I sat in Marissa's hand, her fingers gently curled around me to keep me warm as she and her friends drank and chatted about school drama. I watched Kensey as she lay on the table, looking at the pizza with a bitter look on her face. The three small pizzas had been hit hard, and all of them had been combined into one tray with the other two stacked up under it, freeing most of the coffee table for drinks. I'd very much enjoyed my slice, but I felt terrible that it'd hurt Kensey so much and so quickly. I needed to distract myself...
I hugged Marissa's middle finger to my chest and lightly bit her fingertip, feeling her jerk her hand. I looked up to see her glaring down at me. I smiled and waved, and she rolled her eyes, squeezing me lightly. I'd started to enjoy the squeezes, now that she wasn't forcing the air out of my lungs and making me feel like my ribs were about to snap. It was like a hug of sorts, my sized and safe. It let me push my guilt over Kensey's stomachache out of my mind for the time, and draw my attention back to the conversation at hand.
"...and after that, she just kept glaring at me, like, she knew I'd done it, but she couldn't prove anything, it was so funny..." Quince said, laughing.
"I can't believe you got away with it, that's crazy..." Tracy said
"What about you, Trace?" Marissa asked "You been spreading any good rumors lately?"
"No, they've all been about you- Ah! Not that I'm spreading rumors about you, I just- you and Amber are a hot topic..." Tracy smiled nervously.
Marissa's thumb rubbed my back "Well, we are the most interesting thing to happen at school lately..."
"If- if it helps, next week, I was going to start pointing out how Dana has been wearing a lot of tops cinched under the boobs, like she's hiding her stomach for some reason? I'm thinking I'll yry and get a pregnancy rumor going..." Tracy offered
"Dana is like, 22, who cares if she's pregnant?" Quince said
"Well, actually, I heard from Maurine that her boyfriend is in seminary?" Tracy said, perking up "So either this could get him kicked out, or it could get them broken up if it turns out she's sleeping around."
"You- fuck, you all actually plan all this?" Henri asked "You have strategy meetings about who's life you are going to ruin?"
"Well, not ruin." Quince said "Just add some drama to."
"It's not really that bad, in my opinion." Tracy said "I like to think of it as like, a hobby or something. I can't target people long term as well as Marissa can, I don't have the political sway Darcy does, and I can't just casually ruin someone's day like Quince, so I just like to add a little drama, like Quince said."
"It's- you are treating other people's lives like it's a game!" Henri said, her temper flaring "You four ruined my teenage years with your name calling, and keeping me out of school clubs, and slamming me into walls as you walked past, and telling my mom I had died of AIDS, and getting me taken off the guest list for homecoming, and everything, and the rumors just made everything worse! You are all terrible...."
"...Well, it's only for a couple more years." Tracy said "Honestly, once we graduate, we'll all be living our separate lives, and we'll forget all about this, we just want to have a little fun while we're all still here."
"Yeah I guess we'll all be scattered," Quince said to Tracy, slightly sad "Marissa will have one of the biggest companies in the country, you'll be working at your dad's bio lab, Darcy will have her family fortune, and I'm too nouveau riche to even be invited to the same parties as the rest of you."
"Well, we won't all be separate." Marissa said, drinking deeply from her third soju "My mom is buying Tracy's dad's company, I'll be her boss in a few years."
Tracy's face flushed, then turned white "What? No, that's- no! My dad didn't tell me that... He said I was going to be in charge, I'd finally be the one in charge!"
"Well, your dad made the mistake of selling the majority of the shares during one of his fundraisers, and my mom is collecting them all up. You'll be in charge all right, but you'll do what I tell you." Marissa said casually
Tracy was fighting off tears, and I could feel the smug satisfaction radiating off of Marissa as she soaked up Tracy's panic.
"No, that's not right, I'm supposed to take over for him in less than two years, this is all we have, we need it!" she said, hand against her chest
"Aw, it's ok." Marissa crooned "You'll still get paid, and you'll still have a place in the company, there's just going to be some minor changes, for profit's sake. You'll be making more money than before, I bet! We'll be stripping out the charity and non-profit side of things, and changing the focus to something a little more profitable, it'll be great!"
