Monday Morning Rain
Arine looked out the window with disgust, seeing the fine rain falling
down over the city. Pushing a bit of her long blonde hair out of her
eyes she worked the clasp on her black umbrella, but her grunt of effort
only produced a muffled click. Muttering under her breath she tried a
few more times but it stubbornly refused to open.
"I'm going to be late," Arine sighed to herself, glaring resentfully
at the broken thing. With a sigh she tossed it in the garbage and
grabbed her long coat, pulling in on over her blouse and skirt before
heading out into the rain.
The typical Monday morning rush was on as students headed out from the
various dorms to the trains then onto campus, carrying book bags,
lunches and all the rest of their gear. Arine blended in nicely as they
raced on in a wave, spilling out onto the main road to the college then
hurrying up the hill towards their destination.
Moving from building to building Arine tried to keep as dry as
possible, thankful that the weather was warm, at least. As a large drip
splashed down from the awning above her on her neck she shuddered,
bracing herself to cross the final distance to the complex itself, the
bit she knew she was going to get wettest in.
"Here," the voice said with gentle amusement as a umbrella was used to
shield her from the falling drops.
"Eh?" Arine nearly jumped, turning around to meet eyes of the deepest
brown, almost like polished oak. The slightly shorter woman was smiling
gently as she held out her umbrella, the wristbands she wore glinting on
her arm, a choker gleaming at her throat.
"Would you like to share?" she offered, looking up with a confident
gaze as she added, "You're going to get pretty wet otherwise."
"I.. I couldn't," Arine stammered out, feeling suddenly awkward around
the lovely young woman. She knew her hair was plastered to her head,
jacket dripping wet, and her cheeks bright red from bolting between the
various buildings and instantly wished she looked better, though she
couldn't quite explain why.
"Please?" she smiled endearingly, "If you don't I'm just going to
follow you around with this, and we'll both get wet."
Something about her slightly irreverent attitude made Arine smile back
at her shyly, a most unusual act for her. "All right, thank you
Miss...?" she trailed off questioningly, not recognizing her from life
on campus.
"Mia," she offered her hand politely, tilting her head to the side
questioningly as she looked up at Arine.
"Arine," she took that hand, shaking it firmly.
Off in the distance they heard the first warning bell go off and both
jerked, eyes widening in alarm. "Let's go," while keeping a firm hold on
Arine's hand Mia took off, the two racing towards the main buildings
under the shelter of the umbrella. As she ran her hair blew up and away
from the side of her face, revealing ears that tapered to delicate
points.
'Is she... fey?' Arine blinked in surprise, feeling tempted to reach
out and touch the ears but firmly resisting the urge, knowing it would
be terribly rude. She felt a surge of pleasure from where their hands
were joined, a sensation she couldn't explain but still enjoyed.
Mia shook out her umbrella once they got inside, waving off Arine's
thanks. "I have to check in at the office," she confided, "but I hope
I'll see you later."
"You too," Arine said, watching the grinning Mia take off.
As Arine headed off she felt a sudden depression come over her as the
cheerful girl left, knowing that in a school of this size they weren't
too likely to meet again. Firmly shaking it off she headed to her locker
to strip her jacket off, then picked up her books and went to her first
class.
The professor nodded as Arine entered, slipping into her seat quietly
as the last few students arrived. He turned to the board and began to
write out the topic of the day's discussion when they heard a soft
tapping on the door. He walked over to answer it and quietly talked to
the vice-principal a moment before leading a familiar looking figure in.
Mia tried to look like a serious student, covertly scanning the
students in the crowded class room, then her gaze fell on Arine and her
lips twitched up in a happy smile of welcome. Arine barely registered
the professor introducing her, feeling her heart beating a little faster
as she and Mia gazed at each other.
"Take any available seat," the professor finished with a casual wave
towards his students, "and we'll get started."
The class held it's collective breath as the attractive new student
looked around but she unerringly headed right to the empty seat beside
Arine. "Would you mind?" Mia asked Arine with that faintly quirky smile.
"Please," Arine blushed faintly.
