Arika and Lily 2: Depression and handholding

[18:57] Lily Leveridge: I'll get to writing an intro, and we can do a short scene.
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[19:03] Lily Leveridge: [i]Lily awoke gradually, one body part at a time. First her legs complained about their treatment yesterday, then her arms demanded to know whose idea it had been to put them outside the bedsheets on a cold night, and finally her eyelids flickered open. She made a comforted noise in the back of her throat and half-rolled onto her side, and was suddenly wide awake when she saw the loosely-clothed Arika sleeping peacefully right next to her.

Oh, right - last night. Lily felt cold, realising that she was still wearing her shirt and panties in place of sleepwear. (Arika had more than one set; her chest just felt too cramped in anything Arika could lend her.) She sat up and leaned over, holding her hair off to the side and softly kissing Arika's temple.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty," the brunette muttered to her friend/crush/newly-acquired-roomie.
[19:07] System: Sasha Zharkov is offline.
[19:08] System: Ysabel Valiana changed status to Online, [bad url: ask.fm/Ysabel_Valiana] Looks fun, and lets me be narccistic. Goodie!~
[19:12] System: Ysabel Valiana changed status to Online, Looks fun, and lets me be narcissistic. Goodie~! [ask.fm] Thanks for fixing my status.
[19:14] Arika stays curled up in her little ball, wrapped in the sheets and having slept rather soundly for once through the night. She was still covered in her usual cold sweat, and had been nervous throughout the night, but for one of the first times since she was five she hadn't woken up in the middle of the night clutching at her sheets in fear. She almost had a smile on her face, hair mussed from tossing in her sleep, drool half dried coming out the side of her lips.

She stirred at the kiss, whole body curling around, her red eyebrows knotting, quivering and turning upwards, her lips pulling together in a little whimper. She then opened her eyes, and her cheeks flushed a little as the embarrassment of her breakdown last night came back to her.

"Morning..." she said quietly, looking up and wiping the spit from her cheek.

[19:34] Lily Leveridge: Lily put a hand on her cheek and stroked it carefully, smiling. "Morning to you too." Give her time for now - don't force her, but gently nudge her infrequently. "You're soaked through," she went on as her brow furrowed. "Do you want to take a shower while I warm up something for breakfast?"
[19:36] System: Nina Sasaki is online.
[19:39] Lily Leveridge: ((May be slow, got a meeting in the other room, still going to be online for the most part.))
[19:40] Arika gives a little shrug, and slowly stretches out. The covers come off, and show her slim body in the morning light, but she takes the sheet and pulls it back up underneath her chin. "Sure, I guess," she decides. "There's eggs, I think. Or poptarts. I usually just go to McDonald's or something before the day starts." She slides off the bed, covering herself with the plain white sheet. It's dirty, some parts stained and others eaten through by bleach. She's more concerned about being seen naked now than she was last night, and wears it like a gown as she heads into the little bathroom closet, letting it fall while she goes to get the sweat off of her.
[20:03] Lily Leveridge: "I'll find something. If I can survive ten days in the middle of the desert, I'll hardly starve in the middle of an apartment," she joked and got up. Arika was covering herself, and so she more or less turned her back (maybe one glance was okay, right? To make sure Arika hadn't gotten a bruise or something since last night, right?) until the door clicked closed.

"Ho-kay," she breathed out and got moving, finding the small kitchen easily and unearthing a few eggs, some butter and flour. Humming to herself, she got started on a simple pair of pancakes, though her progress was slowed by her constantly listening out for any irregular noises from the shower.
[20:08] Arika turns on the water and seems to be not-killing herself while Lily makes breakfast. This suspicion is confirmed when she manages to turn the water off and walk out of the bathroom a few minutes later with a towel around her head and another held over the front of her body. She determinedly doesn't look over at Lily and tries to ignore the girl while she gets dressed, mostly in clothes that she had to pick up off the floor. A pair of panties, a skirt, the same black tank top from the night before without a bra. A hoodie. With nothing else to do she sits down at the table in that office chair.