Tracy was crying at this point, and her hands were shaking "Marissa, no- that's- it's my dad's legacy, the charity side of it is his passion, he's just trying to help people, why would you do this?"
"It's not me, it's my mother, and as for why... the stakeholders are upset with him, simple as that." she replied with a soft edge, still stroking my back.
This was... electric. It felt so good to see Tracy crying like this, the girl who'd lied to everyone that I had lice and gotten the nurse to shave my head in junior year, the girl who convinced the other girls to send my name and address to a prison pen-pal program, the girl who'd sweetly asked if I needed a ride home after I'd 'had so much to drink' within earshot of the chaperone on prom night. It was good to see her like this, it was odd, feeling good seeing someone else hurt, but... I could feel the slight tremble in Marissa's hand, the edge to her voice, how she was holding in her power and cruelty, just letting enough out at once to let it burn, to hurt and singe Tracy.
I lay against her palm and pulled her fingers over me, this was her, this was her power, and as much as I hated to admit it, I wanted to see more of it. I wanted her to hurt someone, and I wanted to watch. My chest was full of butterflies as she gave me a gentle squeeze, and I shivered. She could do that to me, make me cry, take me to bits, ruin my future, but she wasn't, I was safe in her hand, the eye of the storm, and I loved her for it.
"It does not feel so good, huh?" Henri taunted "Being bullied yourself? I bet you never thought you would be the target, soak it up, bitch, and get over yourself."
"She's been bullied lots, actually." Quince said "She's only friends with us because she's good at getting the word out about drama, we lay into her a ton. She's never cried about it though, Jesus."
"Well excuse me!" Tracy shouted "My whole future just fucking crumbled, so sorry if I cry about it!"
"...Gods, Trace, it's not that bad." Marissa said "It's just a hostile takeover, it's not going to change anything for you."
Tracy buried her face in her knees and kept crying, ignoring Marissa. I frowned, this did seem like a big reaction to being told upper management was being changed around in your dad's company, even if you were supposed to run it some day. She must have had other stuff going on too, under the surface or whatever.
"Tracy, just drink your vodka..." Quince said, pushing it towards her "And seriously, can I get another seltzer? Service is awful around here."
"Oh, sorry." I said "Henri, could you get everyone fresh drinks?"
She looked at me in a way that said 'Really? Now?' but she stood up anyway "Of course, Lady Amber."
"Actually, if you could bring the drinks to the theater in a few minutes instead? And I'll have two more Soju, if that's ok." Marissa said, standing up. "I'm going to go set up the movie, meet me there in like, ten minutes, ok?"
"Fiiiine" Quice said "I wanna pick the next movie, though."
"We'll see." Marissa said "Maybe we can get Kensey to pick? The screen would be the size of a blimp to her, might be cool to let her watch her favorite movie on the biggest screen she's ever seen."
Kensey looked up, and stood "Uh, can- can I just stay on Amber's couch for now? I'm still feeling sick..."
"Laaaame..." grumbled Quince "Swear to god, you're never eating pizza again."
Kensey's face crumpled, and she dropped down to her knees. I felt a pang of sadness for her, it wasn't really about not getting any more pizza, it was how Quince had said it, the casual flexing of power without even noticing. I watched her shake as Marissa dropped her off in my house on our way out the door. She'd need to toughen up soon, I couldn't imagine life with Quince would be easy, but if she could manage to play along a bit, it'd be way better... Otherwise Quince really would treat her like a target, and her life would be a living hell. I'd need to talk to her about that, give her some pointers.
Marissa moved down the hall to a set of double doors and swung them open, revealing a wide, darkly colored theater with three tiered rows of 5 seater sofas. It was a full two story affair, with a projector high up on the wall and a mini concession booth with a popcorn machine and fancy candies and chips laid out across it. The popcorn booth was lit up with a dull yellow glow, and the smell of butter and oil hit me as we drew closer.
