hug. Leave, please leave, please go away.
"Alright, just holler when you're done!" He says, leaving as quickly and quietly as he entered.
I almost jump when Falin puts a hand on my waist. "Did you want to shower first?"
What the crap? Did every mote of romantic energy evaporate when Laios opened the door? Was that my one chance? "I was..." I start to say, but that's too bold.
Falin's bright brown eyes disappear as she smiles. Dammit, I did miss my chance. "Yeah, I'll go first." She nods, her hand moves from my waist to my cheek. Wait, my cheek? "Can I kiss you again?" I nod excitedly, my moment, it's back!
This kiss is different. The first one was nice, but it felt like stepping into a cold pool, it's awkward, you need to acclimate, and you never go in head first. This time, Falin has her hand on the small of my back, my arms are wrapped around her neck. This time she doesn't pull away.
I press a hand on her chest, respectfully, "Wait, I'm gross, this is so sudden." Falin looks at me confused. "Don't you think?" I ask stunned. Does she kiss every girl who walks into her bedroom?
"I don't think you're gross," she says earnestly. More fireworks go off in my head. "Do you want..." I start to ask again, but a tightness in my chest gives me pause. "To shower with you?" Falin says finishing my sentence. All I can manage is to stare at my shoes. She lifts my chin up with her finger, "Why are you embarrassed to ask?"
"Oh, you know, cause I'm..." in love with you, and I would alter the very framework of the universe if it meant I could have your kids. "Shy?" Falin offers. A much safer answer. I nod as confidently as I can. Falin chuckles at the sheepish girl I continue to be.
"Yeah, let's go," Falin says excited, picking me up and dragging me to the bathroom. Wait, what am I doing, this is so dumb, my heart can't take this!