Victoria’s hand is unusually warm in yours. You look over at her as you lead her through the house and into your bedroom, trying to see her face. Although she doesn’t look as exhausted as she did when she turned up on your doorstep, her shoulders still hang slack, and the mirth on her face doesn’t reach her eyes quite like it usually does.
Your own good mood deflates a little. Right. She’s still stressed about whatever had stressed her out on Sunday, then.
Your bed is rumpled from the time you’d spent laying on it today, but Victoria seems to take the messiness in stride. You lead her over to it, seating yourself awkwardly on the edge and waiting for her to follow you over. She does, but sits gingerly, until you give her an annoyed poke on the thigh. Then, finally, she sits normally, allowing you to shuffle over and pull her into a half-hug.
You can feel her twisting to rest her head against your neck then, her mouth curving up into a small smile. You haphazardly stroke her hip as she lets out a small sigh of contentment. Then, you wait.
Whatever has been eating at her has clearly taken its toll on her, emotionally. You can’t remember ever seeing Victoria like this before. Not… emotional, or at least not so clearly wrung out. And you don’t know what to do for her to fix it.
A frown steals over your face, unseen by Victoria. Honestly, you don’t know her that well at all, do you? Not like you do Emma, or even Madison. You’ve really tried to keep out of some parts of her life. For a good reason, of course—you don’t want her thinking that you’re just some Glory Girl fangirl, there to sleep with a famous cape… though that is partially true, but it’s still not the kind of thing you want her thinking of—but it isn’t doing you much good now.
You really don’t know what’s making her feel so upset.
Damn it.
The minutes tick by slowly while you hold her. Ten, fifteen, twenty—neither of you move for a long time. You’re content to just sit there holding her, and it seems she’s content to be held, because she barely even wriggles in your arms. It’s a bit uncomfortable, really, but you’re very quickly growing used to these kinds of uncomfortable positions.
It feels nice to sit here like this. Homey. As much as you do like the library, you think you prefer having Victoria here, in your own space.
Neither of you stirs until nearly quarter to, over half an hour after her arrival. Even then, it’s just for Victoria to snake her hands around the arm not curled around her, then pull herself up slightly so she can look at you.
“Hi,” she says softly, quirking her lips up. You return the smile in kind, brushing your head forward slightly so you can kiss her on the corner of her mouth. She smiles a little wider, then turns her head to give you a more proper, albeit close-mouthed kiss. Then she settles back down onto the bed, mouth turning down again. “Thanks for that,” she adds, quieter this time. “I needed that, I think.”
You turn your head down to lay a dainty little kiss on her mouth, then her chin, causing her lips to turn up momentarily again, then break out into a wider smile, as though she’s unable to hold on to her dour mood in the face of your kisses. “Of course,” you say softly. “What’s wrong, Victoria?”
The wide smile that had broken out on her face falls somewhat at the reminder of her problem, turning her expression somewhat pensive again. “It’s…” She lets out a small sigh. “I’m just… trying to work out some things, you know? And it’s not working very well.”
You stroke her hair, giving her another quick kiss on the mouth before you respond. “If you need to talk about anything, I’m right here,” you murmur.
She burrows into your side again, as though seeking comfort. “That’s… thanks.” You can feel her mouth moving against you, as though she’s not sure whether to smile or frown at your words. Rude. “It’s… it’s a long story.” She exhales, then pulls back again from you. She’s moving entirely too much, in your opinion.
Nearly half a minute passes before you realize she won’t be continuing. You drop your head beside hers, giving her a small pout. “You can tell me,” you say, your voice so soft it’s almost a whisper.
Victoria shudders slightly in response, letting out a soft noise. “I will,” she murmurs. You wait a moment, then go to say something, but she continues just as you open your mouth to talk. “Just… you’re not the only person involved. I have to think about what to say.” She takes a deep, shaky breath. “I’ll… Saturday. We’ll talk on Saturday. Okay?”
Her voice has a questioning lilt by the end of her words, almost a nervous tone to it. That’s the only thing that stops the anxiety that surges into being in your gut at those words from consuming you. Still, you don’t reply for a long moment, long enough that Victoria actually lifts her head from you to look at you. She actually looks nervous.
“That’s fine,” you say eventually, your voice only slightly louder than before. That anxiety seethes in your gut. You try not to let your mind wander too far. You’ve read enough romance novels to know that when one person in a relationship wants to talk, it’s usually not a good thing. Of course, you don’t live in a romance novel, and you know they don’t reflect reality that much, but—
—well, nobody could blame you for thinking that she’s going to break up with you, given how your relationship with her started.
(But that’s fine, a small part of you whispers. She can think about breaking up with you all she wants. That doesn’t mean you have to let her.)
You close your eyes, fighting back a heavy sigh, and pull Victoria down into a more horizontal embrace. Her eyes widen as she topples down, and you feel a moment’s resistance as though she almost stopped you, but she falls with you in the end.
Great. As though you hadn’t had enough to worry about with Sophia and Shadow Stalker already.
You hide a pout in Victoria’s hair. It’s ridiculous to feel like this, you know that. You do know that. You’re fairly sure that if Victoria was going to break up with you, she wouldn’t be over at your house, cuddling with you in your bed and accepting your silly kisses. There are a lot of things she could want to talk to you about—you’ve read a lot of romance fiction, but a lot of that has been trashy cape romance fiction, and there’s always the cliché ‘You’ve got to understand the risks’ speech. That could be it. Or she could want to introduce you to her family, or another talk about sex, or… there are a lot of things. It just doesn’t help you to stop feeling like she’s going to break up with you.
And you just really hope she doesn’t, because if she does, you’re not sure what you’ll do.