"Holy shit, this really is a theater..." I said "I was half expecting like, a big room with a big tv or something."
"No, my dad really liked entertaining," Marissa said, opening a cabinet on the far wall "so he built this for all his work friends to come over and watch... whatever it is guys get together and watch. He also used it to show off for the visiting diplomats or foreign business owners that stayed here, as a flex."
"I guess the cook made the popcorn and brought all the snacks and stuff in?" I asked "What is there for you to do?"
"I have to set up the movie." she said, putting a disk into a reader "I picked first, because it's my house, so we're watching Harold and Maude."
"I haven't seen that one..." I said. I'd heard of it, but I'd never looked into it
"You'll like it, it's funny. Kinda gross, but fun, in a weird way." she assured me
"Ok, I'll trust you, I guess." I said, glancing over at the screen as it lit up with a DVD menu of the movie in question, a young man and an old lady framed in boxes lighting up the room.
"So, the movie is set up, the snacks are already here, why did you tell everyone to wait ten minutes to come here?" I asked
Marissa looked at me, her eyes slowly crinkling and her grin slowly creeping across her face "Well... I guess I just wanted some alone time with you, away from everyone else...~"
I flushed "I- yeah, that's- fair, yeah." I feel her fingers grip me, my silken outfit so thin I swear I could feel her fingerprints "But what if someone walks in early and sees us?"
She rolled over the top of the sofa nearest to us, sending my stomach spinning as she flopped on her tummy, holding me in front of her face. Her fingers played along my sides, like she couldn't decide if she wanted to crush me, tickle me, or squeeze me. She pulled me in close, her fruity soju breath washing over me as she whispered.
"I kinda like that idea... getting walked in on again..."
I bury my face in my hands and shudder with energy, I couldn't tell if I liked the idea too, it scared me, but I was learning to like that feeling too...
"Was that why you got caught with me in your mouth earlier?" I asked
"Nnnno, that was just a nice accident...~" she said.
Her fingers finally decided what they wanted to do, and I writhed and gasped and they dug in, under my ribs, into my tummy, my back, my legs, jabbing, poking, stroking, like a five legged octopus trying to give a hug. It was so much, so much to keep track of and think about. Her fingers were strong, each enough to punch a hole through me if she wanted. This was good, but I could feel the need to be in danger growing, or to at least feel like I was in danger.
"H-hh-hh..." I let slip out "Squeeze me, Missy, please..."
She hissed through her teeth, and her hand gripped me, forcing my breath out in one go. I saw stars, and I wriggled against her hand, feeling the unmoving flesh, her body heat, her. I felt my back popping, and she let go quickly, looking me up and down to make sure nothing had broken. I gasped for air and my vision came back slowly. She cupped her hands, and I lay spread out on them, looking up at her, at my world. I smiled a ragged smile, and waved at my body, letting her know she was free to do what she wanted.
She looked at me for a moment, her face in a strange expression "...gods, you really are fucking adorable in that outfit..."
I laughed, I'd almost forgotten what I looked like, I'd been enjoying the feeling of her skin through the thin material, I'd forgotten that I was dressed up as a clown.
"What's the matter, Missy? Do you have a thing for clowns?" I taunted
"I have a thing for you." she growled "You could be dressed like a fucking hobo and I'd still think you look great..."
I cringed inside at the classist statement, but brushed past it. Like I'd found before with the Andy Griffith show, cuddling time was never a good time to bring up someone's problematic internalized ideas. I could always work on that stuff later, we did have the rest of our lives together, after all.
The rest of our lives... I grinned at the thought of that, she owned me, we couldn't break up if we wanted to, that meant that forever and ever, I'd always have someone to love, to love me. I hadn't ever noticed how badly I'd wanted that until recently. With Henri, there was always a danger edge to it, like if I accepted love from her, I'd lose her overall.
"You look all weird, what's up?" Marissa asked, poking me with her thumb
"Just thinking about how I'm all yours and everything..." I said, letting the smile into my voice "Forever and ever..."
"Forever... until I get bored and squash you, of course." she teased
"Oh, I'm sure you'd never do something like that." I said "You'd be down your favorite victim, after all."