Looking down she notices the trashcan with the rusted bloody tissues filling it up, and she moves it under the table with her foot, cleaning things up and shoving a crumb covered paper plate over top of it to hide the embarrassing evidence of self-harm. She scratched at her wrists a bit and just watches Lily finish breakfast.
[21:06] Lily Leveridge: Lily can't quite hide the slight smile of relief that pops up on her face when Arika exits. "A few more minutes, at the most," she says, swilling the pan slightly to see if any of the mix hasn't set yet.

"What do you want to do today? I think I got most of the rain out of my coat, so I don't need to go anywhere in particular." Keep away from the trashcan; this is downtime. She can pick at that scab later, when Arika's enjoyed herself a little.
[21:09] Arika gives a little shrug, and tries to move things out of the way. All she has are paper plates and forks. It's a surprise she had a frying pan. "I don't, um... I mean, I just have work, usually. Sometimes I see a movie, or go..." she shrugs again, those little pale shoulders living up and dropping. "We can do something together if you want..." Was that an invitation for a date?
[21:14] Lily Leveridge: The brunette looking over her shoulder blinks in surprise, then smiles supportively. "That sounds like it could be fun." One report, two stabiliser injections and a whole load of emails are technically on plater for today, but fuck 'em. "D'you want to go anywhere in particular? Any place you've wanted to visit but couldn't find the time to?"

She turns the gas off and levers the pancakes onto a pair of plates she has to balance carefully to avoid falling apart under the stress, then puts one down next to Arika and leans against the wall. The apartment has only one chair, after all.
[21:18] Arika hesitates for about half a moment before her the rumbling of borborygmos comes from her belly, demanding to be sated. She grabs a plastic fork and starts cutting the pancakes with the blunt end, shoving bits in her mouth. She's barely swallowing. She seems to still be thinking about it, and glances over at Lily. "Medieval Times...?" she suggests, a little shyly. "It's silly..."
[21:28] Lily Leveridge: While eating off a plate with knife and fork without a table is a bit of a juggling act, Lily seems to be handling it okay (even if her food intake is even slower than Arika's. "That's not silly, Arika. What's silly is my dream holiday; a city on the ocean, made up of ten cruise liners that each represent a different district." Her cheeks colour slightly - her sense of scale is completely off.

"Well, there is the old castle out past the west end of town. Today's..." She counted up the days in her head, trying to make it seem like she hadn't been there last month to paint the stone walls with a visiting businessman's brains on a job. "Tuesday, so there's a bus that goes out from the High Street every hour and is free to ride." She didn't ask the question, trying not to force Arika into a corner of yes or no.
[21:35] System: Ysabel Valiana changed status to Online, Looks fun, and lets me be narcissistic. Goodie~! [ask.fm] Paying attention to this all night long.
[21:36] Arika: ((Not familiar with Medieval Times [victorsvillage.files.wordpress.com]?))
[21:37] Lily Leveridge: ((Whoops, no, sprry))
[21:37] Lily Leveridge: ((Shall I rewrite?))
[21:37] Arika nods slowly, already finished with her breakfast (and still hungry, though she wouldn't say anything). "Would... you like..." she starts, trying to force the words out, so unused to being in this kind of a position, "to go with me..."
[21:37] Arika: ((Nah, I just feel sorry for your childhood))
[21:43] Lily Leveridge: "I'd love to," Lily grins, and does her best to scarf down her pancake without choking on something, taking Arika's plate and putting them into the bin, their purpose served. "It's probably a bit cold out, from last night. I'll get ready..." It dawns on the brunette that she forgot her jacket - marching around in just a sweater isn't going to kill her, but it won't be overly pleasant if the clouds don't thin out. "Just tell me when you want to leave," she adds over her shoulder, moving to the little heater and retrieving her pants and socks, bending over with her back to Arika to get into them.
[21:44] Lily Leveridge: ((You can timeskip to the bus/where you want the scene to pick up now I think.))
[21:47] Arika diligently doesn't look at dat ass. She leads Lily off to the bus stop, or at least it seems like she is at first. Instead she goes to the bar again and haggles for her change back from Lenny and gets Lily's coat. Then they're off to the bus stop to go have a tour of a castle. Arika sits down on the bench, and when Lily sits next to her, she scoots in a little closer. "It's cold out." She says, making the excuse as she leans in. "I just hate the cold."
[21:51] Lily Leveridge: Lily shuffles over and rubs her hands together to heat them up, them puts them on Arika's cheeks to warm them up, all the while failing to fight back a grin. "Does this help?", she asks cheekily, her breath making little clouds puff out. It is almost winter, but this cold of a day is still unseasonal. For a moment, Lily considers making a cheesy poetic comment about their warming relationship, but decides against it at the last moment.

