Seattle, Washington: 1999

It was the first day of a new school year, and for one nine year old it was also her first day at a new school, in a new area. She strayed behind by the doors of her class, lingering as other kids rushed past and onto the playground. She didn't know any of the faces. None of the names. Wringing her hands in the lace of her first-day dress, she silently nursed her own anguish as she watched the other kids play.

She missed her own friends.

This was the third time she had moved in two years. Her parents, who had always had a rocky relationship from the start, had been arguing a lot more recently due to financial troubles. Her father was a dreamer. Someone who wanted big things for himself and his family, but wasn't always so good at coming through with them. Her mother was a pessimist and a workhorse. She spent more time at her job than she did with the family. They had been married, divorced, and remarried several times in her short life and each time they split she was forced to move. Sometimes her father would win the resulting custody battle, sometimes he couldn't afford it and her mother would win. Sometimes there wasn't a battle at all and they tried to play it off like some kind of extended vacation a the other parents house.

Shelby was miserable. She wanted them to quit arguing. She wanted them to act like any of the other kids parents. Either break it off entirely, or learn to get along.

Casting one last forlorn glance out at the schoolyard, she turned and headed back inside. Shelby liked books more than people, anyway. Books you could take with you.

The Boy:

A week had passed relatively quickly. Shelby spent her time in school minding her own business. Any free time she had she spent it with her nose in a book, off in some corner of a room where people wouldn't bother her.

Mid-day, just as recess was called, a shadow fell over her desk. She glanced up through her bangs at the intruder, surprised to see a short, chubby faced boy looming over her. "Watcha readin?" He inquired, leaning down to try and peer at the cover of her book. She pulled it into her body, covering it with her arms.

"Go away." There was an attempt at a glare. It didn't work. The boy remained. "What's your name?"

Her eyes landed on the large, hand drawn name sitting in the one corner of her desk. All the desks had them. Why would he even ask? "Go away."

"Why don't you ever come outside and play?" She could see as he talked that he was missing some teeth. Whether that was due to him losing then naturally, or through some incident she didn't know. It gave him a very strange lisp, though. 

She stared him down mutely, not budging on the matter. He tried again a few moments later. "Do you wanna come play with me? My names Derrick." 

She knew his name. He was the class clown, and generally ended up in the most trouble out of all of them. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, he shuffled back on his feet. "Well, uh... nice meeting you." Then he beat a hasty retreat back outside. She let the breath she had been holding go, finally releasing her book from the death grip she had been holding it in against her chest. No doubt he was going to rush out there and tell all of his friends how weird she was. No doubt it would only cast and even more alien light on her.

But that was okay, she liked it better like that.

The Boy... Friend:

The second time she ran into him was just as spectacular as the first. She'd been kicked out of the classroom so that their current substitute could clean up after a science activity that had gone wrong. Why did it go wrong? Derrick. 

So now she was stuck shuffling around in one corner of the yard, next to a field. She chose to spend her time digging for bugs. If there was one thing she was a fan of, it was nature. This particular school didn't have a whole lot in that regard, but she had managed to find some. An ant hill, mainly.

She watched the little black specks roam around, marveling at how the closer they came to the hive, the more organized their lines were. After a while of watching she grew bored, and had wandered a little ways away to find something else to occupy her attention.

One poor spider later, she was back at the anthill, watching in morbid fascination as a hoard of ants neatly clipped the spider into manageable pieces. 

A kickball suddenly flew into her field of vision, violently dashing the little anthill into dust. Dirt and bugs scattered everywhere. She gasped, reeling back from it. "Hey! Hey can you kick that back?"

Standing, the nine year old dusted herself off and glanced at the ball gently rolling back and forth by her feet. Sure, she could. She reached down and picked it up, then leveled a blank stare at the kid making the request. 

But she wasn't going to.

It took a moment for him to realize that she wasn't going to toss it back. By that time his buddies had cued in to what was happening as well. Childlike frustration flooded his features, and yet he didn't take a single step toward her. "Give it back!"

She turned her nose up at him, ginger ponytail bouncing behind her, and started to walk back toward the building. "Hey weirdo! I'm talking to you! Give me my ball back!" His friends had joined him. One tight little circle of aggression. "Billy, forget it. We'll just go get another ball." 

Billy seemed to agree, but not before she passed him. He had to get one last parting word in before it was over, "Freak!"

She was three paces away when she heard it, and five when she heard something that sounded suspiciously like meat hitting meat, and then Billy started to wail. Six paces in and she turned, and what should she see? There was Derrick, standing over Billy with his fists clenched, one buddy trying to drag him away. Billy's nose was bleeding. A teacher was on scene a moment later, like lightning, gathering Billy up and dragging Derrick with them back toward the building.