"Well, I could find a new one." she said "In the meantime, I'm not bored of you yet, I've got lots of ideas of how to torture you..."
"I don't believe you," I said "prove it."
"Ok, how aboooout...." she said, drawing out the last word "pressure and humiliation?"
She dropped her face down, pressing her lips into me, smushing me with kisses, deep and hard across my whole body, her lips pressing me hard into her hand. The firmness of her lips surprised me, usually they were soft and cozy, but she'd tightened them to more effectively push me into her hands. I wiggled as the sensation of lips worked all over my body, not stoping for more than a split second to kiss before moving on. My limbs, my stomach, chest, face, all were targets in her furious, rough attack.
Finally, she pulled her head back, her face flushed pink, and her hair making a curtain around us. She laughed once under her breath.
"Proof enough?" she whispered
"It- hah..." I ran my hands over my body, feeling her phantom touch still lingering. "It was d-derivative, but I can forgive that..."
She snorted, and kissed me on the face one last time, her lips soft and gentle like normal. "Ok, ok. I'll think up some more torture methods soon I promise."
I looked up at her as she rose into a sitting position, still holding me and I felt a pang of guilt mixed with the love. I'd felt fantastic the whole time we played just now, and I was still glowing, but...
"Hey..." I started, not sure how to continue
She looked down at me lazily and frowned slightly at my expression "What? You good?"
"Yeah, yeah, I just... You spent the whole mini cuddle session just now making me feel great, what can I do to make you feel like that?"
Her eyes widened, and she held back a laugh "Amber, I just like getting to make you squirm. Knowing you can't stop me, knowing I'm doing whatever the fuck I want to you, it's... I don't know, it fills me up, refreshes me, like pouring water over my face on a hot day."
"Mmm..." I said "I get that, I have a similar feeling, but... the physical side of things is really nice too, I just wish I could help you out there too..."
"You're 4 inches tall, I could barely feel you if you tried to do what I do to you to me...." Marissa said, sounding almost sad "I appreciate it, and maybe we'll try letting you 'explore' me a little again- in private this time- but honestly, I think the most I get out of playing with you is the feeling of power."
I sighed and nodded "Yeah, ok... I'll try to think of something."
I felt sad, selfish even, but if she didn't have too much of a problem with it, I shouldn't feel too bad. The double doors swung open, and the other three girls walked in, Quince holding her seltzer, and Henri trying to hold the other four drinks.
"Marissa, here, take your bottles, they are going to fall..." she said, waving at the green bottles under her arms
"Nice, what flavors?" Marissa asked, standing and setting me on her shoulder.
"Uhhh, dragonfruit and yogurt?" Henri said "I've never heard of yogurt flavored alcohol..."
"That sounds so gross, Marissa..." Quince said "Just because you're trying to impress your Korean class B doesn't mean you have to drink the weird Korean drinks."
"I don't give a shit if she's 'impressed', I just like the flavor of this stuff, shut up." Marissa said, frowning "I'm sure the yogurt one will be just as good as the rest."
"How did you even find out about this stuff?" Tracy asked, her eyes still slightly puffy "You're usually a vodka and tequila girl."
"I tried it at Amber's house, her dad gave me some." Marissa said, setting the dragonfruit bottle on the couch as she sat in the corner seat and cracked open the other one
"You went to her house?" Quince said "Ewww it was probably full of bugs and stuff, I heard she lived in an apartment. Not even a condo..."
"I didn't see any bugs..." Marissa said carefully "I wanted to flex on her parents, show off that I owned their daughter. I even tortured her a little in front of them, and made her wear tissues instead of clothes most of the time we were there."
"That's... holy shit." Tracy said, her eyes wide "You're like, an actual monster, that's so impressive..."
"I paid enough for her, I wanna get my money's worth out of her." Marissa said, grinning.