[21:55] Arika 's cheeks get quite a bit warmer, and she pulls away at first, then leans back in, looking up at Lily. "Yeah..." she murmurs, and then lays her head down against the other woman's breast. "I can't believe I'm doing this..." she says, the two of them the only ones sitting here in the cold half passed noon waiting for the bus. She's coiled up and frightened, and keeps trying to calm herself down and it doesn't seem to be working.
[22:00] Lily Leveridge: Lily laughs a little, a high, warm sound, moving her arm around Arika to hold her close. "I keep on thinking I'm still in a dream myself."

The body language of the other woman catches her eyes, and she frowns for a moment. "Well, hey, since I know what your past is like, aren't you curious what I am?" Her own cheeks warm up when she remember the two of them lying naked in each others' arms, Arika softly touching her tags. She didn't know how much Arika knew about military ranks, so the list of locations and dates in place of mdecial data might or might not stand out in her mind.

[22:05] Arika lifts up her shoulders with a sigh. "A soldier? Everyone's always at war somewhere, just like someone's always willing to pay for sex." Before she can ask anything, the bus drives up and the gears squeal and the hydraulic doors open up, big old city bus lowering itself down to the curb. Arika sits upright when she spots it, and walks on up the steps, waiting a little for Lily to come through. She plops down on the bench, but instead of leaning on Lily she leans on the sideboard instead, next to an ad about diamonds she could never afford. There are a few other people on the bus, going off to lunch or back to work, but mostly it's empty.
[22:11] Lily Leveridge: The bus is old and derelict, of course. Why fix an old machine when you can run it into the ground and give tourism a shot in the arm while you're at it? Lily moves on and lingers in the entrance a little, casing the passengers before remembering that she wasn't being hunted.

She sighs and sits down on the bench next to Arika, not forcing anything on her - just sitting there and smiling faintly at the redheaded girl. Arika might be on the very bottom of the food chain of society, but she wasn't actively being tracked by anyone. She was safe, right here, and even moreso by having Lily there with her. ...Somewhere along the way, she forgot to stop gazing at Arika, ignoring the passing buildings completely.
[22:13] Arika loosens up about halfway through, and reaches her hand out to Lily. She still leans against the other side, not wanting to look like a couple of dykes, but she still gives the other girl her thin little hand, poking out of the sleeve of that beat up old trench coat.
[22:18] Lily Leveridge: The bus sputters and cuts out when the lights turns green, and the sudden jolt shocks Lily out of her reverie. A moment of swearing from the driver later, it coughs back into life and gets moving again, to a cacophony of horns.

The soft touch at her hand is completely unexpected, and it shows, Lily starting in her seat and a touch of red entering her face when she realises it's Arika's hand curled against hers. Lily takes it and squeezes reassuringly, as the old machine rattles its way out of the suburbs and towards the old hill where the castle awaits.
[22:20] Arika doesn't say or do anything else, just holds onto that hand. She keeps holding onto it until the bus stops, and the passengers start to get up and leave. She holds on for a little while longer, but slowly and with more than a little hesitation on her part, lets go, stands up, and walks off the bus to the front gates of the castle, all sorts of visitors mingling around and not yet formed into a tour group surrounding her. Arika herself just stands there nervously, waiting for Lily to come off the bus as well.
[22:33] Lily Leveridge: Lily lets Arika go first, then follows her off the bus. She's one of the last ones off, and the bus driver soon rattles off for another round. She stands a step away, looking up at the castle, remembering the climb routes and rickety stonework, for a moment lost in thought about something that wasn't her current companion.

"Okay, okay, people, I've got a job to do, so get your asses moving," comes a sudden loud call from the portcullis that probably can't even be raised lest it fall apart. A man with stubble and a thick moustache in a tour guide's outfit claps his hands together, emerging as the source of the voice. "Everyone listening? Is everyone here part of the tour group?", he asks, and as his eyes sweep over the assembling group, he spots Arika...

