After saying goodbye to Gawain, Twyla had half sprinted up the stairs and down the girl’s hall to her room. When she made it to her door she unlocked it with super speed unknown to her most days (usually she flubbed with the key for a few minutes for actually unlocking her door) and threw off her coat and the oh so sparkly dress. The jeans were folded and placed carefully on a cleared off chair so they wouldn’t get lost in the mess that was her room. She’d wash them and return them as soon as possible. Maybe, if she could still look at Maya/Gawain...

Speaking of such...

As soon as Twyla had stripped of her clothes and changed into an oversized tee shirt and fuzzy socks she flew across the hall. Her mission: major girl talk with Henri. Regardless of the late (early?) hour, she had issues that needed to be discussed while everything was still fresh in her mind and with the details not dulled by sleep. Sure, it was kinda rude and ridiculous to wake someone up at such a bad hour, but this was urgent. In the end she knew the other girl would understand, they’d both made the promise to be there for each other–even at three or four in the morning.

She tried to knock as quietly as possible (so as not to wake the neighbors), but that didn’t earn her any results so soon her fist pounded on the wooden door. Twyla’s foot tapped out a fast and impatient rhythm on the hall floor as she waited for her friend to wake up and talk to her–explain to her what was going on inside her own head. “C’mon, c’mon.” The hand at her side shook with the excitement and nerves that talking about the events of the night stirred inside her. Let’s go girl, rise and shine.

Laying in bed trying to sleep, Henri found herself restless. She had met Van earlier that day and she couldn't stop thinking about him. She had wanted to talk to Twyla about it, but she was still out with Maya or Gawain or whoever they were right now. She really needed to talk to someone soon. Henrietta had never been good with boys due to her timidness. Something about Van made her less nervous. The brunette realized it must be because she really wanted him to like her.

Just when she thought she may doze off, someone started knocking on her door. She sat straight up and rubbed her eyes. Henri looked at the clock. It said "3:26 A.M." Blinking a few times, she sighed. Putting her feet on the floor, she slowly stood up and made her way to the bedroom door. She unlocked the door and swung it open. "Hello?" It was the only thing she could think to say this early in the morning.

Staring at the figure outside her door for a few seconds, she yawned. Henri then noticed it was Twyla and smiled. "Oh, hey girl. How was partying?" There was something I wanted to tell her...Scratching her had, she tapped her foot lightly. Hmm..."Oh! You'll never believe what happened to me today!" The girl's voice was a little too loud and she heard someone say to be quiet from in their room. "Oops. People sleep, I forget. Come in." Henrietta pulled Twyla in and shut the bedroom door. Walking over, she sat on her bed. She patted next to her. "Pop a squat."

At first Henrietta looked slightly confused but then she seemed to wake up. It didn’t look, or sound, like she’d been very deep in sleep and the other girl didn’t hesitate to practically yell that she had news too. This made Twyla laugh as she moved through the door to sit on the end of her friend’s bed. It always astounded Twyla how neat and tidy Henri’s room was compared to her own. It always seemed like everything had its place–unlike in Twyla’s room where everything competed for the same space...mostly floor space.

“You’ll never guess what happened to me today.” She mumbled.

Tucking her bare legs under the fabric of the giant shirt, she got comfortable. “Well, you go first.” Twyla was curious as to what Henri had to say. She was pretty sure that the girl had said she was going to hang in the city. There were lots of things she could have gotten into there. But what kind of stuff could Henri get into? She wasn’t the type to get into a fight or something...she hadn’t sounded upset...What could be so exciting?

Twyla mumbled something and then told Henri to go first. Grinning, Henrietta turned to her purse and dug through it. Finding what she was looking for, she pulled it out. It was the picture Van had taken of the two of them. She was going to wait to show Twyla until she was done talking. "Well, I was wandering around alone. I was dancing at a green traffic light. All of a sudden this huge FLASH! filled my eyes. It was a boy who goes around taking pictures. I know that sounds wierd, but..."