Henri's face was set in a confused frown, looking back and forth between me and Marissa. She'd been there for the dinner, she'd seen us just casually eating, and she'd gotten yelled at for trying to cause problems. She'd most likely gotten the whole story from my parents after, and as wary as they were of Marissa, whatever they told her wasn't lining up with what Marissa was telling her friends. I hoped this helped her start to separate the two sides of Marissa, instead of seeing her as just the bitch who puts on a show and tried to hurt people.
"So, what are we watching?" Quince said "Romance, right?"
"Uh, kinda." Marissa said "It's romance, but... not normal romance. Let's just start the movie and start getting popcorn and stuff."
She took a swig of her drink, and pulled away "Oh, wow, that's not yogurt, that's... I don't even know."
"It's based on a fermented milk drink." I explained "Not western yogurt."
"Yeah, it's different, kinda creamy and citrusy or something..." she said "I like it, I'd have it again."
"It's like, so obvious that you're sucking up right now..." Quince said "Is the opinion of your little lesbian pet that important to you?"
"I thought we weren't making fun of queer people anymore, right?" Tracy said "I could swear we talked about that earlier."
"Whatever, I'm just saying, sucking up to a pet isn't a good look either way." Quince said rudely
"I'm not sucking up, gods..." Marissa snapped "I just like this stuff, it's good, fuck off."
"I had it before too..." Henri said "It was strawberry, it was pretty good. Better than just plain vodka."
"Oh, wow, the blood drinker likes it, well I guess I stand corrected then!" Quince said, sipping her seltzer
"We do not drink it," Henri said, glaring at Quince "it's put in fertilizer, and in candy bars, and made into supplements, and made into sausages, and animal food, and we even use some to do blood transfusions in humans, it's not just raw 'blood', we deal in so much stuff..."
"Buuuut you did drink it, that one time." Marissa reminded her
"That- you said it was a common dish!" she snapped back
"Yeah, it's a fucking delicacy in Asia someplace, and you puked it all over my fucking bathroom." Marissa snarked
"Oh, gods, you actually got her to drink blood?" Tracy asked "You're such a fucking bitch, you terrify me, Marissa."
Marissa looked at her cooly and smiled "As I should. Know your place."
I gripped her shoulder, holding back the shivers, I wanted to crawl into her mouth and let her bite me in half, I felt so pent up and tense, but I couldn't do anything about it with people around...
"Let's just start the movie..." grumbled Henri, taking a seat on the couch.
Marissa glanced at her, then at me, jerking her head towards her, telling me to do... something? I guessed what she was suggesting, and called out to her.
"Oh, Henri? If you wouldn't mind, the couch is quite crowded, could you sit on the floor? Over by me, if you please."
Henri looked at the wide couch, easily big enough for everyone there and then some, and glared at me, her cheeks tinting.
"I could just move forward a row." she said, pointing
"No no, I wouldn't want you to miss out on this lovely female bonding time, you can stay up here with us." I told her in my most gracious voice
"..." Henri got up, and walked stiffly over to the side of the couch me and Marissa were on, sitting cross legged on the floor next to us.
"Ah, actually Henri, would you mind sitting on your legs? Tuck them under you, if you don't mind. It's more ladylike." I told her, waving a hand.
She made a noise in her throat, something between indignation and a gasp, and did as I asked, staring straight ahead. Marissa turned her head to look at her, quickly planting a kiss on my head as she did so. I bit my lip and glanced over at Tracy and Quince, who were getting snacks from the table. I giggled, and hugged her shoulder as hard as I could. I heard a strained noise, and I looked at Henri who'd seen out of the corner of her eye and now had an expression like a kicked puppy. I sighed, we'd talk later, I supposed, but for now, she should enjoy that I'm bossing her around like I am.
"Here ya go, bitch." Quince said, flopping down next to us, handing Marissa a box of chocolate raisins and a paper sack of popcorn
"Oh, thanks, how'd you know I wanted raisins?" Marissa said
"Well, you're the only one who eats those weird, gross lumps, and there was a stack of them on the table, so..." Quince said rolling her eyes
I looked around Marissa's neck at the other two, they both had popcorn, and Quince was eating gumdrops, Tracy was eating red licorice, and they had a box of peanut butter chocolate between them too. My go to had always been chocolate covered mints, but I'd mix it up with some cookie dough bites now and then too. It was interesting to see who picked what. Henri didn't have any snacks, she'd sat down without visiting the booth first, but her choice was obvious, fruity gummies, the cherry ones if they had them.
