Cause we have chemistry together~ [priv/penguin]

This was pure torture. While the redhead was enjoying the comfort and warmth of her makeshift couch, Avery was dying from all her subtle movements. The warm air brushing the skin of her neck was driving her crazy. She tried to endure it at first but after three breaths, she just had to do poke the girl's cheek and gently tilt her head so she wasn't directly breathing at her exposed neck.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Avery thought her suffering was over until the girl shifted on her lap and nuzzled on her shoulder, making her feel all sorts of sensation again with the latter's breaths directed on her neck. Yeah. She wasn't so sure if letting her sleep on her lap was a good idea at all.

Blushing, shuddering and whimpering aside, Avery couldn't help but smile at the redhead's calm form on her lap. While the girl looked innocent even when awake, she looked even more precious when she's asleep - so vulnerable and pure in this tranquil state. Of course being the wicked person that she was, Avery just had to play with this defenseless person on her lap. Silently raising a hand, she brushed the girl's eyelashes softly with her fingers, playing with them giddily. Then she went on with her red strands of hair this time, amazed at how perfectly smooth they flowed between her fingers. She took the ends and used it to tickle the girl's cheek, giggling silently at her own mischief.

All too soon, she could see the academy from a distance and she smiled. Avery stopped the music from the headphones and leaned  close to Scarlett's ear. "Hey sleepyhead, wake up. We're here."

Poor Avery. If only Scarlett was conscious for the time she spent napping on the blonde's lap and knew what she was doing to the girl. However, if that were the case, it would be expected to hear 'I'm sorry.' and 'Deal with it.' over and over again. But for now, the natural teasing that Scar was capable of would need to go unknown to herself. Although she may have been asleep, she certainly wasn't entirely unaware of the real world, reacting to Avery's teasing and touches still in rather subtle ways. Nothing too pronounced; a soft sigh at the feeling of Avy's hands brushing past her eyelashes, or perhaps a quiet giggle at the tickling of her cheek.

"Hey sleepyhead, wake up. We're here."

But Scarlett wasn't ready to wake up just yet! She had felt the wonderful feeling of sleeping on someone's lap and had no intention of giving it up so soon. Shifting on Avery slightly again, she allowed her cheek to rub against the girl's shoulder until she planted her forehead and eyes at the curve of the blonde's neck, even getting the wonderful scent of the blonde locks that were so close, "But I don't want to go to school today..." she mumbled in her sleep, even in her dream state protesting about leaving the girl, "My bed's too comfy..."

Even Scarlett's hands lightly gripped at Avery's wrists, almost pleading with them to not let go of her, not just yet at the very least. She was having such a sweet dream and one of the most precious times she could ever think back to, even if she was sleeping through the entire lap-ride. Although there was hardly anything the girl really could do, it only would have taken another attempt to wake the girl from her slumber in any way that Avery could think of, "Let me stay home with you..." she mumbled once again.

Avery stared nervously as Scarlett started to shift on her lap again, hoping their positions wouldn't get any worse than it already was, and of course it would. The redhead seem to find comfort in nuzzling close to her neck. Of all places, it just had to be her neck! "B-But don't you have class later?" Avery asked, trying to shift as little possible away from the girl's head but to no avail. She didn't have the heart to wake her up. And when the girl mumbled in her sleep. It was the cutest thing she'd heard! Oh gee, don't use that voice on me.

So the blonde sat there frigid, suddenly finding herself the restricted one. She knew she had to wake up Scarlett, but every movement from the latter was preventing her from doing so, especially when the redhead mentioned something about staying home with her. Suddenly all kinds of images flashed in her head and she was once again admonishing herself.

With a sigh, she decided she'd just wait for her till Scarlett wakes up. Finding a lone tree with a shade at the back of the academy, she moved the board and settled underneath it. The board then grew a legs and a back to transform into a bench instead. "I spoil you too much." Avery sighed and leaned back against the bench so Scarlett wasn't so cruelly close to her neck. She decided to wait until sunset. If the girl wasn't awake until then... well...

Avery was quite lucky in this situation, Scarlett was not asleep for long. It only took about an hour for her to finally wake up, but that didn't mean that the hour consisted of the redhead taking it easy on Avy. All throughout the hour, Scar continued to lightly shift on the girl's lap, but it wasn't just that. She made larger adjustments at points, even going so far as to shift her entire form. Managing to get herself a bit lower and turned, the gunslinger was now laying on Avery with her legs draping down to the side of the blonde's form. Her head rested right on her partner's chest as her arms managed to find themselves wrapped around the girl's form as if she were hugging a big teasing teddy bear. As she hummed softly in content, she listened to the steady beating of her friend's heart, nuzzling her chest lightly.