As they passed Derrick winked at her.

She dropped the ball, a light flush dusting her cheeks, and watched them as they vanished into the building.

The Birthday Surprise:

She was 11 today. At midnight her dad had slunk into her room in the pitch black, an air horn in one hand and a birthday hat in the other. He'd given an 11 year old a heart attack that night, and set up a centuries worth of mistrust on the night before her birthday. She started locking her door.

That day, after mid-morning celebrations, she had gone to school fully intending on pretending that everything was normal. Nope, no birthdays here. Instead, when she walked in she found that someone had decorated her desk, and a very crudely made cupcake was sitting smack in the middle of it. Briefly she wondered if she could blame it on her parents, but realized that had they been involved the whole classroom would have looked like a circus instead of just her desk.

Silently she sat, doing her best to ignore curious looks, while fighting back a furious flush. 

It wasn't until lunch that the culprit came forward and exposed himself. Derrick. Of course. 

"So, didja like my surprise?" He grinned, still missing teeth. She fought back another blush and poked sullenly at her fruit cup. "...Don't like celebrating birthdays." She finally muttered, huffed, and added, "...Thanks."

He blinked at her as he unwrapped the peel from an ice cream sandwich. "Huh? Why's that?"

She speared him with a look, debating what to say. "I want all of my friends to be here, but they can't."

"Why's that?"

The look turned into a squint. "Because one is in Vancouver, one is in Spokane, one lives in Bellevue, and the other moved away to Texas." He made a little face, nodding, and took a huge bit of his treat.

"Well," He started after a pause, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm, "Guess you're lucky you got me, then. Right?" 

There was that grin again, little white teeth (minus a few) all perfectly in line as it stretched from one ear to the other. Her fork stilled, a peach speared on the tip, and she stared at him. After a few moments, she timidly smiled back. "Sure."

The rest of the day went without a hitch, and when she got home and her mother got all of the birthday supplies out, she briefly wondered if she could ask to have Derrick invited over.

Arcade:

Three years had passed and she'd moved again. Her mother had broken up with her father, again, and after the messiest divorce yet by far, she found herself smack in the middle of a new city, in a new house and a new school. Her mother had sworn up and down that this time was the last time she'd ever speak to her dad again. Her dad swore up and down that he'd never even look at her mother again. It had been tense, ugly... and funny. 

She knew it was only a matter of time before they hooked up again. As much as they argued against it the two of them loved each other dearly. Shelby liked to think of them as two soulmates struggling as hard as they could not to come together.

The plus side of the move, even though it had transferred her away from yet another friend in regards to schooling, was that this time they hadn't physically moved all that far away. Her new home was only a hop away from his, and she could easily guilt her mother into driving her over to hang out. 

It also helped that the Arcade Derrick and her frequented was now literally within walking distance. She'd gotten into the habit of heading over there after school nearly everyday, to waste away her allowance playing a host of entertaining games. The owner of the place knew her on sight, and often gave her a few free tokens for 'being so gosh darned cute' as he had put it. Then he'd ruffle her hair and shoo her off.

Derrick and her claimed the place as their own. A nice little shelter from the realities of the world for kids who very much didn't want to have to grow up and face them. Their relationship deepened in the process, to the point that she openly referred to him as her best friend. 

It was a good time... which in later years she would reflect back on and miss terribly. 

Oh Death:

It was that same year that her Grandmother passed away. A long stint in the hospital, a lot of uncertainties, and one terrified teenager forced to witness it all.

Her mother had gotten the call in early September. Her mother was in the hospital, her brother had taken her in late the night before when the elderly woman had complained for sudden stomach pains. Doctors swiftly found that a part of the lower intestine had blown out on the inside, allowing fluid from inside the gut to leak out. They called it septic. Shelby wasn't sure what that meant. 

The doctor in charge of her told them that she would be fine. They had placed a drain in her to get the infection out, but they would be keeping a close eye on her for the next few days due to her age and health.
The next night her condition worsened. She had lashed out at a nurse, rambling about how the hospital staff were all trying to kill her. The doctor called it a paranoid delusion brought on by her fever. They put her under with some pretty powerful drugs and were forced to incubate her when her breathing slowed to a crawl.

For the next three weeks it dragged on. Her mother and her would visit daily, spending hours by her bedside. At some point her kidneys started to fail, so they put her on dialysis. Things looked promising for a bit. She was starting to come out of the medically induced coma. She was staring to respond to voices. She could grip your hand and move her foot. 

Shelby even got  smile and a wink out of her. After so long without hope, it was the best sign she could have asked for.

