"H-Hey, Melissa?"
Melissa looked over at her, blinking those big beautiful golden eyes. The two dormmates she was talking to kept right on chattering, not having heard Mary's mumbled greeting. "Oh, hey, Mary! Guys, be quiet." The pair hushed. Melissa smiled at Mary. "What's up?"
Under this many stares, Mary felt her cheeks reddening. She fidgeted as she searched for the words she'd been rehearsing for the last five minutes. "I, um... I need your help with something."
"Oh yeah? What with?"
"Oh, well, I, um..." Mary was in extreme violation of the 50-70 rule. She was staring too intensely. She needed to look away. She needed to at least
blink
. She felt like a faun in the jacklights. She'd already forgotten the made-up excuse. "It's... complicated. There's a problem with the, um. Room."
Melissa frowned. Then a spark entered her eyes. "... oh, yeah? With the room?"
Mary felt like she could choke with shame. She nodded, forcing a smile.
Melissa's lips parted in an unbearable grin. "Can't you handle that on your own?"
The craving, the need, she knew there was something wrong with it. There was no good reason to want to do it again. Every morning, she told herself
never again
.
And every night like this one, when she couldn't sleep and Melissa was staying up late in the common room...
"N-No, I..." Mary squirmed. "I've been trying." Her wings gave a weak little unbidden flutter.
Melissa looked her up and down. Her eyebrows arched. "Well, let's go take a look."
"What's up?" one of the girls asked. She was an aranea, though Mary couldn't remember her name.
Mary froze, staring into eight compound blue eyes glittering with curiosity. She didn't know what to say. She was breaking the rule again, though.
"Oh, there's a hole in the screen," Melissa said, not missing a beat. Her hand found Mary's and started to gently guide her away. "Bugs keep getting in, and they creep her out pretty bad, right, Mary?"
Mary nodded eagerly, not trusting herself to form cogent words.
"Let's go take care of it." Turning so she was out of sight of the two girls, Lizzy gave her a wink. "Shouldn't take too long."
Mary swallowed.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Okay, so, I hate to rub it in," Lizzy said, pushing their door closed with a swing of her hips, "but that was, like, really pathetic."
"I
know.
" Mary fluttered backwards and settled on her bed, hands covering her face. "I--I didn't know how to--"
"I mean, are you that...?"
"Yes." Mary dropped her hands into her lap and wrung her palms like they were coated in something. "I--I can't. I tried. My wings are so sore."
"... you tried." Lizzy looked up at Mary and tilted her head to the side, a queer little smile on her face.
"Yes! I tried! Every night for the past week!" Mary felt like the shame in her chest was crowding out all the air in her lungs. "But I--I mean, my..."
"Your...?" Lizzy flew up until she was hovering level with Mary.
"My wings are too weak," Mary said miserably. Her whole face was burning. "They're not as... strong as yours."
She couldn't even bear to look at Lizzy. She couldn't imagine what must be going through Lizzy's head right now. Lizzy--Melissa--had come with her, so at least she wasn't totally ignoring the... situation. And she didn't seem upset, so she hopefully wasn't about to scold her.
She felt Melissa's weight settle on the bed with her. The apisae leaned against her, resting her chin on Mary's shoulder. "Hey. If you need help, I can help. Anytime." A chuckle tickled Mary's ear. "So
that's
why you always disappear after dinner."
"I shouldn't even... I mean..."
"Why not?"
"I've been craving it." Mary's hands gripped each other tightly. "It's been all I can think about some days. I took a cold shower, and that helped for a bit, but the second I was back under the covers, it... sprung to mind." She took in a deep breath. "It's not... natural."
"You mean... making yourself climax?" Melissa's head tilted to the side.
Mary nodded mutely. That wasn't at all what she'd meant. But if she said what she'd actually meant, Melissa might never speak to her again.
Melissa was quiet for a moment.
"Well," she said slowly, leaning forward to catch Mary's eye, "I don't mind helping out, do I? I
like
helping you with things, Mary. You're my friend."
Looking into Melissa's eyes was too much right now. Mary stared at her own hands in her lap. Something was fluttering inside her so badly she thought she might be sick. It was like being on the verge of an anxiety attack, but... good? Like she was bracing for an impact, but an impact she wanted to happen. That didn't make any sense.
"And if your wings are too weak," Melissa went on, unable to keep the smile out of her voice, "well, I guess consider me your second pair of wings, okay?"
The fluttering got worse. But when Mary felt Melissa's hand under her chin, she let it tilt her head up, and she met Lizzy's bright honey-gold eyes.
Her breath caught.
"Okay," she whispered.
"Okay." Lizzy grinned. "Now, scoot over! I can't fly
and
'go flying' at the same time." She put a finger to her lips. "Well, like, maybe I could? I've never tried. Not like there's ever anywhere private to fly to."
Mary obediently scooted back on the bed, giving Lizzy room to get in front of her without having to hover. She backed up until she was a bit over a wingsbreadth from the wall. Her antennae were humming. "Really? Didn't you grow up on a farm?"
"Well, we used to stay at my grandma's, and she grew clover. But then..." Lizzy trailed off, then laughed. "But clover fields don't exactly give much privacy, anyway, when you're living on the highway with five sisters. What about you?" She scooted in front of Mary, putting Mary between her and the wall. "Let me guess. Convent. Dry, dusty convent, with lots of scrolls and illumination manuscripts."