Til I Hear it From You (open!)

[Firecracker]

Firecracker sighed as she entered the empty parlor. She walked over to the bookshelf and let her eyes scan across the shelves, reading the titled printed on the worn spines of the books. She closed her eyes before picking a random book. She tucked it underneath her arm, not even bothering to look at it before bringing it with her over to the couch. She flopped down on the couch so she was resting against the arm and her legs rested along the rest of old cushions.

She took out the book and finally looked at the cover before opening it. Her conversation with Specs the previous night had left an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she should try to talk to Wraith about their "situation." But what if the other girl's feelings didn't echo her own? Quickly, she shook her head and forced herself to look at the word printed on the first page.

Stop it, she scolded herself. If it was meant to be, she would've talked to you about it already. Just forget it. Move on.

[Wraith]

((*pounce*))

Wraith had never been more tired in her life. In the space of a few weeks, she'd bonded with an amazing girl who made her feel so light and happy and whole...and then her brother was shot, and moved to Brooklyn before he'd even recovered, and her friend had a miscarriage right in front of her eyes.

She was beginning to think that Pearsons weren't destined for happiness...that their very presence brought disaster down on everyone around them, and they were meant to spend their lives alone. In any case, she was so damn tired, body and soul, that she didn't want to do anything but collapse by the fire in the parlor, gaze into the flames, and think of nothing.

But what she found in the parlor was another kind of flame, a kind that she immediately realized she would much rather gaze at. "Hey, Fire," she said with a weak smile, going limp with relief at the sight of her and collapsing into a nearby chair.

[Firecracker]

((hay hay!!))

Fire's head immediately lifted at the sound of Wraith's voice. She couldn't just be imagining this, could she? "Hi..." she said shyly. She carefully closed the book and let it rest in her lap. She looked across at the other girl, unable to hold back a smile. "Long time no see."

[Wraith]

"I know." Wraith winced. "I'm sorry. Lately, things have been..." She didn't even know where to start, or how much Fire would have heard already through the ever-dependable rumor mill. "Things have been crazy," she said at last with a weary sigh, drinking in the sight of her beautiful friend. "All I could think these past couple weeks was that I'd rather be with you."

She bit her lip after that, wondering if she should have said that. After all, things with Fire were currently much like they'd always been with Kennedy--she didn't really know where they stood.

[Firecracker]

Upon hearing Wraith's confession, Fire could feel her face immediately get hot. "Really??" she asked, her eyes wide with surprise. She picked the book up and set it down on the coffee table. Sitting up, she scooted over to the edge of the couch closest to the chair Wraith was sitting in.

"I've felt the exact same way," she confessed, her voice soft just in case anyone happened to be walking by. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned about you. I was starting to think that you had left for good." Not that she didn't deserve it considering how she had up and disappeared without any warning less than two months prior. "I... I missed you, Clara."

[Wraith]

Her heart melted at the sound of Fire's voice saying her name. Less than two minutes in her presence and she was already wondering why everything had seemed so hopeless. And for someone she hadn't known very long and didn't even know very well, that was nothing short of a miracle.

"I missed you too, Felicia," she admitted, her cheeks flushing. And to her dismay, a tear spilled down her face. She wiped it away quickly. "I--sorry, I just--I'm really happy to see you, and it's been a...a long week." She struggled to pull herself together. She was this close to sobbing in Fire's arms, and she had absolutely no right to unload all her problems on Fire like that. She had problems of her own, no doubt. "H-how've you been?"

[Firecracker]

Fire watched Wraith carefully. Even though the other girl wasn't saying it, she could tell that something wasn't right. "I've been fine, aside from not being able to see you," she replied with a shrug. "I was actually just thinking about you last night. This guy that lives here started asking me about my 'boyfriend'. Needless to say, I made almost all of it up. Almost."

Her forehead wrinkled as she studied Wraith's face again. "Clara, is something wrong?"

[Wraith]

Wraith chuckled briefly. "I've been there before," she admitted, remembering the time she told Script a tale of woe about 'Kenny', her own former 'boyfriend.' At Fire's question, she sighed again, looking down at the floor. "I...my brother got hurt. He's all right, though...I mean, he's living in Brooklyn now, but other than that..." She fidgeted. "And my...my friend got...sick. She's not all right, not yet. So I'm a little..." Out of sorts. Obviously. "But I'm really glad to see you," she repeated with another valiant smile.

[Firecracker]

"I'm glad to see you again, too," she assured the other girl. She got up and walked over to Wraith's chair. She paused a moment before leaning in to hug her. "I'm sorry about your brother and your friend," she whispered softly. Sure, it wasn't much of a help, she was sure of it, but it was the best she could do.

[Wraith]

Wraith hugged her back--quite desperately, in fact--and had to force herself to let go after a normal interval. "Thanks," she said softly. "I'll be all right." I'm already better now that you're here. Struck by an unexpected wave of shyness, she got up and went to the fireplace, picking up the poker and prodding at the coals to warm up the room a little.

[Firecracker]

Confused, Fire bit down on her lower lip and sat on the arm of the chair. She carefully tucked a stray curl back behind her ear and sighed. It was killing her to see Wraith like this!

"Do, umm, do you want me to give you some space," she asked, mostly to break up the awkward silence that had fallen over them.

[Wraith]

"No!" she said quickly, looking up from the fire, then blushed again. "No," she repeated in a normal tone of voice, setting the poker down and going back to her chair, where she sat and looked anxiously at Fire. "I mean...if you want to sit here and talk a while...I'd like that. A lot."

[Firecracker]

"I want to stay, of course I want to stay," Fire answered quickly as she turned her head to look down at Wraith, still perched on the arm of her chair. "I just didn't want to interrupt anything. You seem pretty lost in thought."

She shrugged and let her hands come to rest on her knees. "What would you like to talk about?"

[Wraith]

"I don't know," Wraith said, with a bit of a laugh that was more nerves than anything. "I don't want to burden you with all my troubles. It would all make kind of a long story, anyway." She looked at Fire, then down at the carpet, then up at Fire again, and took a deep breath. Weeks of stress must have made her bold, judging by the next words that came out of her mouth (after she glanced at the door to make sure it was firmly closed). "We could...we could talk about us."

[Firecracker]

"Us?" She asked, her heart practically jumping up into her throat. She swallowed hard and slid off of the arm of the chair and onto the floor so she was now facing the other girl. "What about us?"

A million different thoughts raced through her mind. Was this going to be 'the talk' that she had discussed with Specs the night before, or was Wraith going to turn her away? She was almost too nervous to continue with the conversation! Finally, she took in a slow breath. "I think it would be good to talk about us."