Despite complaining about their figures Twyla Ashby and Henrietta Braun had decided to order some greasy, calorie rich, delicious, Mexican food from a local spot the delivered in order to have some major Girl Talk. The only way, as both of them knew, to have true Girl Talk was to discuss whatever it was that needed discussing over large amounts of food. The type of food varied, but it had its place at the conversational table. Twyla had ordered their meal from the takeout menu she'd found in the kitchen and had answered when the college something delivery boy had come to the gate with their bags of steaming food. She'd even set a table for them and gotten utensils and napkins out of their spots in the kitchen. All that was needed before the major over analyzing of their respective topics to start was her fellow analyst to arrive.

Twyla had set out the chips and salsa/salsa con queso when they arrived and as she waited for her friend she munched on a few of the chips plain and drummed her fingers on the counter. Apparently Henri had Big News too and the blond was excited and impatient to hear about it. "Come on Henrietta, I'm hungry." She twirled around on her stool but kept her eyes on the entrance to the dining room.

Yes, major girl talk was the plan for the evening--even if it was going to start a little late. Ladies, start your engines.

Twyla and Henrietta had called a girl talk session. She was suppose to meet her blonde friend in the dining room. As she walked in, she smelled the declicious scent of Mexican food. Seeing it layed out, she ran over and looked at it. Yum! The girl glanced up at Twyla and smiled. "I see you got the goods." She laughed and pulled out a chair to sit down. Taking a chip, she dipped it into the salsa, and then stuck it in her mouth. "Mmmmm.." Grinning, she spun on the stool and wrapped her arms around herself.

Placing herself to face back in the direction of her friend, she sat up very straight and pounded her fist lightly on the counter. In a very powerful, authoritative voice she said, "I now declare this girl talk in session." Henri took another chip and ate it plain this time. Chewing, she made a happy humming noise. "I love chips. I do have to say I like them even better with tomatoey, oniony, cilantro-y, peppery goodness though." Looking Twyla in the eyes, she propped her head on her hand.

"What's the first order of business tonight?"

Twyla straightened herself when her friend arrived. She put a business like smile on her face and watched as the other girl sat and helped herself to the chips and salsa. After the fist pound on the table Twyla nodded. "As per usual, none of this leaves the sanctity of ourselves." Because what was the point of Girl Talk if everyone knew about it? Then it would be Everyone Talk and that was not something most girls wanted when it came to things important enough to need to be discussed during Girl Talk. Like kissing other girls...there was nothing wrong with it, but Twyla wanted Henri to be the first other person she told about her apparent crush on the Morris kid.

She mirrored Henri's motions, although the chip that she sent to her mouth was loaded with the spicy cheesy stuff she'd ordered. Twyla wasn't a major fan of plain salsa. "Yum." Sighing, she straightened herself up again and spoke in a very brisk and oddly formal voice. "The first order of business is the affirmation that this meal is indeed totally sound as far as our current health concerns go and that we are not dooming ourselves to a life of fatty-pants-ness by consuming this delectable spread." Twyla wanted to get rid of her pudge, so eating copious amounts of Mexican food was on the other side of her goals. If she and Henri managed to logic it out there could be no guilt about the deliciousness. "Let me start out by saying that I think that there is a few servings of vegetables in that salsa." Her formal speech made the girl giggle and roll her eyes at herself. I should be a lawyer or a VP or something...

Twyla stated that everything said at the table was confidential and Henri nodded in agreement. The next thing that was brought up was about the healthiness of their meal. The girl looked at the cheese with vegetables and the bowl full of chopped up vegetables. "This it totally healthy. Your's has dairy and vegetables. You won't have to eat a salad or drink milk for weeks. I won't have to eat vegetables for months." The girl smiled at Twyla to let her know that eating this delicious Mexican food was no sin.