A few days later they got a call. They needed to get down to the hospital as quickly as they could.

When they arrived some of the family was already gathered in the room. Shelby took a spot beside her grandmother, reaching out to grip her hand. It was cold.

"Unfortunately the dialysis isn't working. Her liver is starting to shut down as well." The doctor explained, keeping a very carefully neutral face as some of the family broke down into tears. "Her heart rate has been jumping quite a bit too, and we already have her at the maximum levels of her blood pressure medication."

The teen focused on her grandmother. Once a woman of fire and spirit, with a heart so big she made Gandhi look like a charlatan. Now she was a shell of her former self. Laying prone, un-moving in the bed.. eyes half lidded and lifeless. She gripped her hand again, desperate for a response. 

Nothing.

"All we are able to do now is let nature run it's course. We've already started her on comfort care... We expect she will pass within the next few hours." 

At some point the doctor left. Some time after family members departed, until it was just her mom and herself un-moving on either side of the bed. A steady beeping came from the heart monitor across the room, which would suddenly jump and set alarm bells off before fading back to normal.

With tears in her eyes, she reached out a shaking hand to push her grandmothers bangs back. Her skin was cold; clammy. She could remember when the woman had done that to her as a child, singing lullabies with a voice that seen many years. Shelby's bottom lip trembled, and she cleared her throat.

"Lullaby, and good night, in the skies stars are bright... May the moon's silvery beams bring you sweet dreams." 

The heart monitor alarm started blaring again. The small line on the machine signifying blood pressure gradually started to drop. 

"Lullaby, and good night, you are mother's delight. I'll protect you from harm, and you'll wake in my arms." Her mothers voice took over for her's, small and warbling, but there. 

"Sleepyhead, close your eyes, for I'm right beside you. Guardian angels are near, so sleep without fear. Lullaby, and good night, with roses bedight. Lilies over head, lay thee down in thy bed...."

Together they tried to croon the heart break away. Until the lines on the machine all bottomed and silence overtook the room. Then, and only then, did she break down and weep.

Birds of a Feather:

A new year, and a new school. But this time it was because she was a high school student now. She'd been in the school for exactly half a year without incident, too. Most people just left her alone, save for a few guys she sat with at lunch and would meet in the library after classes. Her reputation as being the 'weird' one had followed her well as she'd grown, and she wore it like a safety vest quite willingly.

All good things must come to an end at some point, though.

At lunch on one normal afternoon, she happened to spy something out of the ordinary. Bright flashes of color, an excited murmur through the crowd. She glanced over her shoulder to see what the fuss was about and stopped in her tracks.

The most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her whole life was walking past. 

Skin with just barely a hint of grey, a rainbow of colorful feathers that started at her hairline and plumed backwards in varying lengths. She had the most piercing yellow eyes Shelby had ever seen. 

The teen was blown over by the image. Left completely at a loss for what to do with herself except stare. Gawk, really.

Of course the girl noticed, and with a huff  her feathers floofed and she spun away to vanish back into the crowd. 

It wasn't the last time Shelby would encounter her.

The next time also happened to be during a lunch break, but was in a much less crowded location. She had been roaming the halls of her school with a book in her hands, casually reading as she waited for the period to end. 

From around the next corner down came Bird-girl (as she yet didn't have a name), flocked by two other girls. Shelby stumbled to a sudden stop and could not help but stare once more.

This time, the visible mutant decided to not take kindly to it. "What are you looking at?" She sneered, pausing a few steps away, "Huh? Spit it out!" 

Shelby could not, would not, because she was too busy trying to memorize in detail the way the girl's feathers all stood aloft when she was angry. It was very amusing.

Well, until bird-girl marched on up, hooked a clawed hand in her shirt, and slammed her into the lockers next to them. 

Her book dropped and slid, she struggled to push her glasses back up on her nose and found a very ticked off mutant breathing in her face. "You think i'm some kind of spectacle, freak?!"

"I think you are very beautiful." She replied, as her heart hammered away in her chest.

Bird girls eyes widened and she dropped the hold she had on Shelby, stepping back as if she'd been burned. "W-what?" She was flustered. Confused.

Shelby took a moment to fix her shirt, bent to pick up her book, and repeated herself. "You're beautiful." A small smile, one she hoped was friendly, pricked at her lips. "I'm an artist... I couldn't help but stare because a part of me really wants to paint you."

Bird girl flushed slightly, turning a confused look back at the other girls, before it landed on Shelby again. "Ah... well, thanks. I guess." 

It was amusing watching all of the steam that had previously fueling her anger dissipate in one little woosh. Shelby extended a hand toward her, smile still fixed in place. "I'm Shelby."