And suddenly, he's grinning like a shark. "Good. Very good," he half-chuckles. "Come on, now! No time to waste! Some of us have business to attend to!"

"Shall we?", Lily smiles and offers her arm to the girl next to her, having missed the change in tone.


[22:38] Arika bites her lip, and stands next to Lily, walking with her up the stairs. She spots the man, not having known he worked here. She lowers her face and lifts the lapels of her coat against a breeze that isn't there, trying to keep out of sight. "Maybe we should just go somewhere else," she says, looking to Lily, keeping her voice and face down. "It's probably expensive. It was stupid to ask."
23:00] Lily Leveridge: Lily arches her brow at first, before a line of suspicion enters her head. "Huh? C'mon, I'm paying. You're not stupid for asking to go someplace you want to see." She leans in, lips almost at Arika's ear. "Is something wrong?"

The guide is getting annoyed at the holdup; whatever else he expects to happen, he's not got forever to waste. "Oi, ladies! You came in on the bus, so come on up and get your tickets. The group's waiting on you." He brandishes a roll of wrist clip-on tickets at the two.

[23:03] Arika shakes her head and sighs, and walks up the stairs. "No, nothing's wrong," she says with that hollow monotone that says something is indeed wrong. She holds out her wrist and tries to keep from looking the man in the eye. She can't even remember his name, just that he was handsy and his breath stank and he was the kind of guy who thought hookers being nice to him meant something.
[23:09] Lily Leveridge: "Special offer today," he says with a horrid grin, grasping at Arika's wrist and clipping on a ticket roughly. "Thousandth visitor this month gets in free." He winks as though it's a pickup line and pats her far too low on her back as he pushes her towards the group.

Lily frowns, trying to figure out what caused Arika to shut down, then scrabbles in her pockets for money as she moves forwards. It's too much - she can't count on the fly - and the guide of course gives her no change, but she's too busy walking briskly to catch up with Arika to notice or care.
[23:12] Arika jumps forward and shuffles away quickly, waiting for Lily at the back of the tour group but not looking in her direction. When the girl meets up with her and stands at her shoulder she jumps a little, then moves in between Lily and the wall.
[23:23] Lily Leveridge: Lily frowns again, and begins leading the girl along as the guide starts his speech about the history of the castle. "Arika, seriously, you don't have to force yourself into anything. Do you want to leave now? You can do whatever you like," she said, forgetting to ease back a bit with laying it on too thick, turning her sentence from supportive to condescending to the wrong ears.

[23:29] Arika shakes her head, "I don't..." she keeps her head down and sticks close to Lily, reaching out a hand to hold her. There's a stone in her chest, and she can't look up and she doesn't want to be seen but she grabs hold of the other girl anyway, locking arms with her and hoping that it's enough. Everything since yesterday has been so confusing, so different. "I'm fine," she says with false confidence, smiling nervously, and lifting her head up. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw someone I knew. Someone... from work."

[23:36] Lily Leveridge: Lily's face goes rigid for a moment, the unexpectedness of the word getting past her composure. "I see," she says tightly, then takes a deep breath and smiles at Arika. "Are you okay staying here?" With me?
[23:39] Arika doesn't really know, but she laces her fingers with Lily's while the tour guide watches. "I think I am," she says, leaving out a rather implicit 'with you'.

[22:58] Arika: ((Back. Although I miscalculated and now my internet fonts are weird.))

[23:00] Lily Leveridge: Lily arches her brow at first, before a line of suspicion enters her head. "Huh? C'mon, I'm paying. You're not stupid for asking to go someplace you want to see." She leans in, lips almost at Arika's ear. "Is something wrong?"

The guide is getting annoyed at the holdup; whatever else he expects to happen, he's not got forever to waste. "Oi, ladies! You came in on the bus, so come on up and get your tickets. The group's waiting on you." He brandishes a roll of wrist clip-on tickets at the two.

[23:03] Arika shakes her head and sighs, and walks up the stairs. "No, nothing's wrong," she says with that hollow monotone that says something is indeed wrong. She holds out her wrist and tries to keep from looking the man in the eye. She can't even remember his name, just that he was handsy and his breath stank and he was the kind of guy who thought hookers being nice to him meant something.
[23:09] Lily Leveridge: "Special offer today," he says with a horrid grin, grasping at Arika's wrist and clipping on a ticket roughly. "Thousandth visitor this month gets in free." He winks as though it's a pickup line and pats her far too low on her back as he pushes her towards the group.