She handed Twyla the picture of the two of them. "His name's Van. He's a mutant too. He's all stretchy and stuff. We ended up hanging out, drinking coffee, and riding a bus together.." Excitedly, Henrietta pointed to the back of the picture. "Wait until you see the other side." She bounced on the bed slightly as she said this, her voice beginning to sound giddy. "He's really cool and hot and I hope he calls me..."

Twyla was confused when Henrietta suddenly lunged for her purse and rummaged around inside it. It was obvious that she was really excited about whatever had happened. When she came back to the bed she had something in her hand and she was talking fast about dancing and streetlights. It took the blonde a few moments to make sense of what she was saying. At first she thought her friend was talking about the people who go around with no film in their cameras trying to get you to pay them for your ‘picture’ and then her mind jumped to some miraculous modeling story.

And then she showed Twyla the Polaroid.

“Wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me you gave the number of the Mansion to some punk looking creep that took your picture and followed you around all day?” Twyla looked at Henrietta in a shocked way for a few seconds. Glancing down at the picture she added: “And he’s not hot. Hayden Christensen is hot, this guy has a booger coming out of his nose.” Twyla was talking about the septum piercing peeking out near the boy’s nostrils. She didn’t like to look of the boy or the way he was smiling comfortably next to a stranger. Something about him made her uncomfortable but she couldn’t place her finger on it.

“No, I followed him around, but it's okay. It was his idea. He invited me to coffee.” Henrietta couldn’t believe that Twyla didn’t find Van hot. She knew she definitely did. Henri felt herself smile a little when she thought of him. To defend the boy, she said, “It’s not a booger, it’s a piercing. It adds to the punk look.” She looked at Twyla and grinned. Turning the photo around, she showed the blonde the other side. “It’s HIS number. See? He’s got my number and I go t his. It’s fair…”

Remembering that Twyla had news, she set the picture down on her dresser. She would do something with it later. “Well, that’s your big news? I’m curious. Did you meet someone when you were out with Maya/Gawain?” Henri waited patiently to hear her exciting news.

Twyla’s paranoia meter was going off, but she held her tongue. Maybe it had just been an innocent day and she was being far more judgmental than the situation called for. If she had met an...interesting looking kid with some quirky hobbies she’d want Henrietta to be just as excited for her as she wasn’t being for the brunette in question. A small sigh escaped her lips, and against her initial instincts to reprimand and interrogate she said: “Sorry. I’m sure he’s pretty...cool.” Besides the awkward pause, Twyla’s tone was just what the situation called for thanks to years of experience in a house dominated by three sisters with short tempers.

When Henri placed the picture on the desk and turned to her, the blonde’s heart began beating quickly again. Nope. Bad plan. She didn’t want to talk about it just yet. Maybe she should have waited for the morning. Or maybe she should just curl up in a ball after crawling in a hole and pretend like nothing had ever happened. She could go into hibernation and wake up in the spring and no one would look at her funny or ask her about kissing boys with the tendency of turning into girls.

Glancing at the picture, Twyla had the perfect escape plan. “So are you going to call him–Ivan or whatever?” If she was lucky, Henri was so moony over what’s-his-name that she’d forget Twyla even had news to share.

Twyla apologized and then made an effort to say something nice about Van. Henrietta gave her an appreciative smile. It meant a lot to her, especially since she had never wanted a guy to call her so badly. There was something about Van that made her feel like she wasn’t scared of everything. His bravery rubbed off on her or something. He did whatever he wanted and acted so nonchalantly when something he didn’t want noticed happened. When she had hung out with him, she had been happy.

Her blonde friend then asked if she was going to call “Ivan”. “You mean Van? Maybe.” Remembering Twyla had something to say, she smiled. “So, what happened that you needed to tell me so badly? You woke me up and everything.” She was curious what couldn’t wait for 5 hours. Maybe Twyla had met some guy too or something. That would be awesome. We could double date….Well, if Van and I ever go out. I hope we do. Henri almost began to talk about the pieced boy again, but stopped heself.