"So, about the Big News..." Henrietta crossed her left leg on top of her right one and ate a chip. "Van came to the door the other night. He asked if I wanted to go out. He took me to this concert. I guess he really liked this band. They were pretty cool. I'm not a big fan of mosh pits, but oh well. Oh, it turns out his cousin is a big bouncer guy that works there." She popped another chip into her mouth and chewed. "Afterwards, he took me to this spot where he said I couldn't tell anyone about. It meant a lot to him and I felt like I was invited into his world. It was awesome, but..." The girl looked at Twyla. "I wasn't sure if I was suppose to kiss him. I guess I wasn't suppose to because he poked my noise and then told me to call him. What does that mean anyway?" Henri spun the stool around slowly.

Once the dietary wellness of the food was assured, Twyla dug her chips in more heartily than before. "And the only other food group that we're missing is fruit and chocolate, which I happen to think may be found somewhere in the fridge..." But she was losing track of things, much MORE IMPORTANT matters needed to be discussed.

A moment after Twyla collected herself Henri sped off into the abridged version of what had happened on her date thing with the boy...Ivan, Evan....Van. It was a lot to take in at once time, so she focused on the tail end and her friend's question. "Well....if he didn't kiss you..." Another crunch in her mouth that signified she needed a chip to think. "Maybe he's gay?" A pause. "Oh my god Henri! Maybe he's not sure and he's using you to figure it out. He didn't kiss you because he doesn't know if he likes girls...that could be why he sounds so sensitive...I'm so sorry." Her hand went out to show her sympathy. "I think this makes you a fag-hag...I mean, you're really pretty and everything...but he's just yanking you around because he thinks a straight guy would go for you." Apparently that is what the lack of a goodnight kiss meant, at least in Twyla's version of Girl World.

"Oh no. Do you really think so? After all those places he took me?" Henri bit her lip. "I mean, I wouldn't hate him if he liked guys, but I'm not a guy. That would just screw up everything, Twyla. How am I supposed to go on dates with a gay guy? He seemed to be digging me." The girl stopped and blinked. "I can't believe I just said 'digging me'. Anyway, how do I find out for sure if he has a thing for people with...things? I can't just ask him, can I? I have feeling that could be frowned upon and a little insensitive."

"Maybe he takes pictures of girls because he has a fetish..." After a moment Twyla realized what her words were doing to her friend's confidence so she attempted to mend the damage dealt by her wild theory. "Maybe....maybe he was digging you." The blond blinked a few times. "That is so weird to say....anyway....maybe he does like you and he's afraid to show it--like he really does think you're this totally awesome person but he was nervous! Like more nervous than you! That's why he showed you that spot butcouldn 't kiss you!" Twyla began to talk faster as the ideas flowed through her mind. "Maybe--Oh my god! Henri, he's secretly really shy and he wanted to kiss you, but he wanted that first kiss to be special. He was worried that he was going to mess it up." She clapped her hands together. "Henri, that's so sweet. He is so adorable!" This was a much better scenario than Van being a homosexual.

Steadily, the chips and dips were becoming scarcer as they fueled the wild conversation going on between the girls above them.

Henrietta could tell that Twyla was trying to backtrack. All the ideas that came next made the brunette feel a lot better. "That's so cute! He did tell me to call him. I like this theory a lot better Twyla. It would be awesome to have a boyfriend. Did I tell you that I'd never been on a date or anything before? It's so weird. When I'm with Van, I feel less nervous about everything. Just having him with me makes me stop worrying." Henri blushed slightly and proceeded to shove about 4 chips in her mouth at once. She finished chewing and then took a deep breath. She was now trying to take the attention off her red face. "But anyway, if we could go out again sometime, I'd really enjoy that. You'll have to meet him sometime, Twyla." She tried picturing the two in the same room and cringed at the image of them smacking each other. Hm, maybe when I know for sure we'll be going out a while. No need to rush anything, right?

Twyla was relieved that Henri went along with her newer theory. "I think he's totally just this angst filled, arty guy who's actually got a gooey center and you're just poking at his edges right now. You totally have to call him." Avoidance is bliss, and that's what the conversation did. it ignored all of the implications of Twyla's previous musings and went straight on through to the other side in which Van was a Possible Boyfriend which was Big News. Big, unavoidable News.