But no matter what, Avery's torment couldn't last forever. Nearing the turn of the hour, Scarlett began to shift slightly once again, murmuring as she slowly gained consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered open slowly as she awoke, her lips parting slightly as her sight slowly came to her. She could barely register where she was at the moment, or even what she was doing before she fell asleep. All Scar knew was that she was outside and she felt one of the most comforting warmths that she's ever had. "Uhh..?" The redhead let out softly, her eyes finally managing to begin to focus, her gaze traveling upwards to see the sight of the blonde's face. With a soft inhale, the meeker girl's eyes widened in surprise as her mind made the final few connections of what happened.

And then Scarlett smiled. Upon the sight of her friend, her features relaxed, nestling back to continue holding the girl. Perhaps it was just that she was groggy from just waking up, but she felt no anxiety. She wasn't worried or fearful of the fact that she was on Avery's lap, but instead she was happy to be graced with the sight of her friend as the first thing that she recognized when she woke up. Exhaling softly, "Hm... Must still be dreaming..." was all that she let out as she resumed resting her head on the girl's chest, "Best kind of dreams..~" she said almost playfully as she resumed her snuggling. Turns out, the redhead wasn't aware that she wasn't dreaming and that the Avery she was holding onto was very much the real one.

For such an awkward position and laying on a small frame, Scarlett sure knew how to make the most out of her comfortable position in Avery's lap. The latter on the other hand couldn't help a small sigh as she was reduced to nothing but a couch, a bed, a pillow and now a huggable bear. What's next? A blanket? Avery's face did flush at the thought of it, not that she wasn't already fiery red from all the girl's shifting and nuzzling.

Finally an hour later, the redhead woke up. Avery was a little worried she'd sleep throughout the day and Avy would have to resort to... drastic measures. At least she's awake now, somehow managing to stay adorable even while dazed. "Good afternoon~ Had a sweet dream I bet." Avery grinned, appearing confident as though she hadn't been suffering under the girl's subtle movements while asleep.

Her smile though was quickly replaced by a dumbfounded look. "Oi! Enough sleeping already, you dork! I'm not a dream!" She pouted and gently poked the girl's cheek to prove her point. "I think you've had your fun, now shoo shoo. Get off my lap," Avery said as she tried to mask the goosebumps that crawled in her skin whenever the girl nuzzled on her chest.

She waited for the redhead to move before she stood up and slung her bag across her. "Anyway, I think it's best if we go now. But before that um..." Avery paused and turned away a little as she began playing with her choker out of force of habit. "I was thinking.. um.. f-for the winter break. Do you.. have plans?"

Scarlett blinked, her blissful smile slowly fading from her face as she realized what was happening, "W-what..?" She let out and slowly tilt her head. So as it turned out she wasn't dreaming at all; not recently at least. The redhead was napping ontop of Avery for some time, it seemed. Not only that, but she was hugging her like a stuffed animal and immediately told her that she enjoyed dreams when she was cuddling. Could she have been any more embarrassed? Eyes widening and cheeks swiftly turning to their red hue, Scar wasn't sure how to react for a moment, lingering for long enough so that her hands gave one last squeeze to whatever they were touching.

"A-ah!" The surprise was almost too much for Scarlett as she began to squirm in the lap, trying to figure out what to do. It was only a few seconds before she finally made her way up and off of Avery, turning on her heels as she backed away. Embarrassed and ashamed of her actions, she brought her hand to her mouth and began to lightly bite on her knuckle as she gazed away towards the ground, avoiding looking towards her directly, "I... I mean... I, uh..." Why did she have to wake up? Everything before she realized it was real life was so wonderful and perfect...

But Avery's words caught Scarlett off-guard, causing Scarlett to slowly allow her gaze to return to the blonde's form, "W-winter break..?" Taking in a slight gasp, something clicked in the redhead's mind. Was she about to be asked to spend time with Avery during the break? She couldn't have thought of anything that she wanted to do more. Well, maybe except one thing, but it wasn't exactly possible at the moment. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she decided to not get her hopes up. She shook her head slowly, "N-no... I'm not really going to be doing anything during winter break... W-why..?" But even though she tried to convince herself that she wasn't going to be invited to something, her excitement at the possibility showed quite clearly. A certain glimmer in her eye as she anticipated Avery's next words and the bated breath prevented herself from hiding all of the hope she had.

Again, she saw it. This time it was more vivid that a simple flash of interest in the redhead's eyes. She appeared to be thrilled at the prospect of spending time with the blonde during the winter break, looking forward to it even. That or Avery was assuming things on face value again. Either way, it won't hurt to try right? Or maybe it would. Just thinking about the possibility of a rejection made her question if this was even a good idea.

"W-Well.." Avery started, turning around to hide her flustered face from both uneasiness and embarrassment. "I t-think you already know what I'm about to say... so really, I don't have to say it. Just say yes or no or whatever," she murmured straightforwardly.