Lily frowns, trying to figure out what caused Arika to shut down, then scrabbles in her pockets for money as she moves forwards. It's too much - she can't count on the fly - and the guide of course gives her no change, but she's too busy walking briskly to catch up with Arika to notice or care.
[23:12] Arika jumps forward and shuffles away quickly, waiting for Lily at the back of the tour group but not looking in her direction. When the girl meets up with her and stands at her shoulder she jumps a little, then moves in between Lily and the wall.
[23:23] Lily Leveridge: Lily frowns again, and begins leading the girl along as the guide starts his speech about the history of the castle. "Arika, seriously, you don't have to force yourself into anything. Do you want to leave now? You can do whatever you like," she said, forgetting to ease back a bit with laying it on too thick, turning her sentence from supportive to condescending to the wrong ears.
[23:26] System: Alexis Williamson is online.
[23:27] System: Alexis Williamson changed status to Busy
[23:29] Arika shakes her head, "I don't..." she keeps her head down and sticks close to Lily, reaching out a hand to hold her. There's a stone in her chest, and she can't look up and she doesn't want to be seen but she grabs hold of the other girl anyway, locking arms with her and hoping that it's enough. Everything since yesterday has been so confusing, so different. "I'm fine," she says with false confidence, smiling nervously, and lifting her head up. "It's nothing. Just thought I saw someone I knew. Someone... from work."

[23:36] Lily Leveridge: Lily's face goes rigid for a moment, the unexpectedness of the word getting past her composure. "I see," she says tightly, then takes a deep breath and smiles at Arika. "Are you okay staying here?" With me?
[23:39] Arika doesn't really know, but she laces her fingers with Lily's while the tour guide watches. "I think I am," she says, leaving out a rather implicit 'with you'.
[23:42] Lily Leveridge: It has the opposite effect on the guide - at least, if Arika was hoping he'd be discouraged. Neither of the girls' attention is turned on him, so they don't see the eager gleam in his eyes, as he finishes talking about the founders of the castle and motions the group towards a wooden door leading down into the dungeons. "Now, who wants to see some deep, dark secrets?" The children among the group cheer.

Lily emerges from her blissful hand-holding to catch the end of it. "Shall we?"
[23:44] Arika laughs a little, but it's scratchy and hoarse, "yeah," she says, coughing a little, "let's hear some deep dark secrets," she jokes, bumping Lily with her shoulder and walking arm in arm with her.
[23:54] Lily Leveridge: They move down into the dimly-lit dungeon area near the back of the group, and the guide takes them past cells, chains and guardrooms, happily explaining the ins and outs of torture to a crowd of rapt children. Lily appears moderately interested in some of the more makeshift torture methods, holding Arika's hand all the while - which clung just a little tighter to hers every time the guide detailed the suffering of the prisoners.

Near the end of the tour, Lily's hand slips from Arika's for a brief moment, the brunette crowding forwards to look at an iron maiden (probably imported, but who gave a damn when the tourists ate it up?). Arika feels a sudden pull backwards as a hand slips over her mouth, being swiftly dragged from the back of the group into a cell two doors over.

"I knew you missed me," the guide breathed into her ear, forcing her legs apart as he pushed her into the rock. "Took you long enough to get away from your sister... Or did you maybe bring her as a two-for one?" He chuckled. "Good girl..."
[23:57] System: Your status was set to Busy, "Lesbian handholding, how lewd [i.imgur.com]"
[00:00] Arika stands there quietly, not moving a muscle. It had taken her months to get away from this guy. She tried to shake her head, but didn't yell or scream or struggle. Her heart pounded in her chest, but she just froze up, not sure what to do, unable to fight or to run. "Sh-she's not my sister..." she said quietly, hoping he would back off on his own, as if that would happen.
[00:12] Lily Leveridge: "Really? That's too bad," he says, roughly pulling her shirt up and exposing her chest. "I could've compared you two and told you who had the better pussy, y'know. Well, I guess you can still do th-"

The hand on his collar pulling him backwards cut off his sentence, as Lily pulled him bodily off Arika. Releasing her grip on the collar, she brought her other arm around to catch the side of his head as the guide stumbled backwards, then putting the whole of her strength into a pushing motion that lifted him an inch off the ground and sent his skull crashing into the stone walls of the cell.

