Laurel's House

Laurel quietly closed her eyes, leaning back against the couch. She was not sitting on it, but rather the floor, her skirts splayed out around her in a way that bared her legs indecently. Her head was leaning back, resting on the couch cushion and her arms hung lazily at her sides. She did not think that they would be coming, really. Why would they want to come over to her house after all? They probably thought she was creepy, with her dark dresses and quiet attitude. None of them were exactly the same, but she always felt like she did not belong with the rest. They were all so happy and she was all so. . . not. And a year or two older than they were, too. They probably thought she was so weird...

With a small sigh, she rest a hand against her forehead, and cooed to the air. They probably thought she was a know it all, always saying what she thought and what she believed. She should probably just remain quiet altogether. Her head lift off of the couch, and lowered to stare at her thighs. Maybe then they might actually want to come over to a sleepover at her house. She pushed herself to her feet then, and began to shuffle back towards her room, already having talked herself out of the hope of them ever showing up, despite the fact that it was still five minutes early.

Just as she began to cross the threshold of her room, she heard a soft rapt at the door. Her eyes lit up with hope, and she smiled for what must have been the first time that day. And what a brilliant smile it was, as golden as her hair. She rushed through the house, running at a speed her friends never would have imagined she could reach, skidding to a halt at the door and throwing it open--careful not to hit anything with it though.

-

Karen had carefully packed her things for the night. She had brought a hair brush, a tooth brush, a change of clothing, her super comfy nightgown, a LOT of super super sweet snacks, the kind her friends usually could not even bear to taste, and glowsticks. She had a bunch of other stuff that was just always in the travel bag, but she could not be bothered to look at it all. It was her mother's, and she didn't know that she was using it right now. She always seemed pretty touchy about it, but she did not care. With a little giggle, she knocked on the door to Laurel's house. She liked Laurel. She was so cute and shy, she just couldn't help but love the girl.

Her eyes blinked rapidly for a moment when the door opened, as if Laurel had been standing right next to the door when she knocked. And her smile! She'd never seen the girl smile like that. It stirred something in her chest, and she settled it the same way she always did, by launching herself at Laurel and tackling her, dropping the bag in the meantime. Taking the girl down to the floor, she gave the girl a kiss on her forehead. Laurel blushed in embarrassment, but still smiled, and murmured to her almost silently; "I'm glad you came. . ."

"Well of course I came! Like I'd miss Laurel's sleep over!" She said, kissing her on the forehead again before hopping up and pulling the older girl to her feet with a forceful tug that made Laurel squeak. "Comeon come on! Are the others here yet?" She asked, but Laurel shook her head, nibbling on her lip. "Oh, stop that, they'll be here soon!" She reached out, firmly tugging the girl on her hair. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew Laurel enjoyed the rough attention. "You've been beating yourself up all day, haven't you?"

Laruel blushed with shame, and lowered her head, which was all the answer Karen needed. Laurel jumped half a foot into the air and let out a loud squeak as the winged girl smacked her on the bottom as if spanking her. Laurel hugged herself and murmured; "I'm sorry, K-Karen. . ." She was not on the verge of tears, as was typical when she stuttered. She was simply embarrassed because of her behavior. "I can't help it. . ." Karen smiled up at her and gave her another kiss on the cheek. "They'll be here, I promise. Look!" She said, pointing out the open door. "I see them now."

Meisha was the first to come around a corner at the end of the block, followed by Laurie only a half a moment later. Seemed they were racing, and Meisha, of course, would win, as always. She was conditioned for such things, after all. She even carried not only her bag, but Laurie's as well, since Laurie often seemed to bend uncomfortably under weight.

The two both reached into the air to give a wave before they were close enough to speak properly with Laurel and Karen, kicking up the speed to the door in an effort to beat each other. Laurie lagged behind, panting heavily with a whiped look on her face, though her eyes, and her smile, were bright as ever, clear of worries. Meisha, laughing as she reached out to grasp Laurie's shoulder to help steady her, panted considerably less, and was the first to say hello to Laurel and Karen, smiling at them both. They had only run one or two blocks, after all.

"Ohh... Oh dear... let.. me catch my breath..." Laurie murmured, grateful to the assitance Meisha offered. She was a pale, thin girl, with long hair, always in a braid, and obviously was not the athletic type like Meisha, who seemed better built and firm, tanned even from her time in the sun. Once she caught her breath, she muttered a hey with a bright smile, shuffling forward to hug at Laurel and Karen both. Meisha followed soon after, ignoring the bags on her shoulders.

"We were worried we might be late." The only darkhaired one of the group said, taking a glance over someone's shoulder to read her watch, which she didn't wear unless she needed to watch the time. "Meisha's such a dear... helping me carry.. my stuff." Laurie chimed after, gathering her breath. "I ran into a few problems at home.. Maybe it's time to consider keeping my room clean?" Meisha gave a nod of agreement, unable to hide her smirk. Laurie's room was such a mess, and it was filled with the strangest of things.