She nibbled on her bottom lip as her anxiety started to rise, causing her defense mechanism to trigger. "Obviously since I know you're so alone and don't have any friends whatsoever, I just felt like it's good if we..." she paused, playing with her collar even more. Asking someone to spend the winter break together wasn't supposed to be something special or a big deal. But to Avery who'd always had a hard time developing personal connections, she saw it as such a big risk.

"I was thinking maybe we could.. I don't know... hang out or something. Find something fun to do maybe. W-What do you think?"

Scarlett wasn't oblivious to Avery's difficulty with such a simple thing as to ask a friend over. Well, she could hardly call her out on it as it's doubtful that she'd even be able to do that even if she had something to invite someone to. But the fact that the blonde tried managed to get Scar to smile just a bit. If the typically confident Avy was having difficulties, then it wasn't so strange for Scar to have similar troubles. But even more, if Avy could overcome said difficulties and manage to ask, then surely the meeker of the girls wasn't entirely hopeless, right? That's what she liked to believe at the very least, and that's all she needed to continue aspiring towards that goal.

"Y-yes!" Scarlett let out, possibly getting a bit too excited about the idea. However, immediately afterwards, she showed her embarrassment over letting out such an honest response that she turned a shade of red, allowing her gaze to lower slightly. However, her smile never faded from her face, even as she brought her hands low infront of her and began to press her index fingers together in an awkward display, "I... I mean... I do have other friends and stuff... people from school, but nobody that I've really ever been close to. B-but... what I'm trying to say here is... well, there's nobody else I'd want to spend time with more, so... of course I will. Thank you, Avy."

After Scarlett's little speech, she allowed a pause between the two girls before she said anything else, allowing the words to sink in, "S-so... just message me... alright..?" she asks, smiling softly towards Avery as she rose a hand towards her face, brushing a lock of red hair from her face. Perhaps that motion was symbolic or something. Or she needed a haircut, either way.

"A-ah... w-wait... it's already later in the day than I expected..." Scarlett mumbled to herself, biting down on her lower lip as she considered just what to do. After a few seconds, the redhead began to slowly take a step away from Avy, "I, uh... gotta go before it's too late, alright? But... really, message me and everything... I'll be really excited to hear from you again..~"

"Really?"

Avery couldn't hide the innocent delight in her tone from the simple word of agreement that came from Scarlett. For a moment there she gave a genuine smile, nibbling on her bottom lip like an excited high school girl. Realising what cheesiness she was doing though, she immediately caught herself. "I-I mean. Pfft. Of course you should. It's the third rule after all. You don't have a choice." She commanded but as usual it just came out as almost a pleading statement, hoping the redhead wouldn't change her mind in a later date.

As the blonde continued to listen to her speech, her face became even redder and her heart raced. Such a wonderful feeling from mere words. And message? Did the girl say she could message her? Still with her back turned to Scarlett, Avy spared a glance at her in time to see the former brushing a few strands of her hair from her face. This caused Avery to turn away just as quickly. I need a break from this girl. The explosion of emotions she was capable of making Avery feel was dangerous, borderline scary.

"O-okay. I'll see you some time then," she murmured, not having the courage to turn around and wave at the girl. But also because she didn't want to see her leaving. Such a childish act that made her scold herself again. She waited for Scarlett's footsteps to fade from her hearing before she decided to leave as well. As Avery walked past the bench of ice she'd created, her eyes caught sight of its glimmering surface along with the surrounding wetness directly underneath. It took her a moment to process but when she realised it, she tilted her head in confusion.

The ice was melting.

[Exit]

Scarlett didn't say anything back, instead just opting to giggle at Avery's claim. There were going to be a lot of added rules over this friendship of theirs, the redhead felt. Perhaps she would be wrong, but only time would tell. But Scar did feel the anxiety and worry from just moments before seem to fade from her thoughts, quickly being replaced by amusement from Avery's actions. Perhaps she would be able to use that more often to calm her nerves, if she were able to figure out how and why it happened.

Scarlett turned away to begin walking away, somewhat regretfully. Sure she had spent plenty of time with Avery, but she felt that it wasn't enough, and very well may never be enough. As time goes on and she learns more about the blonde, the redhead finds herself desiring her company more and more. Perhaps that thought will fade soon as this was technically their first time they spent together and only the second time they had encountered one another. But quite the time it was. It was full of regret, sorrow, and coldness. But it also filled her with joy and warmth.

Said warmth was more than just a feeling. It was hope and courage that was spreading through the girl, something that she hadn't felt as strong in quite a long time. It was almost as if something had ignited a flame inside of her, the girl ready to face the future with a smile instead of the typical shy demeanor she's often shown. Perhaps all she ever needed was something - or someone - to be able to make that fire shine.

[Thread End]