The girl glanced at the offered hand once, still uncertain, before reaching out and clasping it with her on claws. "Olivia."

And just like that a friendship was born.

The Girl...Friend

Seattle, 2006, mid summer. Shelby had settled comfortably into her home. School was out for the summer, which left her with a lot of free time on her hands. Given that she was 16 and had two best friends that lived only a few blocks from her, that free time usually translated into hanging out with them.

Today was special, however. Today there was to be a massive protest in Pioneer square. It had to do with how the city had been handling a growing homeless population and very obvious racism towards obvious mutants. Seattle had always had a rather large homeless population, but in the months leading up to the protest many had seen a steady rise in the laying off and firing of mutants, the inability to get a job elsewhere, and thus, due to those two factors, a rise in the number of mutants who quickly found themselves without a place to live. Tension over it was slowly tearing the city apart from the inside, and yet no one wanted to talk about it out loud. 

Seattle had always prided itself as being one of the most open, welcoming, equality driven cities in the US. It didn't like having it's dirty laundry out where the public could see it.

How did Shelby factor into all of that? Olivia had invited her along to be a part of the protest. 

Olivia, being an un-ashamed visible mutant, was actually the head of her own mutant rights group called 'Code Blue'. Most were teenagers, around the same age as her, but a few were older adults. She'd approached quite a few of them on the streets. The name of the group she felt was quite fitting, given the situation. A code blue in a hospital for example, was the immediate need for resuscitation. It was exactly what she felt the city needed.

Shelby had agreed to go along mostly because her friend had asked. It also helped that she was curious to see what a protest looked like in person, having only ever seen them on tv.

...It might have also helped that she was crushing pretty hard on the girl, and secretly hoped that participation in the rally would garner Olivia's attention.

When they had arrived tension was already thick on the street. Olivia's group was 50 or more people strong, and they had staged a peaceful protest directly in the road that ran through the square. Visible mutants were spread out loosely, packing tighter toward the center of the road. Many had signs, one woman was marching up and down the line with a loud speaker, shouting phrases to get the group riled up. Shelby had never seen anything of the like before, and dutifully made sure to remain glues to Olivia's side as the girl included herself in the crowd. 

From what the teen could see she was only of the few non-mutants of the group. There were a few speckled here and there, but they were far out numbered. It struck a raw nerve inside her. Olivia had always been outspoken when it came to the may troubles her kind often faced. It had just never really seemed real until she was smack in the middle of it, listening to people shout their frustrations.

She could feel her chest clenching sympathetically. 

Someone handed her a sign, she didn't even know what it said, but she raised it above her head and starting chanting with the rest of the crowd. Olivia hugged her from behind, happy with her friends participation, and Shelby turned a little red. She wasn't aware of the two photographers patrolling around to try and capture the moment.

Things went pretty smoothly for a while after that. There was a pretty big police presence, who were there on either side of the road boxing them in. Further down they were re-directing traffic around the mob. It made the teen nervous for sure, seeing that many cops in riot gear lined up around them, especially after the very public disaster that had been the Battle for Seattle in 1999.

Things didn't get ugly for a little bit longer, however. Three o'clock rolled around and off behind police lines another group had started to gather. That group happened to be most made up of humans, with a mutant or two mixed in. No visible mutations, however. The other group started chanting back at them, an opposing mindset with opposing literature. Their stance was that there wasn't a problem with the city. That everything was fine, and that Olivia's Code Blue was comprised of people who were looking to cause problems for everyone else.

The tension in the air doubled, and as the small squad of cops attempted to get both groups to disperse anger sparked like a struck match. Suddenly things were being hurled at them through the air. Both sides were pressing an attack. Some managed to break through the police line and a full on scuffle broke out. Back up was called, but wouldn't arrive in time.

Olivia was suddenly gone from her side in the chaos, and Shelby flew into a panic. "Olivia!" She turned in a full circled, flinching when a stray can came careening at her from above. "Olivia!"

An officer fired a tear gas grenade into the mass of bodies. Shelby felt it sting her eyes and tried to tug her coat up around her face. The gas spread quickly and quite a few people scattered. Those who were left scuffling were swiftly dealt with via batons and pepper spray. 

A large figure loomed over her suddenly and someone latched painfully hard onto her arm, she was whipped around to face an officer in full riot gear. He had a pepper spray canister aimed at her face. "Don't resist!"

Just as quickly a new shape careened into him, and she was free. A clawed hand reached for her own and pulled her swiftly away. The dropped back from the main war-zone, pushing through bodies as they ran. When the reached the other side Olivia stopped suddenly, pulling Shelby to a stop as well.