For a moment, Lily stood over the unconscious body with a rigid, hateful snarl on her face, hands drawn up into feral claws, eyes shimmering a painful green. Then, she glanced over at Arika, and let out a hiss of a breath, her body settling back and the murderous feeling etched into every facet of her face retreating.

"Kick him. It might help." She didn't trust herself to say anything longer without sprinkling it with foul language.
[00:17] Arika looks at Lily, her breath catching in her chest again, but it's quick to come back, and stays quick, pulse pounding at the sight of what she was for a moment, and what she did. But at the same time seeing the man who just put the fear of God into her once again lying on the floor, she decides that it's a good suggestion. She moves over and kicks the man in the legs and the ribs, and in the crotch. She keeps kicking him, bruising him up and down the side, taking pathetic little kicks, her eyes tearing up. She falls down and keeps kicking out at him when he moans, trying to move even while still unconscious. She keeps crying, and crawls away, laying on a wall beneath a recreation tapestry and crying to herself, arms around her knees, legs curled up to her chest.
[00:24] Lily Leveridge: Lily stands still for a moment when Arika curls up beneath the tapestry, torn between the want to hold and kiss and care for Arika and a sudden, immense need to go out and destroy something, to make the rest of the world suffer as much as Arika has. One terrifying moment for Lily's consciousness later, Arika wins out, and she hurries over to embrace the girl.

"Easy now, easy," she murmurs even as Arika shakes and whimpers, shifting around and drawing Arika close. "There isn't a thing on this world that can hurt you now. I'm here. I'm here for you, Arika." She doesn't dare mix a quick kiss in, for fear of bringing on Arika's memories, and again she feels the need to kill something to balance out the world.
[00:28] Arika leans from the wall to Lily, her tiny hands grabbing onto the woman's coat and clinging to it like the wreckage of a ship, broken boards and mast that provide her something to hold onto, to keep her head above the crashing waves all around her. She whimpers and sobs. And it's her that gives the kiss, wet and tasting like tears. She can't make a seal, she's crying too much, but she kisses the soldier, then buries her face into her chest.
"I-I want to go home..." she whimpers. "I w-want to go to your home."
[01:06] Lily Leveridge: "Let's go," Lily mutters to her when the kiss is broken. She slips her arm under Arika's knees and lifts her princess in a princess carry, her breathing still faster than normal. Just before they leave the dungeon, a loud shriek echoes out from behind them, and Lily can't hide the grim smile. Arika is just as light as she remembers, a girl who has suffered the weight of the world.
[01:10] Arika clings to Lily, arms around her knight's neck, head pressed against her. For once in her life she feels safe, and some of the pain eases away. Being held in those arms isn't enough to erase her past, but it does put a balm on the memories, at least for now. She stays clinging to Lily and doesn't move away even when they leave the dark hallways of the castle, or when she sits in Lily's lap on the bus. She doesn't talk much, just answering in short sentences and nods or shakes of the head, and soon enough they reach Lily's apartment instead of Arika's. Her tears are mostly dry now, her face red and swollen. She finally lets go so that the girl can use the key, and stands there shaking, taking deep breaths as she enters something of a new world.
[01:19] Lily Leveridge: They get strange looks, to be sure; but they don't really dare approach the girl with the glasses and the savage look in her eye. When they reach Lily's apartment, it's less of a question and more of a soft noise and a nudging kiss to convince Arika to stand on her own.

"D'you like it?", she asks when the double-lock is opened (can't sleep safely otherwise) and the door swings in. The apartment is... really nothing to be impressed about; a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom, with a single securely-bolted cabinet near the far wall. There's a notable lack of mementoes and decoration, giving it a bare feeling. "I don't really spend a lot of time buying things for myself, so it's a little blank."
[01:24] Arika finally speaks up after being quiet so long, sitting down on the couch and practically going boneless. Her shoulders drop and she lets out a long sigh. "Spacious," she says, her voice cracking a little from all the crying and the way her lips are chapped and tear-dried.
[01:27] Lily Leveridge: Lily half-hovers over her, quickly putting away her coat, then returning to tend to her friend. "I like not being hemmed in. Gives me a feeling I can always just leave if I need to."

