1/20 Instance: Wibbly Wobbly

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: after Skin Deep


Rachel: Despite the freezing weather, Rachel had managed to find a seat in the sill of the window because she couldn't be assed to go all the way down to the patio for a smoke, the cool air somewhat helping her aching ribs. She was fairly sure she shouldn't be smoking with the new piercing, but she'd just go clean it afterward because she needed the cigarette... before Paige was back from class.

Rachel: Even though they weren't talking, she was sure Paige would have words if she caught her smoking in her room. She tossed the butt when she was finished, opting to remain where she was as she looked out over the grounds. Paige was likely to have words anyway, but Rachel would definitely prefer them to be about the giant gummy bears she'd left on the bed as an apology.

Paige: After cleaning up her lab after class, Paige slowly made her way back to her room, letting out a heavy sigh. She had lost track of how many days it had been that she and Rachel had stopped talking. It made time in her room unbearable with the silence. With another heavy sigh, Paige shoved her door open, immediately noting the smell of the cigarette smoke and the cold. She shot Rachel a glare.

Rachel: Between the lack of footsteps after the door opening and her telepathy, Rachel didn't even have to look to know Paige was glaring at her and reluctantly got to her feet to close the window. With a sigh of her own, she simply started for the bathroom to rinse her mouth, keeping her gaze glued to the floor. She was beginning to wish she had simply gone downstairs, if only to avoid the tense silence.

Paige: Paige's eyes followed Rachel on her trek to the bathroom, pausing at the bed. What was that on her bed? She went on into the room, closing the door behind her. She glancing down at 6 huge, pink gummy bears on her bed, blinking at them. "Rach?"

Rachel: In the process of brushing her teeth, she eyed the doorway a bit, moved to stand against it, and leaned against the frame, managing around the toothbrush, "Hm?"

Paige: "Why are there giant gummies on my bed?"

Rachel: Rachel pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth to answer and decided against it, going to finish up since they were actually going to have a conversation. After rinsing and checking the piercing, she returned to the doorway, giving a bit of a shrug, "They're for you."

Paige: "But.... why?" Paige gave Rachel a truly baffled look.

Rachel: "Because..." she took a deep breath, "Because I'm sorry... and you'll probably need them to keep putting up with me."

Paige: Paige sighed again, moving to Rachel to pull her into a hug.

Rachel: Rachel cringed as Paige's arm brushed her side, biting down on her lip, but returned the hug. Well, hugging was good. Beside the pain in her side, it was good anyway.

Paige: "Well, they aren't going to eat themselves. I wonder how many bites to bite off the head!"

Rachel: The change was weird after all the silence, however she wasn't about to complain. Things were far better when they were actually speaking. She smiled slightly and rolled her eyes, "Go find out."

Paige: "Well come find out with me." Paige tugged on her a bit, heading toward the bed.

Rachel: Rachel wasn't entirely sure gummy bears were something she should be eating with the new piercing, and she'd just brushed her teeth and everything... But, she wasn't entirely sure she could tell Paige no either. Allowing herself to be dragged to the bed, she sat down and gave a smirk, "I'm not entirely sure I can count that high, but we'll see."

Paige: "It's ok. I can count for the both of us!" Paige grinned and opened up the gummies, handing one over to Rachel and taking one for herself. "Where did you find these!?"

Rachel: "Google is a wonderful thing," Rachel answered as she took the gummy bear, debating whether it was a good idea. Maybe in small pieces.

Paige: "It is! The googlies!" Paige giggled and took a bite out of the gummy's head. "Mmmmm!"

Rachel: "I wish I would've gotten the shot glasses too," she commented as she pulled a piece of its ear off, carefully popping it in her mouth.

Paige: "But... we aren't drinking. That is like teasing us." Paige took another bite of gummy bear head.

Rachel: "That's why they're only a wish," Rachel sighed. "It's not like I can drink anyway now."

Paige: "Well neither of us are drinking, silly." Paige nudged her gently with her elbow.

Rachel: "I know. It's depressing," she gave a grin. "However, I really shouldn't until this heals," she stuck her tongue out.

Paige: Paige made face. "Doesn't that hurt?!"

Rachel: "Not really," Rachel shook her head, "Or, if it does, I don't notice it with the healing tattoo."

Paige: Paige made another face. Ick! "Well... if you're happy... I guess."

Rachel: "When am I ever happy?" she deadpanned, managing to keep a straight face.

Paige: "Now." Paige nudged her a bit again.