Curses, foiled again. Henrietta didn’t miss a beat, just gave her a short answer on her question about Van and kept on trucking. Her stomach did a flip as she tried to find a way to come out and say that she’d been kissed by and kissed back Gawain who was also Maya and Henri knew it. “Well...” She started, picking at a seam of her oversized tee shirt. “I had a really good time with Maya and then at midnight she did the shifting thing and then Gawain and I were hanging out. We danced and stuff...”

A deep breath to steel herself before: “And then we kissed. Well, he kissed me first and then I kissed him back. He told me he likes me Henri, and not just when he’s...you know, Gawain. I don’t know if I—I don’t know....I needed someone to talk to Henri because I have no idea what I’m doing.” The girl buried herself in the arms across her knees. She was tired and confused and her cheeks were burning from the admittance.

After a moment she peeked out from behind her arms. “So what do you think?”

She listened to Twyla’s story. Henrietta felt her jaw drop slightly. She kissed Gawain/Maya? Why? “I knew they liked you. I could tell…” The blonde asked her what she should do. She seemed very shaken up and Henri had no idea what to say. After thinking a moment, she took Twyla’s hand in hers and gave her a comforting smile. “Don’t be embarrassed. I think that if you like each other, you shouldn’t be so embarrassed.”

After a brief pause, Henri continued. “If you only like them when they’re Gawain, you probably shouldn’t pursue this any further. It could only get weirder if that’s the case. If you feel strongly about them all of the time, you should go on a date or something.” The brunette looked Twyla in the eye. “You should totally do what feels right. Maya/Gawain are cool. I bet they’d understand if you just wanted to be friends and you’ll have my support if you want to date them.”

Henrietta was shocked about this little bit of information, but she meant everything she said. Twyla was one of the best friends she had ever had. Whether she liked boys or girls, it didn’t really matter. The whole Maya/Gawain was complicated as is. She couldn’t imagine having those feelings for them without feeling overly confused. This would probably be a difficult decision, but it was one that she’d have to make on her own. Henri could try to help, but in the end it would be up to Twyla.

When Henri told Twyla that she’d known Maya/Gawain liked her the girl got more confused. How had she not seen it? There were a few long moments of silence and then her hand was stolen from her knees to be the victim of an all too familiar comforting gesture that went with the smile on the other girl’s face. “It’s just...weird and confusing...” She mumbled before her friend began talking again.

This was why she and Henrietta had clicked when they first met. For all the random things they did together (like funny outfits and dance moves in hallways) Henri still had a calm head on her shoulders and that calm head was currently spouting simple logic like it was nobody’s business. Despite any qualms she still had the girl felt herself nodding at the points the other was making.

Do what feels right. And if nothing feels perfect...then do what feels the most right. Or something along those lines...maybe?

“Thanks Henri.” She said finally, squeezing the hand that connected them and leaning her head on the other girl’s shoulder. The blonde sighed after a moment. It was time for bed, for both of them. There was nothing she could do about the kissing thing at that moment, and Twyla had realized that as her friend spoke. It made her feel better, in a way, like she had all her ducks in a row. One thing at a time and all that. She’d call Nate in the morning and from there...from there she’d do whatever she had to do to make things normal again and everything would work out how it would work out.

Standing up, Twyla leaned over the bed to hug the brunette. “Thanks.” She repeated. “I think things’ll make more sense in the morning...well, later in the morning.” She laughed for a second before grinning. “You had better call that boy, I’m not even kidding you. If you like him you ‘ should go on a date or something’.” She laughed again before turning and walking towards the door. “Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream...” She half sang before stepping into the hall with more giggles.

Twyla thanked Henri and then layed her head on her shoulder. Henrietta felt bad for her. She couldn't even imagine how wierd it must be for her. The brunette hugged her friend and then smiled. "It was no problem. Anything I can do to help you, okay?" Twyla stood up again and said thanks one last time.

She told Henrietta that she better call Van. Henri laughed and waved good bye to the girl. "Talk to you later. Sleep good." Twyla began to sing as she walked out into the hall. She could hear the girl giggling outside her door. The brunette chuckled and shook her head. Turning off the light and pulling up her blanket, Rapunzel closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.