The next thing she knew Olivia had grabbed both sides of her jaw and dragged her into a wild, energetic kiss. Shelby froze momentarily, before her own hands rose and she threaded her fingers through the other girls soft head feathers. 

The blinding flash of a camera bulb brought them out of it a moment later. With lips red and raw from Olivia's attack, eyes puffy from the lingering tear gas, Shelby turned to the camera man with one hand outstretched to try and hide her face. He snapped another picture.

Both pictures ended up in various newspaper articles about the rally within the next few days. The 'Human and Mutant' affair had people whispering for weeks. 

First Date:

She was a nervous puddle of goo. Not only was this her first date, but she also happened to be dating a girl and a mutant to boot! She wasn't exactly sure how to deal with that. At her age, even just holding hands with a boy was supposed to send people off into a tissy fit.

Somehow Olivia always managed to make it better, though. She had a knack for glossing over all the fine print and turning something very stressful into a wonderful time.

How she had managed to convince Shelby that sneaking out in the dead of night was a good idea was an entirely different story, though. 

"You going to tell me where we are going now?" She muttered as she dropped down from the ladder of the fire escape. Her apartment was a few floors up. Olivia just grinned, her feathers flexing against her skin, and pressed a bundle of something into Shelby's arms.

She glanced down and noticed it was an outfit of some sort. What looked like a black tube top and skirt, made from the same fake leather material, and a long sleeved fishnet... thing, that was supposed to go over the top of it. There was a little plastic card on top of the pile, and when she squinted at it she noticed that it had her face on it. "..Oooooh no, Olivia. No."

The bird-mutant's grin just widened and she lifted a pair of black pumps up. "...Pleeease?"

--

Thirty minutes later they were waiting in line at one of the clubs down the street, and Shelby was trying to adjust the bottom of her throw-over to cover more thigh. It was see through, so the action didn't help much. Olivia was in a two piece of some sort, the colors of which matched the color of her feathers. The artist sighed for the upteenth time and attempted to get her rapidly beating heart under control. She'd never used a fake ID before. It was nerve wracking. What if they got caught? 

Turns out the guy checking ID's at the front of the line didn't even bother checking theirs. He grumbled a 'Go in' and pointed a thumb at the door. The two girls spared each other a look before hurrying inside. 

Inside it was dark, light up by varying shades of neon. There was a crowd right at the front of the building, where the line for the bar started and where the bathrooms were located. Olivia wasted no time snatching her hand and dragging her toward the line for booze. As they shuffled along with the flow of traffic, the bird mutant chattered excitedly about practically everything. Shelby nodded along, smiling warmly as she watched the light play off of the many feathers on her girlfriends body. It was enchanting, really. When they eventually reached the bar they mimed the group that had gone before them, asking for drinks with long elaborate names, and attempting to down them quickly. Before they left they'd managed to get a few free shots in, too.

Shelby was already swimming by the time they actually made it onto the dance floor. The music was impossibly loud; she could feel the bass thumping around inside of her. Mingling with her bones. They carved a path to a nice little spot on the inside of the dance floor, and the Olivia turned to her. Shelby felt her breath leave her in one little whoosh. 

She was so beautiful. Like a modern goddess. A spectrum of light that played on her features and made her truly shine. She felt her face flush red, and with a laugh like tinkling lights Olivia wrapped her in a snug embrace. The teen swallowed thickly, settling her hands on the other girls hips, and let her eyes slide closed as they swayed to the music. 

The song shifted a few moments later, one of the more popular thump thumping songs of the year. Olivia moved again and Shelby opened her eyes. There was her pretty bird girl, bouncing along with the beat. With a laugh Shelby joined in.

--

A few hours later found the artist snuggled into a dark corner of the club. Her head was swimming, and she honestly had no clue how she'd even gotten there from the dance floor. It didn't matter a whole lot n the long run, anyway, seeing as Olivia was currently half straddling her pressing heated kissed into her neck. The both of them had foolishly gone over the top with their drink choices, and both were sure to pay for it in the morning. Right now though... there were other things on her mind. 

Reaching out she turned Olivia's chin up toward her, effectively releasing her from the massive hickey she had left behind on Shelby's neck. Her lips met Olivia's with enough passion to rival the bird-mutant, and the two of them were swallowed by sensations. Heat... touch... the tickling feeling of fingers on her neck and arms that left tracks of goosebumps in their wake. 

The night dissolved into a blurry dream sequence, things she had only ever imagined. When both of them awoke the next day they were in Olivia's room, buried under a hoard of fluffy blankets. Her head was pounding, but she wriggled closer to the girl, looping an arm over her stomach affectionately. 