Rachel: "Maybe a little," Rachel grinned, giving her a small shove in return. After another bite of her gummy bear, she asked a bit excitedly, "You wanna see the tattoo? It's fucking awesome."

Paige: "Sure!" Paige took another bite, happy herself.

Rachel: Setting the gummy bear aside, Rachel turned so Paige would be able to see her side and pulled her shirt up high enough to reveal the phoenix tattoo. "What do you think?"

Paige: "Ohhhhhhhhhh it's really pretty..." Paige started to touch the tattoo, but stopped herself. Her mind realized she was staring at Rachel's body. She didn't want to look away, but she forced her gaze back up to Rachel's face.

Rachel: Rachel breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't touch it and, after a moment, realized pulling her shirt back down would likely be a good idea. "It's too bad you didn't come. You could've gotten something."

Paige: Paige laughed at her. "Yeah right! You aren't sticking ME with needles!"

Rachel: "Pfft, you could've just gotten your ears pierced again or gone for fun," she shrugged, "Mayday went and didn't get anything done."

Paige: "Well you weren't exactly talking to me were you?"

Rachel: Rachel blinked. Was there a safe response to that? No. There was not. Not one she was going to use anyway. "You weren't talking to me either?"

Paige: "Yeah because you got me high against my knowledge."

Rachel: She flopped onto her back with another sigh, muttering, "I said I was sorry."

Paige: Paige just shoved gummy bear in her mouth, visibly annoyed.

Rachel: Rachel had absolutely no idea what to do with the sudden annoyance, which was far more surprising than the sudden happiness from earlier because she didn't know what she'd done. She pushed herself up to sit and raked a hand through her hair, slowly getting to her feet to head back to the bathroom for mouthwash. So much for talking again... or being forgiven, which was what she'd really been worried about.

Paige: "Have you had dinner?" Or did she had plans to go out with Mayday? What was with that?! Just move on when they had a fight?

Rachel: So they were still talking... She paused before using the mouthwash to call back, "Um, no."

Paige: "Well, let's go get something then." Before Rachel decided to abandon her for Mayday again.

Rachel: "Pizza?" Rachel suggested as she wandered back into the room, heading for the couch to grab a sweatshirt. Pizza was always a safe topic.

Paige: "Well, I'm always up for pizza!" Paige put the gummy bears away then gathered up her coat and purse.

--- Time Passes ---

Paige: Paige took a bite of her cheese pizza, making a happy sound as she did. "Mmmmmmm... this was a great idea!" Paige told her after she swallowed. "I haven't been to this place in ages." She eyed the bar not too far away. Maybe they should have a drink to celebrate tonight.

Rachel: "Of course it was. Pizza is always a great idea," Rachel grinned across the table at her as she reached for another slice.

Paige: "It is. Do you think we eat too much pizza? Maybe?" Paige seemed somewhat concerned, then burst into laughter.

Rachel: She laughed with her, shaking her head. "If you'd been serious, we'd be taking a trip to the medlab."

Paige: "Awwww you'd be worried about my health?!" Paige grinned at her friend.

Rachel: "Duh," Rachel rolled her eyes, "Plus, it'd just be depressing to eat a whole pizza by myself."

Paige: "Awwwww, Rachie!" Paige smiled again. "You know... I think that maybe... we could have a drink to celebrate getting over our fight. Just one drink."

Rachel: "Damnit. I knew I should've gotten those gummy shot glasses."

Paige: "I said a driiiiiink. Not a shot. A drink."

Rachel: She considered this as she took a bite of pizza. "We can't do the equivalent of a drink in shots?"

Paige: "That would get us drunk... the idea is to not be drunk.... but maybe it should be no alcohol at all for you..."

Rachel: Rachel heaved a sigh. Being sober sucked. "Fine. One drink."

Paige: "Yay!" Paige giggled, then eyed the bar. "Flip for who has to get up?"

Rachel: Rachel followed her gaze to the bar, "Rock, paper, scissors? Then, we don't even have to dig out a coin."

Paige: "Ok. Rock, paper, scissors, go!"

Rachel: She simply held out her fist and frowned at Paige's choice of paper. "Two out of three."

Paige: "Nooooo, you lost." Paige handed her wallet over. "I'll haaaaaaaaaave a cosmo!"

Rachel: Rachel pouted but set her pizza down and moved to get up, shaking her head, "I'll buy."

Paige: "You're the best, Rachie! Thank you!" Paige settled back into her seat, munching on her piece of pizza.