Laurel's lips were unable to shake the smile when she saw Meisha and Laurie running for the door. She gave a soft little sound as they ran. Karen slipped up beside her and let her fingers lightly grasp the darkly clad girl's arm. When the other two finally reached the door, they both spoke their greetings. A "Hello~!" From Karen and a "Welcome to my home." From Laurel. When the others came forward and hugged them, Karen leaped eagerly into the fray, winding her arms around everyone. Laurel had to be tugged closer by the small girl, before she released a small noise, and slowly slid her own arms around the bunch.

"Um, thank you for coming. I am happy you all showed up." Karen rolled her eyes and lightly bopped her forehead against the girl's shoulder. "Little miss sunshine over here thought that we wouldn't show up!" She said in mock-offended tones, before pulling away from the group hug, and spinning around on one foot. "Great! We're all here, in Laurel's home." She stopped then, and took a look around the living room. It was speckled and sparkled clean, no fingerprints on the glassware, no empty boxes laying around, no garbage misplaced. Everything was neat and orderly.

She did not need to ask why it was so; she knew Laurel would have kept it perfect for company, even if she thought they might not show up. She would not let her house be in disarray while she had her friends over. She had no idea what it would look like otherwise. Messy did not suit Laurel at all, not like it did Karen. Karen's own house was as if she were a tornado, slinging everything off of the walls, and onto the middle of the floor. She played with her toys and never put them back up. She could not be bothered to throw her cans and bottles away, instead using them for make-shift buildings for her action figures to knock over and stuff.

The thought made her wonder what kind of toys that Laurel used, but she would find out soon enough, she imagined. She turned around towards the other three, smiling brightly. "Well, we're all here, let's do something! We could play some games, watch some movies~ Gossip?" Laurel nibbled on her bottom lip as the girl listed things off. She was more than happy to let her friends take the lead, even in her own house. It was true, though. She had cleaned her already perfect house in preparation for the festivities. She would not stress if things were knocked out of place, but she had taken hours meticulously placing everything in the house in it's perfectly proper spot.

Laurie, after getting a chance to hug her friends for several moments, blinked quietly in her contemplation at Karen's words. She turned her gaze to Laurel, giving the dark clad girl a smile brighter than usual. "You know you can count on us. You are one of us, after all, and nothing feels complete without you with us~" Meisha gave a nod, offering a smile of her own, until their attention was taken by Karen's words, looking around the place after watching the little ball of energy spin.

Meisha quietly admired the cleanliness, Laurie the orderliness, though of course, she claimed that she had an order with her mess of a house. One that seems to match her mothers perfectly. They always knew where everything was, even if those everythings were in the strangest of places, say, a cranny in what was supposed to be a closet used instead as a nook. Both Laurie and her mother had a thing for small spaces, and had transformed their closets into comfort holes.

Meisha's eyes fell back to Karen, and glanced back towards Laurie. When there was a question of what to do, she always had some strange suggestion, though it always turned out fun. Right on cue, Laurie spoke up. "Well, I have some things you might consider interesting. Mother and I stopped by a flea market yesterday~" Flea markets and antique shops seemed to be their favorite places outside of home. "Also.. I found something on Mother's side of the house recently.. It is.. I do not know what to make of it. I have brought it with me, if you would like to see it.."

Obviously, she was confused about what to make of it. Meisha seemed just as confused, if only because Laurie was confused. Strange things were Laurie's specialty, and something confused her! She shifted around, swinging Laurie's bag around carefully so the girl could dig through it if she needed. She would hold the bags, usually, until she found it was perfectly alright to set them down, or until the burn wore out. She loved the burn. It felt nice to carry things, hold things and whatnot. And run, and jump, and bike, and everything.

Laurie reached over just about the same time Meisha started to swing the bag around, murmuring a thanks while she unzipped it and began to dig through it. There was a mess of things, and she huffed at one point when it became obvious that one of her decks of playing cards had come loose in the thing. Oh well. She had dozens of others. She finally pulled out a small case, which she put things in she felt needed a bit of extra protection, fiddling with the lock on it and popping it open an instant later, revealing a few small statuettes, a DVD, a couple of other items. Strange items... Like a scarily sharp tooth in a small jar of gelatinous liquid, a patch of hair that came from the hide of a wolf, strips of handworked leather, for which she had a few ideas, a little leatherbound book she had made with her own hand, dressed with three locks. Her diary, obviously. She plucked the DVD out and held it out, for Laurel or Karen to take.

Laurel perked just slightly when Laurie said she was unsure of something. That was her typical reaction because it was really the only way she felt she was useful at all. Being able to figure out things the other girl's could not was something she got out of being a year older, two in Karen's case. She watched as the girl began to dig through her stuff, her toes curling up within her shoes as she waited in anticipation. "What is it?" She asked idly, and Karen spoke up alongside her; "Yes, what what? I'm excited." She did look excited. Anything that was a mystery could be exciting and waiting for it to come was just going to kill her.

