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"IT'S NOT LOVE IT'S JUST LUST!" Kelly yells in defiance.
Ari glares back at her, having heard this same sentiment before far too many times. Though having to hear it even once was far more than she would've liked to have.
"Is it just lust for me then too?" She retorts, taking a step closer.
A bit caught off-guard, Kelly attempts to respond. "Wha—no that's completely different! You're like-"
"Actually gay?" Ari asks rhetorically, cutting Kelly off and completing her sentence for her.
"Well yeah, I sleep around with guys all the time, I can't be gay!" Kelly retorts, feeling it was somewhat obvious given that Ari had called her out for exactly that just moments ago.
Ari looks at Kelly, her glare turning into something more uncertain as a knowing curiosity fills her gaze. "Yeah, you're a whore." Kelly attempts to interrupt but is stopped by Ari taking another step forward. The distance between them had quickly closed from feet to inches, and unbeknownst to Kelly, a faint blush had taken over her cheeks.
"You sleep around with every guy who'll give you an iPod nano or a xan. But when have you slept with a man just because you really liked—no—loved him?" She asks Kelly.
Kelly opens her mouth to answer but... she can't. She can't think of a single time she had actually enjoyed it. Not with Hunter, not with Crispin, and certainly not with Kylar. Sure, she liked the stuff she got out of it, but the sex itself? That had always felt like more of a chore than anything else. A means to an end.
Ari gives her another moment to say something. And then another. And another. And another.
Yet... nothing comes out. All Kelly could do is stand there, contemplating in silence.
Ari takes her chance, clasping Kelly's hands within her own as a deep blush covers both their faces. "When has a man ever made you feel this?" She asks as she leans in and places her lips on Kelly's own.
Kelly flinches in shock and Ari freezes in response—not pushing further but not pulling back either. Their longing eyes meet each other head-on, pupils matching in both hues and feelings. That single moment felt like an eternity, as they gazed into each other; anxious thoughts forming a bureaucratic mess of governance within their very souls.
Finally, just as the awkwardness begins to set in, Kelly relents. Giving into her desires, she closes her eyes and pushes against Ari—almost causing them both to stumble. Ari is still quick to reciprocate though, deepening the kiss as the windows to their souls close- but the doors open.
Overtaken by raw instinct, Ari bites down on Kelly's bottom lip—savoring the sanguine stain on her tongue. Kelly for her part doesn't seem to mind it much herself—welcoming the faint taste of metal in her mouth with a soft moan.
Gradually, like the end of a winter’s ball, their movements slow and Ari pulls back. Desire paints both their faces, no longer shackled by hesitance or resistance.
"So... was that love or lust?" Ari asks teasingly, though a hint of sincerity echoes in her questioning expression.
"Um... both?" Kelly responds, almost indifferent to the distinction.
Kelly giggles and turns around. What did it matter anyways? Some dumb philosopher could waste their time questioning the difference. What Kelly knew though, was that it was real. Not pretend as it so often was with the men she had slept with, not an act to trick them into thinking she had actually enjoyed their pathetic excuse of a dick. What she had felt right now in this moment with Ari—whatever it was—it was real. And that's all that mattered.
She smiled, walking over and reaching for the door to the hallway. "Well come on, don't want to be late for class now."
Ari jumped, "oh right! I still haven’t even started that stupid project for Physics class!" She mumbles in frustration, rushing out the door alongside Kelly.
Her hand in Ari's, Kelly wondered—Maybe the school sexual rehab program wasn't quite as useless as either of them had first thought… though it certainly hadn't worked in quite the way that principal Lynn had likely intended it to.