Rachel: "It's no problem," she shook her head again and started for the bar. Focused on remembering what Paige wanted and trying to decide what she wanted, Rachel blinked when she collided with another person, automatically grabbing them to keep her balance and apologizing.

Paige: Paige giggled at Rachel tripping, then pulled out her phone to send Phil a quick text.

Rachel: Rachel eyed the guy for a few moments, releasing him once she realized that was something she should do. Though, he wasn't exactly unattractive, so she put on a smile and walked up to the counter with him, chatting while she waited to order their drinks.

Paige: One text turned into two... then three... then four. Paige giggled at Phil's texts, glad he had a sense of humor.

Rachel: While Paige was busy texting, Rachel had gotten their drinks, however she hadn't pulled herself away from the guy she'd run into. She was vaguely aware that Paige would likely begin to wonder where she was, but if she could have a boyfriend, she should be able to chat with guys. It seemed fair enough, so she reached up to tuck some hair behind her ear as she giggled.

Paige: Paige glanced up to see if Rachel was back and noticed the empty booth. Maybe it was a long line. She sent another text to Phil, giggling as he sent a picture of a kitten back.

Rachel: She reached for her glass and took a sip, pulling a slight face at the burn from the alcohol. Then, she had to insist she didn't always make that face. Jack and coke clearly wasn't the wisest choice.

Paige: Paige glanced up again. Still no Rachel. What was keeping her? She started to scan the room, looking for her.

Rachel: Rachel grinned as she set her glass back down on the bar, shifting a bit closer to him as she raked her hand through her hair. This was so easy. Why wasn't it this easy with Paige?

Paige: It was easy to spot Rachel's red hair across the room. Paige smiled when she found her, but that slowly turned into a frown. Rachel was sitting down talking to a guy.

Rachel: She was talking to a guy. Successfully talking to a guy, even. Despite the fact it was going fairly well, she still felt guilty about it because she caught sight of her wedding band every time she reached for her drink. Luckily, he hadn't seemed to notice it because she didn't even want to get into explaining that.

Paige: This was wrong. Paige couldn't explain why it was wrong, but it was. She swallowed and was as surprised as the guy was when she grabbed Rachel, pulling her away from him. "What is wrong with you?!"

Rachel: Rachel had enough sense to grab both their drinks as Paige dragged her off, shooting one last grin over her shoulder before looking to Paige as they made their way back to the table. "What do you mean?"

Paige: Her mind raced, fumbling for an answer. The television news piece flashing on the screen about a missing person jogged Paige's mind to a logical conclusion. "He could be the murderer! Are you crazy!?" she hissed at her, trying to keep her voice low.

Rachel: "Um... Possibly?" Because she probably was given the fact she'd gone on a murderous rampage. That definitely qualified her for crazy amongst other things. She set their drinks on the table and slid into the booth, rolling her eyes at the other part, "A lot people could be."

Paige: Paige sat back down as well, fumbling for her drink. What was wrong with her?! "You shouldn't be talking to strange men in bars."

Rachel: Her eyebrow went up, "And why not?"

Paige: Why not? That was a good question Why not?! "Because... Because I just told you why not!"

Rachel: "Everyone's possibly a murderer," she pointed out, "I don't foresee that stopping me from flirting with cute guys, especially not when I can read their minds."

Paige: Paige just stared at Rachel, blinked a few times. "How often do you do that?"

Rachel: Rachel blinked back. "Not very since I'm not allowed at the bar? Why?"

Paige: "Not that bit. The reading minds part."

Rachel: "Oh..." she reached for her drink, shrugging, "As little as possible."

Paige: Well that was a relief. Sort of. "But a stranger at a bar is a good time to use it?"

Rachel: "Well, do you want me exchanging numbers with a cannibalistic mutant murderer?" she asked, "And it's not like I go out to meet people at the bar. I ran into him, and we started talking," Rachel gave a shrug as she took a sip, continuing after she set her glass down, "Thankfully, you interrupted because it's hard to skip over the 'yeah, I'm single because my husband's dead' part."

Paige: "Yeah well... you should watch where you're going then. Then you won't bump into cannibals."

Rachel: "Except I didn't bump into one. He was just a cute guy..."

Paige: "He has a big nose. And a butt chin." Paige took another sip of her drink.

Rachel: "Well, Phil looks like a dork too."

Paige: "What does Phil have to do with anything?"

Rachel: "Since we're talking about guys..."