Casually setting her text books down Mia sat, her jeans clinging to
her curvy form as she moved, T-shirt hugging her full breasts. Everyone
was looking at her, some of the students more obviously than others, but
she seemed not to care as she got ready for work. Softly she murmured to
Arine, "Nice to see you again."
"You, too," Arine whispered back.
Once class ended Mia was swamped by their curious classmates, all
chattering and asking questions. She answered them good-natruredly then
politely pulled away to walk over to the faintly surprised Arine's side.
"You have no idea how nice it was to see you in my class," Mia
confided as they walked out together. She smiled, "What's your schedule
like?"
Arine looked over the sheet Mia produced, noting that they shared
quite a few classes. Mustering her courage she asked, "How would you
like a guide? Considering we're going to most of the same classes..."
Mia surprised her by turning to face her then pulling her into a
impulsive hug, their bodies pressing close together.
Mia released her after a moment, beaming as she said, "Thank you! I
was just trying to think about how to ask you to do that."
"It's no problem," Arine answered softly, feeling her heart racing
from the other girl's innocent touch, realizing their hands were holding
each other once again. Clearing her suddenly tight throat she continued,
"We'd better get going, or we'll be late."
Mia made a face but nodded, "Guess so." Still, she didn't release
Arine's hand as they raced towards their next class.
Their days seemed to fall into a comfortable pattern, Mia and Arine
meeting in the mornings, going to classes, eating lunch together, then
walking back to the dorms together. To Arine's surprise she found
herself revealing much of her inner self to Mia, both of them instantly
comfortable together, and Mia did much the same, but still there was a
part of herself that Arine held back.
Sitting in her dorm room Arine tapped a pencil against her cheek,
looking down at the sketch she had finished of Mia. The lovely face,
those adorable ears and that gentle look in her eye... all of them were
so enchanting. 'I'm in love with her,' Arine thought, 'how did I let
this happen to me?'
*knock knock*
Arine got up, glad to have her dormmates to distract her from her
troubling thoughts. She strode over and pulled open the door, blinking
in surprise as she saw the slightly smaller woman who was standing
there. "Mia?" she said weakly.
"Hi," Mia smiled back, her hair clipped up in a elegant style that
made her look even more beautiful. "I know I normally call before I come
over," she said, "but I really needed to see you."
"It's all right," Arine said softly, feeling suddenly flustered, "come
in." Realizing the sketch was still on her desk she fought the urge to
race over and cover it, knowing it would make the drawing even more
visible. Still Mia walked over to the drawing, picking it up with the
oddest look on her beautiful face.
"It's lovely," Mia murmured, "is this how you see me?"
Arine looked away, a blush of pure pleasure coloring her cheeks. "It's
how everyone sees you," she answered, "you're beautiful."
Mia's face lit with a sunny smile, "Thank you." She put the picture
down and looked over at Arine, her eyes tender as she smiled wryly, "You
know I had this whole scene plotted out in my mind, but it's all gone
now."
Arine was surprise to see uncertainty in her friend's eyes, walking
over to take her hand gently, "You know you can tell me anything,"
Mia squeezed gently, "I love you."
"You too?" Arine squeaked out.
Mia's eyes lit up, "You mean it?!" She leaned forward and kissed Arine
gently, a hand reaching up to stroke her cheek, their bodies pressing
close together.
"Yes," Arine said breathlessly as they parted, her thoughts swimming.
"But why me?" she asked softly, "You could have almost anyone on
campus."
"But I love you," Mia said firmly. Affectionately, "I think I started
falling for you on that first day.. you were so adorable in the rain,
then I got to know you and found out you were equally beautiful on the
inside, too."
"I love you," Arine murmured, "and I was so scared to tell you."
Softly she cautioned, "This isn't going to be easy..."
Mia hushed her, smiling fondly. "We're together," she said, "that's
all that matters."
End
Notes: the characters of Arine and Mia are the mascots of Shoujoai.com,
and my descriptions and their personalities are derived from drawings
and materials posted on the site. Otherwise this is all my imagination,
so don't consider it gospel on the characters. I mentioned Mia was 'fey'
to explain the pointed ears in the illustration, though I originally
leaned towards a more Tenchi Muyo explaination, with her being from
space.
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