Laurel took the DVD as it was handed to her, blinking once or twice as she swept around the thing, pushing it towards the player and sliding it inside. There was no parental block on the thing, because her parents knew her to be a good child that never even thought about things like that. She turned to the rest of them, blinking once or twice and giving a small mewl; "Would you like to sit with me on the couch?" She was half sure they would say no, because that was just how she was. Karen gave her a small frown, as if having read the thought, and simply jumped over the back of the couch, landing near the arm to force Laurel to either sit as far away as possible, or take the middle of the girls.

She let out a light little coo, and gently sat down next to Karen, reaching for the remote and pressing the play button, slowly looking around towards the other two girls. Karen spoke up for her and said; "Come on come on, the movie's about to start!" Even though she had no clue what the movie was, she was more than excited to get the thing running. She leaned her head up against Laurel's shoulder, who jumped slightly in startlement. Her fingers lightly brushed out along her dark skirt, getting rid of imaginary wrinkles.

Laurie only offered a confused smile and shrug with the questions, seeming relieved that they were open to trying to help her figure the movie... thing... out. Especcially Laurel. Oh, she depened on Laurel a lot to figure certain things out she herself could not. Meisha looked on in anticipation, and was burning with curiosity as the girl pulled out the DVD to hand it off to one of their close friends. Laurie had not told her about this mystery, and she was equally excited to figure it out, even if she did not openly display it with more than wide, curious eyes and lifted brows.

Laurie's smile widened a bit when the DVD was taken and popped into the player, and she slowly made her way around the couch. But she did not sit down, and would not sit down until Laurel sat down so she could sit beside her. She and Karen always seemed to have Laurel's sides covered. Meisha always seemed to be protective over Laurie, and was more often following after her to help her with this, that, or the other, but she just as quickly made herself available to Laurel and Karen if she felt they needed her or wanted someone around. She never felt like an extra with them, and found her group to be most comfortable.

Laurie grinned when Laurel settled, finally, upon the couch, setting herself down at her other side. To her, not only was Laurel a good friend she could look up to and ask things, she was almost like a sister. Meisha thought the same, from a different point of view, thinking the pair really could be sisters, if one was simply less.. messy. Meisha slipped around, carefully setting the bags down and sitted at the other arm of the couch after a little stretch to help ease herself.

Laurie seemed a bit uncomfortable as the movie began with a couple of women chatting over unimportant things while they worked in a shop in an out of the way area in a big city. They were chatting about this, that and the other before falling onto the conversation of relationships, after a few wary glances at the door, to make sure no potential customer might come in to hear what they had to say. One was talking about her husband, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, the other apparently trying to comfort her or help her work things out. A short while in, there was a confession of care for her coworker, and things progressed on from there as they grew closer and closer behind the counter of the store, shyly kissing before hungrily doing so again, tugging at each other, working off each other's clothes..

Laurie, having seen this already, still could not help but stare, glancing at Laurel and the others several times, hoping one of them would pipe up and help her figure a few things out. But as things in the film progressed, she stopped glancing at the others, staring at the screen with a faint red tint to her face. It was embarrassing to watch, for some reason. Meisha mirrored her with wide, shocked eyes, wondering just what those women were doing to eachother, among other things.

Laurel leaned back into the couch, relaxing as her friends joined her. Squished inbetween Karen and Laurie, she let out a loved-sounding little coo, her fingers slipping down between the two girl's and grasping hold of their hands, almost shyly. Karen immediately gripped back with a surprising amount of force, causing Laurel's eyelids to flutter shut for a moment or two in happy pain. She stared up towards the screen as the movie started with two women talking to each other. They were rather pretty in a way she had only seen in magazines, before. Her and Karen both idly wondered if they were magazine ladies.

Karen scooted over just slightly, snugging her form more firmly against Laurel's form. As the movie progressed, the pair of eyes belonging to both girls widened simultaneously as they began to kiss. Laurel and Karen exchanged a glance. They had kissed many times before but never like that! Laurel's cheeks flamed up as she mumbled under her breath; "You said it was strange, Laurie, but I wasn't expecting something like this. . ." Her fingers tightened against the girl's hand almost spasmodically after watching one of them reach under the other's clothing.

Now even Karen was beginning to blush, letting out a quiet little whine and snuggling up closer to Laurel. Laurel was feeling those sensations again that she only usually felt with Karen on top of her kissing, or tugging on her hair. Karen picked up on the sensation and hugged herself closer, lightly resting her free hand upon the girl's abdomen, causing her to jump. "Laurie, where did you find this movie again?" Karen asked, staring on intently. Being what she was, even unknown to her as it was, seeing things like this sparked urges in her genetic makeup, despite the fact that it seemed to want to burn her young face off with blushing.