'I love you.

She spoke the words silently, letting them echo in her head. Olivia was oblivious, her chin propped up on the crown of Shebly's head, snoring slightly.

The Ginger smiled to herself and blushed.

Break up:

Seven months into their relationship things fell apart.

They were fully back in school for the year, and Shelby was starting to get the feeling that Olivia was avoiding her. She didn't see her in the morning, or at lunch, or after school as everyone piled into buses to head home. The only time she actively saw her girlfriend anymore was during weekends, and it was always some sort of indoor date. The movies. A board game at home. A pizza and horror flick marathon. 

She was feeling mighty conflicted, but chose not to say anything about it right at first. Not until she'd finally run into Olivia during school hours and had been introduced to another girl as a 'friend'. Shame like no other had crept into her chest, latching on and obscuring all other feelings. She was hurt, and Olivia chose to wave it off.

That day after school she confronted the mutant about it.

"Olivia, hey... can we..um. can we talk?" She was standing next to the bus Olivia needed to take home. She had been determined not to let her escape again. The other girl frowned, casting a glance over at one of her other friends. "Sure, I guess." When Shelby turned and walked away, Olivia followed.

She'd gone to the closest female bathroom, shutting and locking the door to prevent anyone else from stumbling upon their conversation. 

"Look, Shell... I know what you are probably thinking..." Olivia started, setting her backpack down and reaching for the ginger.

"Do you?" Shelby shot back, stepping out of reach. "Why don't you tell me what i'm thinking then, Olivia?" The bird mutant huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against a stall.

"Okay, fine. Look, I know that we haven't really been spending a whole lot of time together lately... but, well, I've been busy. School work and the like, and I've got other friends I have to keep up with too."

"I'm your girlfriend!" Shelby spat back venomously, clenching her fists at her side. "I shouldn't be an after thought!" Olivia winced at the loudness of her voice, but she pressed on before she could cut in.

"I think you're ashamed of us! Of me!" Olivia's feathers ruffled and she stood from her lean and clenched her claws at her side as well. 

"I am not!" Shelby cut back in taking a step forward. "Then whey did you introduce me as a friend to those other girls?!" The bird girl opened her mouth to reply, thought better of it, and closed it again. Her cheeks flushed and she looked away.

Shelby felt her anger deflate. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

A few tense moments of silence followed in which neither of them spoke. Then, quietly, Olivia started to speak. "I was gonna tell you, Shell." She sighed through her nose and raked her claws through her feathers. 

"Look, I just don't know if we are working out as a couple, you know?" Shelby felt an icy spear lance through her chest and her hands went limp at her sides. "I mean, you need a lot more than I can really give... and well..." She didn't need to finish. 

Shelby carefully schooled hr expression into disinterest, dragging her gaze away from the girl. A beat of silence passed before she found the words she wanted to say.

"...It's okay." Olivia blinked at her, she pressed on. "It's fine... I... we don't have to continue if you don't want to." She stooped to pick up her bag, slinging it onto her shoulder quickly.

"Shell..." Olivia stepped toward her, reaching out to grab the girls arm as she turned to start unlocking the door.

"I'm fine, Olivia." She turned back, forcing on a smile. The mutant stared at her, eyes searching her face. "Shell, I want us to still be.. well, you know... I want us to still be friends."

Inwardly Shelby cringed. Her smile faltered slightly, but she nodded nonetheless.  "Sure."

They parted then, going their separate ways as they walked home.

The Second Date:

It took a while, but eventually Shelby managed to get over most of the bitterness she still held toward Olivia. During the weeks following their breakup both girls had wisely chosen to stay away from one another. Shelby found herself spending more time with Derrick again, back in the Arcade they both held dear. 

She met him after school one such day, slinging her backpack off and dropping it at her feet as she slid onto a stool next to him. He was munching away on a pile of nachos. "Hey." He nodded at her, not bothering to vocalize a greeting as he ate. She glanced around the room, eyeballing which games were open. I was packed today. 

"Jeez, looks like the junior high squad is here." Never mind that she had once been one of that crowd. Derrick nodded, scooping the last cheese-piled chip into her mouth. "Right? S'like they all scheduled a meeting here to something."

Chuckling, she ordered a soda for herself from the teen behind the counter. "So what do you want to play today? Looks like most of the good games are taken already."

He was silent for a while. She squinted at him and started to catch on that something was different. Why did he seem nervous? After a moments pause, he finally answered her. "We could go into the black light room. Play air hockey until some of the games open up?" 