I scooched closer to Marissa's neck to better absorb her body heat, and the movie began. I was feeling so, so cozy, I had a friend on either side of me, I was in control of my situation, I was full of good food, the other girls weren't messing with me... As weird as it was, for the first time since I'd compressed, surrounded almost entirely by people I'd hated half my life, I was content. Marissa lifted a single piece of popcorn up to me and I took it, biting a chunk out of it and kicking my feet, this was a great evening, I was very happy with the way things were going.
~~~
"That made me... kind of uncomfortable..." Tracy said as the movie ended
"I thought it was pretty funny, not gonna lie." Quince said, snickering
"It made me feel all... mopey, I guess..." Henri murmured
It'd been a weird movie, there were some parts I didn't know how to feel about, but it was... sweet? In a fucked up way? I liked the darker humor mixed in, but I didn't see myself watching it a second time. I was curious why Marissa picked that one, though, was she comparing me and her to the two main characters? It wasn't really the same kind of power imbalance as ours, but there was an almost similar feeling at least...
"Yeah, it's one of a k-kind, kinda a w-weird one, but hey, I like it at least." Marissa said "Anyway, who's picking next?"
"I wanna watch Freaky Friday, I pick that." Quince said
"The old one or the new one?" Tracy asked
"There's actually like, 4 of them, not including sequels, buuut I was thinking the one like, twenty or thirty years ago? With that one girl from Mean Girls" Quince said
"Why can't we just watch Mean Girls?" Tracy asked "That's one's better..."
"It is a little on the nose, don't you think?" Henri pointed out
"Whatever, I think we have Freaky Friday, it might be in the closet. If not, I'm sure it's on streaming s-somewhere." Marissa said, pulling out her phone and flipping through her notifications
"Hey, I wanna check on Kensey, ok?" I said, sitting up
"I'm not moving, get your maid to take you." Marissa said. She'd gone through her two drinks during the movie, and her face was hot and her eyes sleepy. I didn't think she was drunk, but it was really hard to tell with her...
I turned to Henri "Hey, can you bring me back to my house real quick?"
She looked up at me, and nodded, reaching out her hands. I frowned, thinking to myself. I hadn't really gotten to enjoy her being under my control tonight, maybe I could play with her a bit...
"No, I want to ride you." I said "Bend over"
Her eyes widened, and she looked askance "Uhhh..." she said, looking confused
I sighed "No, look, like, I want to ride on your back, like a horse or something, get on your hands and knees."
She blushed and bent over, pressing her side against the couch. I shimmied down Marissa's arm and onto the armrest, and slid off that onto the white and black fabric of Henri's maid costume. I crawled over to the middle, and realized that unless I could do the splits, which I didn't think I could, I wouldn't be able to ride her horseback. I rolled down to the small of her back and lay down, face up, her spine dipping in and giving me a divot to lay in.
"Away, steed!" I called out
"Y-yes Lady Amber..." Henri said, her voice wobbling.
She carefully crawled forward, Quince jeering as she headed for the movie closet, Marissa snickering, and Tracy watching wide eyed as I waved to them. Henri's back muscles flexed as she moved, rocking me back and forth, and I tucked my arms behind my head, enjoying the ride as she left the theater. Henri pushed through the doors and started her way down the hall quietly, her breathing was short and shallow, I could feel it through her spine.
I watched the doors pass me by, idly wondering what was in all of those rooms, it had to be something, but what did rich people fill all their space with? I saw the elevator ding, and the light lit up, and a cold feeling shot down my own spine. I dashed up to Henri's shoulder and slapped her neck.
"Quick, stand up and hide me! I think that's Marissa's mom coming, she hates me!" I hissed "She said if she saw me again, she'd make Missy kill me!"