"And there's totally a reason you feel more comfortable with him so obviously that means something..." Before she could make anymore incriminating statements, the blond chugged down some of her milk. A thought had popped into her head about Henri and the boy being meant to be 'just friends' but she decided that was playing too close to the hardball she'd pitched earlier and decided to drown the thought with nature's beverage.

"So you should ask him on another date. Be the man in this relationship--you don't need to wait for him to call you, if you can vote you can call a guy and ask him to hang out." It was a slightly empowering speech, and the girl just sat for a moment, basking in its warmth. "Yeah, I'll totally meet him..." It was an offhanded comment because Twyla thought of something else. "So where did he take you anyway? You said it was some kind of special...?"

It was nice that Twyla was trying to make her feel better. She smiled at the blonde and took a drink of her Pepsi that had been sitting by the chips. Henrietta spun the stool again and then stopped. "Yeah, I definitely plan on calling him. Don't worry." Looking at her right hand, she began to pick at one of her cuticles around her pointer finger's nail. She was thinking about what she would ask the boy to do if they went on another date together.

"I'd like to think there's a reason for feeling so comfortable around someone I barely know. I don't pour out my guts or anything, but it's pretty easy to have a conversation with him. I've told him some of the stuff that's happened between my mom and I." Taking another drink from her Pepsi can, she sighed slightly. She drank about a fourth of the can before setting it back down. "We'll just have to see how it all plays out, I guess. I'm hoping whatever happens is for the best though."

"Oh, he took me to a junkyard. Everything looked all shiny from frost and stuff. I can't tell you where it is because I promised him. I think I can tell you more about it though." The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It was mostly tires and abandoned playground equipment. There was one swing set that still worked. We were swinging and talking until sunrise. You wouldn't believe how beautiful that kind of stuff can look when it's covered in frost."

Remembering something, Henri looked at Twyla and grinned. "So, what about you and Mirror? How's that going?" The brunette batted her eyelashes at the girl to try to get her to talk. "Well, you need to dish. I totally have to know about this. I like Mirror. They're good people." Henrietta kicked her legs excitedly. "So..?"

Henri feeling better--check. Calling affirmed--check. No more bad comments--check. More info on the special place--check. Talking about Twyla's recent escapades with Maya...not on the list. Why was it not on the list? What was wrong with the world? Why was Henri suddenly talking about Maya? Inside her head Twyla Ashby's mini Twyla's were frantically searching for a loop hole, something--anything to get them out of the strangely uncomfortable turn in the conversation. Avoidance! It had worked before, it could work now. She'd turn the conversation back to Van and pretend like she wasn't blushing. It was brilliant. Simple, elegant, and brilliant.

"He took you to a junkyard? That's kinda weird Henri, I'm not gonna lie. But I guess I can't judge what's important to people...So did he try to kiss you while you were there?" Her glance dropped from the face of the other girl to the salsa con queso and she made herself very busy loading a chip and munching on it, all while looking down. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming swimming swimming...

Or drowning, that worked too. Soon the sudden blush transformed from mild embarrassment and shyness to Something Else. Something that didn't mind thinking about the stolen kiss in the club or the nervous peck in the kitchen that had turned into something More. Something that liked the images and the frantic butterflies they conjured in the girl's belly. That Something was at odds with the innocent parts of Twyla that had no idea what was going on, having no experience in the particular field of study. The Something Else made her nervous, more nervous than she'd been in a long time.

Twyla was obviously trying to wriggle out of the situation. Henrietta raised an eyebrow and smirked slightly. “I’ll answer your question, but I would love it if you’d answer mine. This is Girl Talk. This girl is talking. What about that girl?” She pointed at the other girl and tilted her head slightly. “If you really aren’t comfortable talking about it, you don’t have to. I just think that talking about it might help straighten everything out in your mind. You know what I mean?”

Taking another chip, she dipped it into some salsa. Staring at it for a moment, she popped it into her mouth and chewed it. After swallowing, she looked at her best friend. “Anyway, yes. Van took me to a junkyard. I know it sounds weird, but it wasn’t.” Henri sighed. “And no, we didn’t kiss, not at all.” She looked down and watched as she moved her feet back and forth. Maybe he just doesn’t like me like that. Glancing up at Twyla, she smiled slightly. “Of course, I’ve only technically been on one date with him. Wouldn’t it be bad if tried making out with me on our first date?”