"Do you want something to drink? Nothing alcoholic," she quickly adds. "I think you don't really need a hangover on top of everything else."
[01:31] Arika does as always and gives a little shrug, sitting up on the couch and curling up against the arm of it. "Just water, I guess." She bites her lip, and scratches at her wrist, and then her inner thighs. "I'm sorry that happened. I didn't mean to ruin your day. I know you were kind of... wanting to go on a date." She gestures at the flat screen, and makes a few nonsensical gestures, "Um... pizza and a movie?"
[01:39] Lily Leveridge: Lily nodded and filled up a glass with water in the kitchenette, bringing it over to Arika. "Hey, come on, don't scratch," she says soothingly and touches Arika's hands. "You don't need to hurt yourself, especially not on my behalf."

"Me? Ah... I was hoping for something, maybe, but not really expecting it." I feel slightly happy in a way that that happened because I was able to show you exactly what I mean when I said 'I'm here for you'. The words stuck in her throat, but she didn't dare speak them still.

"Sounds like a fine way to spend some time for me. I can order the pizza; my movie collection is just in the shelf next to the screen." Hopefully, Arika liked either dumb action movies or dumb romance movies, since those were the only ones on offer. If a dumb romance action movie with all the melodrama of the first and all the explosions of the second was ever made, Lily might very well drop dea from joy.

[01:43] Arika takes her hands away. She hadn't even realized she was doing it. "N-nervous habit..." she mutters, getting off the couch and looking over the movies. She finally settles on Better Than Chocolate. "Man, these movies are kinda hetero," she mutters, looking at the rest of the choices. "It's either this or watching Michael Bay masturbate to the US Military while trying to sell toys."
[01:47] Lily Leveridge: "I have shitty taste," Lily shrugs and freely admits. "Whoever was in charge of that part of me probably wasted their time playing Minesweeper instead of contributing to the project."

She picks up her phone and mentally runs through the list in her head; she's used to needing something to eat at odd times that she doesn't need a menu. "You want something special?"

[01:54] Arika puts in the movie and pauses it. She thinks for a moment and says in a deep, husky, sultry voice, "extra sausage;" before losing it and cracking up. She goes over to the table and sits down next to Lily while she gets the phone, not wanting to be further than arms length. "But sausage would be good. And... breadsticks," she adds, pushing her luck a little, like a kid trying to see what mom will order.
[02:05] Lily Leveridge: Lily crams a fist into her mouth, trying to keep herself from laughing. "I'm on the phone, you bitch! Huh? Oh, no, no, fine. Uh. Ignore that, sorry. Two extra large, both Margueritas, one with-" She glares jokingly at Arika, bending over and trying not to hurt herself. "Extra sausage. And breadsticks. No, more. Like, just get a net and scoop up a bunch and put them somewhere."

She turns off the phone, and immediately winces and holds her stomach, sinking down the wall, still silently giggling. "I'm not eating these things," she says at last, when she'd got her breath back. "I hate the things. You better be eating them by the handful." She's happy, enjoying herself.
[02:10] Arika giggles a little herself. She goes over and sits on the floor next to Lily, back against the wall. "I will. It's been a while since I had a real meal." She sighs, and looks off at the table and the couch, and the apartment as a whole, then slides over on the wall and lays her head against Lily. "I don't know what you want to do with me. But... I'm going to let you. I don't..." her voice cracks a little, and she sniffles, but she isn't crying because she physically can't anymore. "I don't want to be a whore anymore. I don't want to be b-broken."
[02:20] Lily Leveridge: Lily shyly lifts her hand and lays it over Arika's, in a mirror of what she had done on the bus earlier today. "Princess.. your happiness makes me happy. You being safe lets me feel safe. You being turned on..." She blushed slightly. "...That's what turns me on. I don't need to do anything with you right now. I want you to feel happy and safe and good."

She leaned over and kissed Arika's cheek. "I'll help you fix yourself. No matter how hard or how painful it is. I promise."