Henri jolted, and snatched me off her shoulder, standing upright so quickly my whole body felt like I was on a rollercoaster. She patted herself down with one hand, looking for a place to stash me, she patted her chest and glanced at me, but winced and kept looking. As the elevator doors slid open, she stuck me under her fluffy skirt, tucking me into the puffy part of her bloomers, snapping them closed under me as her skirts fell around me like a mushroom cap. I tumbled against her thigh, her tights smooth and tight against her, the ruffles around me soft, the space warm and dimly lit, the elastic under me strong enough to hold me inside, the material digging into her thigh. I flushed red, and tried to stay still while I leaned on the bloomer's fabric, trying not to touch her thigh or look up as she turned to greet whoever had just exited the elevator.
"You, who are you?" Miss Lund's harsh voice cut to my bones as she walked up to Henri "I don't think I've seen you before."
"I am Henrietta, ma'am." Henri said in her most polite voice
"Are you a new maid? You should know we have a uniform for that, not this... frill that you have on."
"No, ma'am, I am one of Marissa's friends, from college. I lost a game, and I am wearing this as a punishment." Henri's voice wavered slightly at the word 'friend', but she kept her tone steady.
Miss Lund's voice took a slightly softer tone, but was still full of that same cold energy she always had around her "A punishment? Ah, her games, she's told me about those... I didn't know Marissa had made a new... friend. Henrietta, you said?"
"Yes, ma'am. We have known each other for quite a while, but this is only my third time coming over."
Third?... Oh, right, when she tried to force her way in to kidnap me. Bold of her to include that as 'coming over'. I slipped on the smooth fabric and went sideways, my body leaning against her thigh. I kept my eyes down, then thought better and closed them altogether. There was just enough light in here to make looking up a violation of privacy, and even if she's the one who put me here and most likely wouldn't mind, I wasn't about to do that to someone...
"I see, and where are you off to? I assume the others are in the theater by now."
"I am on drink duty, ma'am. I am getting new drinks for everyone." she said, and I felt her body move as she waved towards Marissa's room at the end of the hall.
"Oh, of course." Miss Lund's voice was the same sharp, cold spike of fear it always was, but it was oddly disarming to hear her have a normal conversation, instead of one laced with disappointment and thinly veiled disgust.
"Tell me," she continued "what does your family do? I'm catching a hint of an accent, I assume you're in the European market?"
"Yes, ma'am, but we export all over the planet. My family owns the world's largest animal byproduct harvesting and processing company, and we are the main source for many, many useful items, including fertilizers, medical materials, and even food products."
"Oh, I see, that's very impressive..." Miss Lund sounded slightly less impressed than she claimed to be, but she went on "Here, take my card. I'm in the tech industry right now, but I'm going to be acquiring a bio-tech lab soon, if you could have your people call my people in six to eight months, we may be able to work out some joint ventures."
"Thank you, ma'am, I will get this to our people, I look forward to working with you."
"Thank you, I'm here to see my daughter before I head to bed, she's in the theater? And drunk already, I'm guessing?"
"She is in the theater, ma'am, I couldn't speak for her state of inebriation though, she has a very strong constitution." Henri said as she shifted slightly, causing her other thigh to brush into me from the other side of the bloomers
"She gets that from her father..." Miss Lund muttered "Hopeless hedonists the two of them. With any luck she'll get it out of her system by the end of her schooling."
"With any luck, ma'am." Henri agreed.
There was a moment of silence, then a sigh "Well, Henrietta, I must say I prefer you to Marissa's other friends. Other than Darcy, you are the most polite, and you don't seem to have the propensity for 'alternative inebriation' she does. I look forward to seeing you in the future, have a lovely night."
"And you as well, ma'am." Henri said, a slight smile in her voice.
She turned, and walked the rest of the way to Marissa's room, stepping inside and almost instantly dropping to the floor, smushing my arm between her calf and thigh. I yelped, and she dug me out of her bloomers and held me up to her face.
"Mein götter, Klein Fee... that was terrifying..." she gasped "I felt like she was going to tear into me at any moment..."