Henrietta could tell that Twyla was embarrassed or nervous at the mention of Mirror. She put her hand on the other girl’s shoulder and smiled. “You’ll know what’s right when it happens. You’re a smart girl.”

The problem with avoidance is that it takes two to tango. Twyla was off tangoing by herself it seemed, because Henri was not letting herself get overly distracted. The other girl had a decided point, it would be a good idea to talk about it--she had wanted to earlier, hadn't she? Did she? Everything kept getting jumbled in Twyla's head and she wasn't sure what she wanted anymore. She tried to organize her unruly thoughts as she listened to her friend answer her question.

"True..." It was easier to talk about someone else's boy issues and soon the blond was back on Henri and Van track. "It's totally legit that he didn't try to kiss you. I'd becreeped out if he'd tried to--Van is definitely just a super sensitive guy on the inside. Don't worry about it." She could read the worry as if the brunette had expressed it aloud. "It's like I was saying before, he was probably totally nervous the whole night. He didn't try to put his tongue down your throat because that's what gentlemen do--it has nothing to do with how much he likes you. Actually, he likes you so much that he didn't want to ruin the moment with spit." Twyla's mind went racing off to the media personifications of gentlemen and she smiled a reassuring smile at her friend. He's like Mr. Darcy... A mental image of the strange boy in period clothing popped into her head. Or not...He's like.......someone...

Smart...sometimes? Maybe, maybe not. It was really a toss up. Smart didn't blurt things out like Twyla when her friend put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I kissed Maya." The tone was matter-of-fact and there was strangely, no blush at all. There was however, a strange feeling in her stomach that made the girl want to smile and run and dance and cry all at the same time.She did none of these things, just waited for Henrietta's reaction.

Again, Twyla threw out some comforting words. Henri appreciated this very much, but had always thought that boys just weren't interested. At least they hadn't seemed to be at school, but that may have been because she wasn't much of a talker at school. It was so much easier to blend in and have people like you when you just sat there and listened to everyone else. That was how Henrietta Braun had gone through all of her schooling thus far, by blending into the background.

Henri was about to eat another chip when Twyla announced that she kissed Maya. She pulled the chip back out before she could choke on it. "Wow, you did? That's awesome. Are you two an item now or what?" The brunette rested her head on one of her hands and looked at the blonde. She had a huge, happy grin on her face. The girl was glad that her best friend had made a move, even if it was on another girl. Henrietta was never bothered by boys liking boys or girls liking girls. That's just the way that some people felt and that was fine.

Sitting up and taking her hand away from her head, she laughed. "You're a halesbian." The girl shook her head at the thought of Van pointing at two girls and saying that. It was something he had done a few times when they were walking on the streets. It seemed like everything ended up back at the stretchy boy.

Were they an item? Were they supposed to be? How did someone become an item with someone else? Was it an internal thing or something other people labeled you? Was she supposed to say something to Maya that day to make them 'official' or something? It was a weird murky mist, this boyfriend-girlfriend business and Twyla wasn't a fan of all the gray area she was encountering. "I don't know what we are...it's kinda like limbo..."

As Twyla pondered on Henri's initial question the other girl said something that made all thoughts halt. "Wait, what? I'm a what? What the heck is a halesbian?" Having never heard the term before, the girl was concerned and more than a little bit confused. And then another can of worms popped into her head: Was she some kind of lesbian? No, the proper term was probably bisexual...could someone be bisexual if they only liked certain girls? Twyla didn't really care either way, it was just weird to think about. At least her parents knew that she was a mutant, otherwise the next time she went home she'd have a lot more to talk about. Mom, I'm a mutant. Oh, and this is my boyfriend who is sometimes a girl. Am I reminding you of Jeanie yet? The thought almost made Twyla giggle, almost.

At least Henri seemed to be supportive or whatever of the whole business. She sat looking at Twyla with a huge grin on her face not unlike a kid who just ate a big bite of cake.

Oh what a tangled web...