She tapped her chin thoughtfully, reaching for the bottled soda as it was set down and finally nodded. "Sure! It'll be an adventure." 

They stood and collected their things before moseying on into the dark wing of the building. 

That particular area, which had been converted from a bunch of cubical offices into one large room, was a much different area from the rest of the Arcade. It was completely back-lit. The only light came from various neon signs scattered around the room and glow-lights that had been fixed to the edges of the games.

They moved over to an open air hockey table and set their things down. "So how many rounds?"

She took another sip of her drink and grabbed her paddle. Derrick shuffled around on his side for a second, "Four?"

She nodded and tossed a token in. When the puck popped out she went first.

"Hey... are you okay?" She eyed him across the table between knocking the puck around. He shrugged, avoiding eye contact with her. She squinted at him and when he knocked the puck back the next time she trapped it under her paddle.

"....Derrick." Her tone caused him to look up, startled, and when he caught her staring he ran a hand though his hair. After a short, agonized pause, he dropped the paddle and wandered around to her side of the table.

"H-hey.. so... well, I've been thinking." He shifted nervously on his feet. She turned, starting to feel nervous herself. He continued on, "... I mean, we've known each other for a long time, right?" She nodded, eyeing him warily.

"And well, you know with you being single and all now..." Her brows flew up in surprise. He... he was going to.... Was he?!

"I was kinda hoping that maybe you and I... we..." His face turned red. "Look, i'm not good with words like other people. Will you be my girlfriend, Shelby?"

He was.

She gaped at him like a startled fish for a while, hands nervously playing with the dyed ends of her hair as she struggled to think about what to say. He got considerably more nervous the longer she was ilent, and after a solid minute of it he shifted and turned as if to go. She jerked out to grab his arm. 

"Wait! Derrick, wait..." He turned back, a pinched expression on his face. He thought she was going o reject him. "It's okay Shelby, I shouldn't have asked."

"I will."

"It was really stupid on my part-- waitwhat?" She nodded, smiling slightly. "I'll be your girlfriend."

His arms flew into the air, hands fisted in excitement. "WOOOO!"

She laughed as he did a little circle, and reached out to take his arm again. Gently she drew him to her, her heart nervously pattering inside her chest. Should she had said yes? He was her first friend in this area. He'd stuck with her through thick and thin.... he was her best friend. Was it a good idea? She didn't know. Did she care...?

She pulled his lips to her own; gentle and sweet.  

...Not really.

College Blues:

The last few years have gone by quietly, or at least relatively. She had made up with Olivia some time back, both of them shaking hands on a truce, and her relationship with Derrick was plucking away steadily. She'd passed high-school with a good enough grade point average that she qualified for quite a few continuing education schools in her area. Originally she had wanted to study abroad, somewhere like San Francisco or New York, heck, even Paris... but ultimately had decided against it. Derrick hadn't liked the idea a whole lot. Something about her being too far away. She relented to his demands for now, content with the few courses offered at a local community college.

She'd moved out pretty much as soon as she had turned eighteen, and was blissfully happy not having to deal with her parents shenanigans all the time. The downside to it was that she got shafted with a rather annoying roommate who was working her way through some kind of account management degree.

Shelby was more than happy to willfully ignore the girl, and the girl returned the favor.

Derrick visited her often, sometimes staying the night when he could. Olivia would pop by every now and then when she wasn't off organizing rally's and donation drives. All in all Shelby's little world was good. 

Her funding for the classes only lasted for so long, however, and a year into her studies she had to call a break so she could start to compile funds for the next round. The financial aid she'd managed to scrounge only covered classes for so long, since it was a simple 2 year degree she was working on. 

She found herself a crappy little part time job, moved back in with her dad for a bit, and started to hoard as much money as she possibly could. Derrick was overjoyed to be able to see her more, since she didn't have huge projects to devote all of her time too. Even Olivia was inclined to drop by more often.

Shelby didn't have the heart to tell either of them that she was making plans to switch schools. Out of state... across the country. In New York.

She'd been doing a lot of research on schools, and which offered the best courses and degrees. Her chosen school was already picked out, and she had already sent in the application. She had decided that she would tell them when, if, she got her acceptance letter....

--

A few months passed, and one day after work Shelby came home to a plain while envelope sitting on her bed. After tearing it open, a scream ripped through the house

"DAAD! DAAAD!"

He came barreling out of his bedroom, bathrobe blown open and in his boxers, with a mini slugger clenched in a hand. "W-What!? Where?!" She all but tackled him the moment she saw him.

"I got accepted!!"

--

Her flight was booked. She was packed and ready to go, anxiously watching the clock tick away on the wall. Her mother was by her side, eyes wet from sobbing. Her father was on her other side, arms crossed and pointedly not looking her mothers way. They were currently broken up, again.

