Dalliance |h.s|

Ch.XXVI {Dr. Who, anyone?}

[[[ M A R C E L ]]]

"Hey babe" I look up from a book I brought and had been reading, to see a very exhausted looking Lavender. "What's the matter?" She doesn't respond, simply throwing herself on the bed next to me and heaving an awful sigh. "Hey... I'm sorry I left you with that Monica girl... I just didn't want to smother you, ya know? Thought you might like to catch up with an old friend?"

"She's more than that, Marcel... All the more reason we shouldn't have ever left the house this morning, I-"

"You act as though she's done some huge crime against mankind!" I laugh, but she doesn't. "What happened? You can tell me anything, you know that-"

She lunges for my face, grabbing me and pressing her lips hard against mine. I kiss her back but eventually it becomes painful and I push her back a little bit.

"Why're we stopping?" She tries to go for me again and I stop her. "What's the matter? Am I just ugly when I'm distraught or is there some other legitimate reason we're not fucking on my bed right this moment?!"

I get off the bed and swipe my hand through my hair.

"Lavender, what's wrong. You're not yourself, tell me what happened-"

"Just kiss me!" She flings herself off the bed and onto me and we both tumble to the floor with a crash.

"Lavender!"

"Marcel!"

"Lavender?"

"Lavender Oaken!"

"Mum?"

"Nathaniel!"

[DONKEY! :D]

"Mum, it's not what it looks like I'm sorry if we were being loud, I-"

"I- honestly don't want to know what was going on. You should know better. And Marcel, seeing as what's happened I think it might be best if you stayed on the pull-out tonight" Jennifer says sternly. Nathaniel shakes his head and they both leave. Lavender starting to tear up.

"I'm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to- I just thought- it's been a while" she shrugs, the first tears falling onto her jacket.

"Now that that's over and your parents only sentenced me to couch duty... Will you tell me what the hell happened?"

I look at her and furrow my eyebrows, I'm more nervous than confused if anything. What if she did run into an ex that was trying to steal her back and not just Monica??? What if Monica fancies me and is trying to convince Lavender to break up with me??? Um no sorry, that's a little egotistical of me.

But then what the hell is going on?

"When I was young," she laughs, wiping at her eyes. "I was a very weird child" she sighs in remembrance.

"Was?" I smile.

"Still am, not the point" she shakes her head. "I was in year 8 I think... It might've been year 7, I can't quite remember... All of it, ya know? Just the big stuff" she pushes back her hair as I scoot over to where she's sat on the floor.

"And?"

"I had just gotten my first phone... I was able to browse this new interweb thing and learn whatever I wanted. Well that's also how I learned what the terms gay, lesbian, bisexual, and trans meant" I wrap my arms around her and rock us back and forth so slowly it's almost not even noticeable.

"So Monica is, what, one of these? And it freaked you out maybe?" I kiss her shoulder.

"That's not it... I'd seen way too much as it was and I don't know, it all seemed very interesting! So, one night at a friends' sleepover... Monica stayed up and we had this whole talk about it. I was absolutely astonished that my pickings weren't as limited anymore. But then she told me how some people found it wrong. She told me how her cousin came out and his dad beat him. That scared me but I mean... My parents are chill. I didn't think... I mean.... We didn't-"

"Are you saying you thought you might've been gay?" She was being all mysterious about it and dragging the story along and it was just confusing me more.

"Monica and I were a couple! For two years! Secretly... Because we were scared. Scared... And in love" she picked at her nails, a lazy smile on her face. Seeming to remember the old days with her old ways.

"That's really all I needed to know. You could've just told me she was your first true love. I would've understood-"

"That's not the point. We broke up because of a stupid dinner party we set up to come out to our parents but the discussion ended up being about how gays and trans people are ruining TV or something like that and we freaked out and called it all off"

"That's... Intense. Are you sure you're ok? Seems- er- traumatizing" I rest my chin on her shoulder and she lets out a small choked sob.

"She wanted to talk to me today... To tell me she still loves me" she licks her lips and wipes at her eyes some more.

"And what did you say?" I bite my lip. It's really hard to get over a first love..

"She does this every time I come back, Marcel. It's become a pattern, the last time I saw her was when I came down with my ex, she ran over his cat, death threats, the fix. He ended it. The guy before that she broke into his house and flushed his beautiful goldfish. She has this thing about animals, I don't know, sends a message? Anyways"

She sighs, again, and then starts to laugh.

"Sleep on the pullout with me" I say seriously.

"I hadn't finished but if I'm being honest... That's really all that's happened" her shoulders slump and she scratches her arm. Leaning her head against mine she takes a deep breath. "Thanks for listening"

"On a lighter note, shower? Pullout? Maybe a movie before bed?"

"I guess I owe you, c'mon ya big lump" she pats my thigh and stands up, reaching down to help me.

"Your words hurt, as true as they are"

"Shut up and let's go watch Dr. Who"

+++

I really didn't want everything explained until later but I'm sick of all these assholes so here's this for now. Monica isn't quite finished yet but be prepared for her big finale *jazz hands*

I suck at Math, even though my mom's a math major, whatever tho fam.

Ciao! Moi ;*