"Miss Carmine, get back here!" Came the annoyed voice of her teacher. The sound echoed off the walls, seeming to follow Jess like a heat-seeking rocket. Thankfully, she entered the futanari restroom before any form of doubt could sink in. To her fortune, the room was empty allowing her to occupy the furthest stall and take a series of deep breaths in privacy.
"This is gonna suck," Jess groaned, already imagining the future that laid ahead of her. She pulled her legs up and clung her knees to her chest.
"Damn that girl," Mrs. Obsidian grumbled as she walked back into the class, face red with anger.
"I didn't think she was that shy," Kyodai noted aloud, regret thick in her voice.
"She's always been a bit of a troublemaker, never participates. I'll have a talk with her later."
"No, leave her be."
"But,"
"It was my fault, this time at least. If you'll excuse me, I think I should go apologise to her," Kyodai didn't wait for the teacher to respond, instead she grabbed her bag and followed her peer out. Despite her desire to be treated the same as any other student, to do as she wished seemed to be a hard habit to break. Even after the year of school prior, she would follow her impulses with hardly a second thought. Not that the staff did anything to reprimand her for her actions, though her friends managed to reign her in when necessary.
She made her way down the halls, heading to the restrooms. Her life leading up to high school may have been greatly sheltered, but she was more than aware of the clichΓ©. Tentatively, she walked inside and heard the sound of a sharp intake of breath.
"Jess?" Kyodai asked, despite being almost entirely certain that the other girl was inside. In the farthest stall, Jess jumped in surprise. This was the second time she had actually heard the princess say her name. Jess think of her as a fangirl, far from it. She had run into celebrities before on family trips and she didn't trip over her words or feet like she would with Kyodai. "Jess, are you in here?" She couldn't possibly face the princess. Jess knew she'd just make a fool of herself again, like on the bus.
"Jess?" The princess repeated. Still no answer. She sighed, leaning heavily against a wall, "I'm not leaving until you come out." Without much in the way of choices, Jess answered her.
"Just... just go away, please?"
"No, not until I apologise properly."
"It's fine," Jess insisted, waiting for an answer or for Kyodai to leave, to no luck. "You're still there aren't you?"
"Yeah. Just come out for a moment, please, Jess? I want to apologise."
"Yeah, you said that already. I accept, now go."
"No need to be rude."
"Sorry, but... please, just leave me alone," Jess was almost in shock that she wasn't a gibbering mess at this stage. Her body felt shaky, even sitting down felt dangerous as she struggled to sit upright without hugging her legs to her chest.
"Why?" The princess asked, sounding genuinely curious. Because it's you, Jess thought.
"Just... just because," Jess deflected again.
"Fine," Jess breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll come in there myself."
"What?" Before Jess could fully comprehend what was said, she heard one of the stalls open followed by the sound of feet on hitting the wall. After a quick series of pounding footsteps, Jess looked up to see Kyodai drop down from atop the wall. She landed in a crouch, almost resembling a predator with its prey cornered. When she straightened up, she smirked proudly at Jess.
"Hi there," she said as though she hadn't scaled a wall.
"Hi," Jess replied in disbelief. Her face, once again, burned like the very sun itself had centred itself in her cheeks. She's so close, Jess thought, and so beautiful. Kyodai's beauty from afar was striking, but up close Jess could truly appreciate every facet of the princess's gorgeous profile. Jess had only ever seen her from a distance, despite the many chances she had just prior.
"Are you okay? You're blushing," Kyodai observed and gestured to Jess's cheeks. What the hell's wrong with her? The stunned teen thought in shock, but quickly realised that the princess unaware of social norms. Not that she could be blamed for that, after all she must've grown up with everything handed to her. Toys, money, happiness, women. The list probably went on and on.
"I-I'm fine."
"You don't have a fever?" Kyodai quickly placed a hand on both Jess's forehead and her own. Jess found herself unable to move or look away, stunned into perfect stillness, "No," the princess decided with a shake of her head, "You're a little warm, but you don't have a fever or anything," Jess stared up at her with wide eyes, "What is it?"
"Could you... could you move your hand, please?" Jess requested, her blush deepening several layers.
"Oh, okay," Kyodai acquiesced and pulled her hand away, leaving Jess's forehead feeling somehow naked, "Did I do something wrong?" She questioned upon seeing the other girl's heavily flushed face.
"N-n-no. It's just... well, that's not what strangers normally do."
"Really? The maids never hesitated to do it for me."
"Well, that's their job."
"Anyway," The princess said, moving away from the subject, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for embarrassing you in class. I didn't realise you were so shy."
"I-I-I-I'm not s-shy," Jess stuttered, silently screaming at herself to shut up.
"Really?" Kyodai asked, tilting her head curiously. Don't say a word, Jess told herself.
"I just don't like to do stuff like that," damn it, her mind shouted.