"She reduced me to tears the first time I met her..." I admitted "Marissa too, but don't tell her I told you that."
"It was so much!" she said, shaking me slightly "You said she was going to have Marissa kill you?"
"She said she wouldn't, but she implied if she saw me again, she'd change her mind..." I said, my brains slightly rattled
Henri slumped against the wall "I felt like I was going to crack any moment, she's worse than my great aunt on my mother's side..."
She looked at me sharply "Did I hear you call Marissa 'Missy' earlier?"
"It's something I'm trying out..." I admitted "I think it sounds cute, and her dad calls her that, and she likes him, so I figure she likes the nickname, I don't know... Please don't use it yourself, though."
"Missy..." Henri mused "It makes her sound so much less dangerous than 'Marissa'..."
"Well, she's still the same person as always, really." I said
"Is she though?" Henri asked "Is she really? I am starting to understand her, it is all an act, is it not?"
I thought about it "...What parts, exactly?"
"Well, you know, the whole evil bitch thing..." Henri said, waving her free hand "She is putting it on to impress people, right?"
"Oh, no, that's not an act, that's who she really is." I clarified "She's just also more than that, like, she's complex. She's a sweet girl, she just likes hurting people sometimes, and has mommy issues."
"Is she still a bitch to you, though?" Henri asked "I saw how she treats you now, she is careful and sweet, and she- she kissed you, like it was no big deal..."
"Well..." I thought about how to word it "She's a bitch to me, yeah, but I like it. She's also sweet to me, and I like that too. Unless she's angry, I think we have a good balance most of the time right now."
"So... you really are dating her?"
"I have no idea. We're some kind of partners, that's all I know. But I consider her my girlfriend, if that's what you mean."
Henri's face crumpled for a split second before straightening out "If I was a bitch to you, would you have dated me?"
I winced "...No. I was too scared of losing you to ever consider dating you."
"...Well, at least you care more about me than her in that way at least."
I didn't mention that there wasn't a risk of me losing Marissa since we were stuck together by law. Henri needed this.
"You have bruises shaped like teeth marks on your chest, was that something you wanted?" she asked "If there is anything she is doing that is hurting you, or that she is taking too far, I can help. I will get evidence and blackmail her with it."
"No, we play rough, and... I like it when she bites me. I like biting her too, but she doesn't like being bitten, it's fun."
Henri pursed her lips for a moment "...Would you like to bite me?"
I shook my head "No, that's- I think that's like cheating on her..."
She nodded slowly "...What about a kiss? A chaste kiss between best friends?"
"Do best friends usually kiss each other?" I asked
"...They do where I am from, ja." she said. I didn't believe her
"Ok, then yeah, one quick, chaste kiss." I agreed, patting her hand. She was still being weird, but... she wasn't as dangerous as she was a few days ago.
She pulled me to her lips and kissed me. I turned my head to catch it on the cheek, and it felt... nice. It wasn't as scary or fun as when Missy kissed me, but it felt important, like I needed it from her, to feel ok about something I'd been ignoring. She pulled away and sighed sadly.
"You ok?" I asked
"Just- ja, I just wish things ended differently." she said. "Gods, I miss you, I cannot believe how fucked up all my plans for our future went..."
"Things change," I said "we just have to adapt to it."
"That is stupid, but whatever." she muttered "You said you wanted to check on the other one?"
"Kensey, yeah, I wanted to see if she's ok." I said, pointing at the house on the desk.
"Ok, Klein Fee, I will put you up there..." Henri said gently, petting my shoulder. I got the feeling she wanted to keep talking to me, but was risking saying something that would ruin the moment, and needed a way to end it. I didn't mind, I needed a way out too, she had a lot to think about, and I wanted her to dwell on the things we'd talked about for a while without a fight tainting the conversation like it always seemed to these days.
Henri lifted me up and moved me over to the dollhouse, and set me on the second story next to Kensey's curled up form. I sighed, this would be a hard conversation, and I was getting tired of those, but she needed to hear what I had to say...
~~~