Paige: "We're not talking about Secret Service Phil... we're talking about possible cannibal loser boy that you were all over."

Rachel: Rachel digested that over a gulp of her drink. "Oh, so you can have a boyfriend, but I can't flirt with a guy?"

Paige: "That's not what I'm saying at all." It was totally what she was saying.

Rachel: "Then, what are you saying?"

Paige: "That... that... that it's not safe to flirt with some random guy in a bar. You don't know how the cannibal picks his victims."

Rachel: Rachel gave her an incredulous look before a smirk took its place, and she teased, "Jealous?" It was also a bit passive aggressive, as Paige had jumped to jealousy when they'd first discussed Phil. ...Not that Paige had been wrong. Not entirely anyway.

Paige: "Why would I be jealous? I already told you he wasn't cute."

Rachel: "Well, how happy are you with Phil?"

Paige: That question floored Paige. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Rachel: "Just making sure you don't have a reason to be all jealous of any happy couples," Rachel shrugged. "...Or harmless flirting, in this case, because I still definitely have no intentions of going for any guys."

Paige: Paige caught that. "Oh so you're into Mayday then?"

Rachel: Rachel choked on her drink, sputtering, "What?!"

Paige: "Not into guys, hanging out with her all the time, took her to get your body altering instead of me. Yeah I'd say you've found yourself a crush."

Rachel: "Oh, don't even..." Rachel shook her head as she set her glass down. It was incredibly hard not to blurt that Paige was her crush in her slight irritation, but she managed, "First of all, I'm not into guys because the last one died on me. I hang out with her because she's way nice, doesn't hate me, and we have things in common."

Rachel: "Finally, I didn't take her instead of you. Fabian and Cecilia invited her. I would've liked to invite you, but I was too scared to ask you because you were pissed. And, frankly, I had no fucking idea what to do for an apology because I didn't think you'd take 'I'm sorry I just didn't tell you the food was drugged' very well." At that admission, she reached for her glass again, downing whatever was left.

Rachel: What was left was not nearly enough for her tastes.

Paige: Paige sat there in silence, trying to work all of that out. She couldn't. What she did conclude was that she was a horrible person. That thought started the tears that Paige desperately wanted to hide. She quickly got to her feet, leaving some money on the table. "I'm sorry," she told Rachel as she headed for the door.

Rachel: Shit, they'd only been talking for a few hours, and now she'd fucked that up. Biting down on her lip, Rachel finished off Paige's drink, threw some money down herself, and moved to follow, managing to avoid running into anyone as she made her way to the door, "Paige, wait..."

Paige: Paige stopped outside the door at the sound of her name, wiping her eyes quickly to try and hide the tears.

Rachel: She hadn't really thought about what to say past that. Since she was lacking words, she settled for somewhat reluctantly pulling the other girl into a hug. Hugs were always good with Paige, right?

Paige: Paige hugged Rachel back, barely remembering the tattoo in time to not squeeze. She did, however, bury her face against Rachel. "I'm sorry," she repeated.

Rachel: Sighing, Rachel rested her head against Paige's and mumbled, "You don't have anything to be sorry for... I'm sorry I'm such a jerk."

Paige: "You're not a jerk," she insisted. "I was really unfair." Paige turned her head a bit to get more comfortable, swallowing a bit when she realized how close she was to Rachel, pressed against her. She tried to focus on the gently falling snow instead, but it was useless.

Rachel: "Fine, we're both jerks because I might've been baiting," she admitted, more than happy to focus on the snow instead of how warm Paige's breath was against her neck.

Paige: Paige laughed a little and closed her eyes, sniffling a bit from her earlier tears. "I missed you."

Rachel: "I didn't go anywhere."

Paige: "I know," she told her softly.

Rachel: Rachel bit down on her lip at that and gave Paige a slight squeeze, adding, "I am sorry."

Paige: "Me too." Paige snuggled into the warmth a bit, glad Rachel couldn't see her blushing. She wondered how much longer she could get away with staying like that.

Rachel: She sucked in a breath at the snuggling, reluctant to move herself for a few moments. She eventually released Paige to rake a hand through her hair and fish the pack of cigarettes from her pocket to keep from looking overly awkward. She even managed a slight smile, "You want to go for a walk or something? You can tell me all about the week you've had with Phil, and I promise I won't roll my eyes too much."

Paige: With a giggle and a nod, Paige locked elbows with Rachel and started down the snowy sidewalk. "Well... it started with a picture of a kitten..."