@blue_topaz
Marla hugged her middle, uttering a gasp of theatrical, playful shock. "You villain! Pineapple and pizza is the ultimate betrayal to the good side!"
Marla hugged her middle, uttering a gasp of theatrical, playful shock. "You villain! Pineapple and pizza is the ultimate betrayal to the good side!"
Gwen pouted, giving Marla her best puppy eyes. “It’s not that bad! You just have to give it a chance!”
Huffing dramatically, Marla folded her arms. "Wow, who knew you had such questionable morals," she teased, struggling to keep a straight face.
“Ah yes, who could guess that the botanical elf could do any wrong?! My reputation has been besmirched!” Gwen burst out laughing after her dramatic declaration.
Marla followed, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. "Oh, I'm sorry."
“You should be! You outcasted me! How will I ever marry now? No one shall take my hand!” Gwen continued on with her bit, hoping she could get Marla to insist on marrying her.
I'll take your hand, Marla immediately thought, then flushed a deep red. "Oh, I'm sure someone will turn up.."
Gwen tried not to let her disappointment show. “I know, I know. You’ll learn all about it in the Disney movies we watch next weekend.” She waved her hand dismissively.
"Right, I'd almost forgotten." Marla smiled bashfully at that. "Which ones are we watching?"
Gwen shrugged. “We can plan it out ahead of time. It honestly depends on the collective mood we have that night.” She gestured between Marla and herself.
Marla nodded. "Sounds like a good plan. Which are your favourite Disney movies?"
“I’ll always have a soft spot for Beauty and the Beast. Must be the ballgown.” Gwen smiled shyly. “Do you have one?”
"A ballgown?" Marla laughed shyly as the doors slid open. "No. A Disney movie? Um….. must be Swan Lake, I suppose. The old animated one. Or is that one not Disney?"
“Tell me one that’s not Disney too.” Gwen was struggling not to give away how adorable she thought Marla was. All I want to do is spent the night braiding her hair and listening to her talk… She did her best to ignore it, waiting for Marla as the elevator doors opened.
Marla reached for Gwen's hand and lead the way back to their private room, tempted to slip an arm around the other girl's waist but ending up fearing her response far too much to do so. "I never watched many movies…. I don't know. You?"
“Not as many as I’d like to have watched! I spend most of my time outside when I was younger. I have this really big garden I care for back at home. I miss it a lot sometimes, but I’m lucky enough to live so close to the greenhouses here.” Gwen held Marla’s hand, gently squeezing it for comfort.
Marla nodded approximately seven more times than was necessary given her current situation. "Right. Yeah." She squeezed her hand back, elation bubbling up within her.
Gwen was unable to hold back her contented sigh, absentmindedly rubbing her thumb in small circles on Marla’s hand. “I have the best mint plant though, it’s probably my favorite. You know I almost repotted it just to bring it with me?”
"That's such a Gwen thing to do.." she chuckled, evidently flustered. "Do you have a favourite plant?"
“Depends on how I’m feeling, I guess. I like orchids on darker days because they persevere despite how fragile they are. On happier days I like dandelions just because they’re so bright and bold! Mosses or for those days when you feel like you can barely cling on to everything. Oh! And cactus roses are always beautiful despite the season. Don’t even get me started on trees…” Gwen rambled, her eyes lighting up as she babbled on about plants.
Marla couldn't stop smiling– seeing this adorable girl speak so passionately about what she loved was so.. energizing, almost. It was nice, to see her happy.
“Sorry, you definitely don’t want to hear about this much plant stuff.” Gwen’s face flushed red. “Do you have a favourite flower?”
“No— don’t apologize. It’s adorable, actually. I— I, uh, like seeing you happy.” Marla’s eyes flickered away. “And I like trilliums and daisies.”
“I-uh…” Gwen could hardly function. Adorable. She just… did she just? She was absolutely convinced that for a spilt second she had hallucinated somehow, injecting her desperate delusion into Marla’s sentence. The girl who she was trying to persuade herself not to obsess over, as they’d only known each other for several days. But something told Gwen that the click, that lock and key connection, she only managed to experience around Marla was something to be treasured. Perhaps marvelled at in a museum or put up on a display like the holographic stars she’d hardly managed to comprehend earlier.
“I-I… I like them too…” She fumbled to put together the words stirring in her head. The poetry and prose she could conjure up to suddenly win the heart of the girl next to her. “And roses. Roses are good.” I’m going to have to switch schools tomorrow. Aren’t I?
Her heart fluttering, a shy smile softening her features, Marla began to sing. “Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens~” She laughed sheepishly at herself, immensely grateful that Gwen hadn’t taken her comment the wrong way. “Forgive that random outburst. But that movie was one of my favourites.”
Gwen smiled bashfully. “You should sing more often, you know.” She could feel her heart racing in her chest. Shes still holding my hand! But is my hand sweaty? It probably is. She’s going to think I’m gross! “The Sound Of Music is a great movie though, you’re absolutely right.”
“I forgot to mention it when you asked earlier. And, ah… me singing more often would not be a good idea.. for the sake of those listening.” Attempting a chuckle, Marla unlocked the door to their room and pulled Gwen through with her.
Gwen purposely lagged behind a little, just to feel Marla’s gentle pull on her hand as they entered the room. “Well, you’re certainly a better singer than me, so I don’t mind listening.” She cracked a smile.
It would be so easy to just…. push her up against the wall….. lean in……. Marla forced herself to turn away, relishing the adrenaline rush that came with the pounding of her heart. “I doubt it.”
“Trust me, you are.” Gwen released Marla’s hand in order to go pull a fuzzy blanket out of her bag. She wrapped it around her shoulders like a cloak and smiled. “Pizza time?”
The following keyboard controls are supported across Notebook.ai. All keyboard controls are disabled when editing a document or notebook page.