Victoria ends up not leaving until nearly ten to seven. You hadn’t protested much, enjoying cuddle time as you were, but as she had pointed out, it doesn’t take her that long to fly home when she’s on her own. Her forcefield protects her against most of the nastier effects of flying at high speeds, and she doesn’t have to worry about detouring around buildings.
Really, though, you think she just wanted to be cuddled some more. And you’re okay with that, which is why you didn’t argue when she didn’t leave at half past.
Unfortunately, her leaving did nothing to quell the anxiety in your gut. If anything, it only made it worse the longer you dwelled on it.
It’s hard not to dwell on it, though. Your thoughts keep circling back around to it the more you try to distract yourself with anything else—TV, books, even striking up a conversation with Dad over dinner doesn’t do it. It’s only when you’re sitting in the living room with Dad, curled up on the armchair and watching the evening news, that you remember that you’re supposed to be going to Boston with Amy tomorrow.
“Dad,” you say softly. He looks inquisitively over at you. “Is it okay if I go to Boston with Amy tomorrow? Her mom will be there too,” you add hastily. “We’re just going to a bookstore.”
He gives you a stern look. “I was wondering when you were going to bring that up,” he says. He doesn’t look unhappy, though. “Amy’s mother already called me about it. You shouldn’t wait until the last minute to tell me about these things, Taylor.”
Your fingers tighten around your legs, and you have to suppress the absurd urge to tell him to shut up. That’s—no, you’re not going to tell your own dad to shut up. He’s right. That’s the kind of thing he should know. “Sorry,” you mutter. You can’t help the slightly resentful tone that enters your voice, but you try and give him an apologetic smile so he knows you’re not angry with him. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
He stares at you for a moment, as though checking for something, then nods and relaxes a little. “You should keep those things in mind a little better, Taylor,” he says gently. “A trip to Boston isn’t a small thing. It’s not the kind of thing you can do on the spur of the moment, okay?” You nod, albeit still a little sullenly. “And yes, you can go. I’ve spoken to Carol—Amy’s mother—about the trip. I’ve got some money for you to buy some books—“
“I don’t need money,” you try to protest, but he just streamrolls over you.
“—and Carol will be picking you up from here at eight tomorrow,” he finishes. “And you do need money, Taylor. Books are expensive.” He looks down awkwardly now, the confidence from his previous statements almost gone. “It hasn’t set us back or anything. I’ve… managed to pick up some extra hours at work, thanks to a friend of Alan’s in the council.”
You stare at him. He’s—managed to pick up more work? But the council has been steadily cutting down on the funds allocated to the Dockworker’s Union for years. How did he manage that?
Finally, he looks up at you with a tight smile. At that expression, your questioning glance withers. Okay. It wasn’t a good negotiation then. At least it explains why he hasn’t had the time to leave you notes around the house or anything. Instead of asking, you unclench your arms from around your legs and stand, your legs a little wobbly from sitting in the chair for so long. Then you move over to him, and give him a hug. It takes him a moment, but he finally loosens, just a little, and wraps you in his arms in return.
Neither of you are having a good time lately, it seems.
By the time you head up to bed at nearly eleven, you’ve mostly managed to push back the issues of Sophia and Victoria. You’re barely even thinking about Dad’s work, as thorny an issue as that is for him.
You have something far more important to think about, after all. You have a date with Amy tomorrow! An actual, fun date!
Nobody could blame you for feeling a little giddy as you change into your pyjamas and slide into bed. This isn’t even a let’s-go-to-the-movies date, or a let’s-go-out-for-lunch date. Not that there’s anything wrong with either of them, but… you’re going to Boston!
You drift to sleep that night thinking of buildings that scrape the sky, concrete that rolls for miles, and a mousy girl with curly brown hair.
[Pick three of the following options, which will take place over the course of Thursday. Taylor currently has two large expenses and one small expense to herself. Additionally, Danny has arranged for three large expenses to be made for Taylor’s spending needs while in Boston.]
[Please note that Taylor will be spending two large expenses regardless of player voting, unless players vote to spend more than a single large expense, at which point Taylor will be happy with her purchases and not seek to spend more. The money Danny has provided will be prioritized over Taylor’s own. Taylor’s own purchases will be related to her personal interests, and not provide substantial bonuses to anything.]
[] You’re already on the lookout for anything business-y related, but there’s a few other things you need to start learning if you’re going to start your own cape team. You’re learning to handle money and such from your business books, but you could stand to learn finance more directly, and your books haven’t been very helpful with regards to management styles and the legalities of heroism. You should keep an eye out for anything that might be successful. Costs one large expense.
— Success chance: 30%, 60%, 100%
— General results: Taylor will find books relevant to her overall plans to build a hero team, including books on fiscal management, managerial styles and, most pertinently, the law.
— On a success: The higher she rolls, the more books she will find at sustainable prices. Provides the necessary materials to make small, moderate or large amounts of progress on her plans to run a hero team.
[] You haven’t been doing a lot of reading lately, largely because you’ve been so busy. You’re reading when you can, but it’s mostly at Victoria’s urging or for schoolwork, and while those books aren’t uninteresting, they’re also not what you’d pick for yourself. You should pick yourself up a few books while you’re here, just for personal pleasure. Costs one large expense.
— Success chance: Cannot be failed.
— General results:: Taylor will find books suited to her own interests, related largely back to classical tales and romance novels. She will find enough to read on her own without stretching her finances too far. Provides a small passive reduction to stress for the next month.
[] You’re already helping Madison to study, and you’ve now agreed to help Sophia to study for History as well. You’re doing the best you can with the books you have available, but maybe you could do better if you could find some other materials. Books on school subjects wouldn’t hurt, but there are other things you need—paper, pens, maybe even folders to store notes in. Stuff you can use to help plan your tutoring better.
