[SuperCorp] Ascendio [Finished]

Rolled up sleeves

"Kara? Kara? Earth to Kara?"

Lena must have said Kara's name three times before Kara finally brought herself back into the room and blinked slowly over at her.

"Hm?"

Lena's nose crinkled up into a perplexed laugh. "Gosh, Kara. You were up in space for a minute there, is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah, everything's...everything's fine. I'm just a bit tired, is all," Kara mumbled and glanced over her shoulder. A few Beauxbatons students sat at the desk behind them, happily chatting away as they worked on their potion, but Kara couldn't help feel the hairs prickling at the back of her neck. Ever since Lex had cornered her in the store room, Kara had kept one eye on her back, unable to shake this feeling she was being watched.

Predictably, Alex had flown into a rage when Kara told her about what had happened with Lex. She'd had to hold her older sister back in an effort to keep her from going after the eldest Luthor with something presumably worse than the Jelly-Legs jinx.

"Maybe you should just stay away...is this all really worth it?" Alex had huffed once she'd calmed down to a gentle simmer, allowing for a little more conscious thought than her previously explosive state.

Kara frowned deeply in response, but couldn't answer. She thought about her promise to Lena—that she wasn't going anywhere. To Kara, a promise was a serious vow, and the thought of even thinking about breaking it tore her up inside.

Kara had read about Devil's Snare in Herbology. The magical plant used its creepers and tendrils to ensnare anyone that touched it, slowly but certainly constricting and strangling its victims. Kara imagined this was what it would be like to have one of its vines wrapped around her chest, squeezing and crushing her until she couldn't breathe.

When Lena smiled politely at her over their shared cauldron, Kara barely managed to send a strained, unconvincing smile in return. Pretending like nothing was wrong seemed an impossible task when Kara couldn't so much as look at Lena without hearing Lex's voice, sneering and accusing her of being a lovesick puppy.

Kara was not a lovesick puppy.

Did she spend an inordinate amount of time staring at Lena when she wasn't looking? Admittedly, yes. (Spotting a hidden freckle just below Lena's left ear had once made Kara's entire day).

Did watching Lena's loopy, cursive handwriting render Kara into a state of near hypnosis? Perhaps, on more than one occasion.

Did Kara compulsively watch Lena's mouth while she was explaining the critical differences between counter-clockwise and clockwise cauldron stirring (none of which she could now remember for the life of her)? Had she been thinking about how soft those lips looked...wondering how they would feel pressed against skin?

(Kara couldn't quite bring herself to answer that question.)

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Kara shook her head lightly in an effort to concentrate on Lena's words.