Derrick was slumped in the seat in front of her, grumpily frowning at everyone that passed within his range. Shelby smiled, nerves alight with excited energy. This was it... her dream was coming true!

"Flight 356, Seattle to New York, boarding now."

She hopped out of her seat eagerly, snatching up her carry on, and turned to throw her arms around her mother... who burst into fresh set of tears. "Oooh! My baby is leaving me!" The woman dribbled on Shelby's coat as she patted her back and laughed.

"I love you, Mom!" She moved to her dad next, who scooped her up in a bear hug and tried to swing her around like he used to. He nearly threw out his back. "Now, you call me if you need anything, Shell. You hear me? Anything!" He suffocated her in another crushing hug, which she wriggled free from. "I promise dad, I will call you for even the slightest inconvenience." They both knew that was a fib. She hadn't needed much from her parents since she had left home all that time ago.

Turning, she moved to Derrick last. Setting her bag down she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed. He squeezed back, and when she retreated his face was screwed up in a deep frown. "Hey, now... it'll be okay. You'll see! You can fly out and visit me, and when I have breaks I can fly down to see you!" It did little to make him feel any better. She withdrew from his arms with a quick peck to the cheek and snatched up her bag again. Her flight was boarding.

"I love you guys!" She waved, and turned away.

Jennifer:

"Pardon me!" She side stepped someone in the hall, "Pardon me!" She jerked out of the way as another student hurried past. "Ah, oh! So sorry!" She stooped to help collect the items from a box that had fallen when she'd run into someone else with her shoulder.

It was her first day in New York, and she was attempting to get to the apartment she was supposed to be living in for the next four years. When she finally got to her door she hip-bumped it open and slumped against it with her shoulders. She was exhausted! Physically having to drag all of her belongings up a bunch of flights of stairs, then having to navigate through a packed hallway to get to her room. She had half a mind to just drop her stuff where it was and go take a nap.

"..uh... Hello?"

Shelby jerked a little, swiveling her head around to spy another girl standing in the middle of the empty living room giving her an odd look. The artist hurriedly blew a few strands of orange dyed hair out of her face and forced herself to stand like a proper human being. "Oh! Um, Hi. My name's Shelby... I guess you're my roommate?"

A flash of recognition scooted across the other girls face, before she stepped forward to grab a few of the bags from Shelby. "Well that makes sense, then! I'm Jennifer. Nice to meet you!" Shelby allowed the bags to be taken, and silently categorized the girl she was going to be spending a lot of time with. She was a little taller than Shelby was, maybe 5'6" or so. Her hair was a deep auburn and fell to her shoulders, and she either spent a lot of time straightening it, or was lucky enough to have naturally straight hair. Her eyes were a murky green-blue in color. Like when two different types of water met and pushed against each other. Her nose was sturdy, like a roman's, but with the way it was set on her face ended up being fairly attractive. She looked athletic, and Shelby wondered if she was rooming with a jock momentarily.

That thought was immediately thrown out the window when she stepped into the room a little more and spotted the pile of computer equipment Jennifer had been busy setting up in the corner. Some sort of science nerd, maybe? 

"You're room is over here, Shell." Jennifer paused, casting a glance over her shoulder. "Do you mind if I call you shell?" Shelby shook her head, momentarily breaking her stupor. "Do you mind if I call you Jen?"

The other girl laughed. "Not at all!" She set Shelby's suitcase down just inside the other bedroom doorway, and dropped back to watch as it's new occupant shuffled in. 

"If you need anything, i'll just be out there setting my desktop up." She jabbed a thumb behind her and departed. 

Shelby plopped down on her bed, flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. This was her new room, in her new apartment, with her new roommate, in her new school, in a new state...

She wriggled happily on the mattress.

---

A few months in and she had finally settled. Not only into her new lifestyle, up into a new friendship to boot. Jennifer had turned out to be much more than Shelby had originally pegged her for. She was working towards a degree in engineering, and was probably on par with Olivia when it came to deviousness. 

Shelby had just broken up with Derrick the day before, and had been moping around because of it. Jennifer had devised a plan to get her out of the apartment right under her nose, and she hadn't even suspected it. Before she really knew what was going on she'd been whisked away to a party across campus in a different apartment.

She hadn't suspected a thing, least of all the attractive foot ball player who'd opened the door and greeted her by name. Shelby speared her friend a wild look full of broken trust as a red solo cup was shoved into her hands and the guy snatched her hand and dragged her inside. 

Jennifer laughed, light and airy, and followed them inside to the party.