Bad Luck: GPOY {Dani}

[Lany Bishop]

The Bishop family was a large one, so they ended up with a big pile of clothes by the end of the week. The remaining Bishops who lived at home often found themselves on rotation duty – separate laundry times would rack up absurd electricity rates, after all! Besides the odd grumble or two, this system worked pretty well; they’d empty the hampers, put it in a big old washing machine, dry it out and dump it off in each Bishop’s respective rooms.

Lany wasn’t altogether neat – though she wasn’t filthy, either – so she’d left the un-folded heap of clothes where one of her siblings had dropped it. She’d been planning to get around to it. After today, she’d swear up and down to handle her laundry as soon as it was in her hands, because she noticed too late that her shirt was uncomfortably small. It’d shrunk. The folds bunched up under her arms and constricted her chest. She had to keep pulling the ends down so as not to expose bare flesh, constantly, her cheeks red from embarrassment at just the thought of anyone seeing…imagine if she got sent home!

She kept to herself the whole day, only sharing with her two or three close friends her predicament. She had to put her jacket behind her as she sat, so it wouldn’t – well, ride up.

Now Lany stood awkwardly in line for some school lunch, her hands fingering the hem of her wrinkled shirt, tugging in vain so that it might reach the edge of her hip hugger jeans.

[Danielle Cooper]

So. Hungry.

Dani’s stomach growled as a complaint about how the girl had forgotten to eat breakfast because she had been playing Final Fantasy XIV all morning. She had lost track of time because she was in a dungeon, and then had to rush to class so she wouldn’t be late. She made a mental note as to never let it happen again, considering she felt like she hadn’t eaten in about ten years.

But lunchtime was finally here, and Dani couldn’t be happier about it. The teen scampered towards the cafeteria, and immediately spotted her friend in line. Without a second thought, Dani walked up behind Lany and poked the girl’s side. “Hey there!” she grinned widely. What could be better than this? Lany and food. In that order.

After actually getting a moment to realize that Lany was tugging at her shirt, Dani couldn’t help but to giggle a bit. “Nice shirt.” Dani of course didn’t mean it in an offensive way, but just to have a bit of fun, “What happened?”

[Lany Bishop]

Danielle’s finger at her side made her start. She whirled around, her ponytail flouncing to the side. “Oh,” she said, when she realized who it was.
Dani was something of a friend…a casual one at the moment, but still a friend. The two seemed to get along well, being girls of similar disposition (though Dani always seemed more outgoing and bright than Lany was).

“It’s, uh…” She tugged down at her shirt again. She could see it start to show bare flesh again, and she’d eaten too many sweets as of late – her hips were starting to bulge a bit over her jeans! “Th-they shrunk in the dryer.”

Embarrassed, her cheeks growing red, she held up her hand to half-cover her mouth with her fingers. Her voice was quiet. “I didn’t have time to find anything else, so…”

[Danielle Cooper]

Oh. This girl was just too cute. When the other spun around, Dani gave her her best grin, glad to see she wasn’t in trouble for the poke.

If anything, Dani didn’t find too much wrong with the shirt. Even if there was just the tiniest amount of skin showing, but Dani might have been biased over it all, seeing as she had a small crush on the girl. But really. She looked super cute, even in a shirt that was too small.

But Dani’s eyebrows knitted together at the girl’s embarrassment. She must have really hated the situation. “Do you wanna borrow one of my shirts?” Dani offered without a second thought. “I’m in a dorm, and we’re pretty much the same size. I bet we can find something for you.”

[Lany Bishop]

The shirt might not have been too noticeable by anyone else’s standards – except that it bunched up under her arms and around her waist, and peeked up every time she moved…but it was especially humiliating to Lany. She was a self-conscious girl, and always had been. Even standing here in line (without any evidence that any around her even noticed) was killing her. Her face was a bright pink-red.

Not only was she self-conscious, she was also a little oblivious. Dani probably hadn’t let much of her crush show, but even if she had, Lany would be slow in realizing it. She only knew that Danielle was kind and supportive. She was fun to talk to, and she’d such a bright, warm smile. Lany lifted her hand over her mouth. She still looked quite humiliated.

“Do you think we can make it?” she mumbled. Lunch was only for another twenty minutes or so…and walking to the dorms would take at least eight. “That’d be…a big help.”

“I’ll wash it afterwards and – I promise I won’t shrink it!” she said, this time clasping her arms behind her back and giving Danielle a shy smile.

[Danielle Cooper]

Was that a challenge she heard? A grin spread across Dani’s lips as she immediately took hold of Lany’s hand. “Well, we better hurry up then!” With that said, Dani tugged the girl and started headed for the dorms, Lany in tow.

She continued speaking as they headed towards the dorms. “I’m not too concerned about it.” Dani said honestly, “Well, I mean, if you didn’t shrink it, that’d be cool.”

They had reached their dorm in record time, and Dani gave Lany a wink as they got to the door. “See? We’ve got this.” She stated with reassurance as she glanced at her watch.

Penelope opened the door to her room. It was crowded with computer parts, video games, comics, and other various trinkets, everything organized in her own, disorderly way. Her bed was sloppily made, and as she entered she went straight to her closet, which was surprisingly neat considering the rest of her room.

"What will it be?" Dani asked, going through her shirts. Most were graphic t-shirts of various geeky references, but she also had a few regular blouses.

[Lany Bishop]

Lany had seen Dani’s room a few times before. She didn’t mind the borderline messiness. Lany wasn’t super neat herself, though she did like to make sure the floor and bed were clear. She smiled meekly as Dani rifled through her closet, her hands clasped before her, eager to get the tight shirt off.

When she called her over, Lany approached. She blinked, gazing into the closet. “Umm,” she said – something she said often – and carefully reached inside to shuffle the clothes hangers to and fro, in order to get a better look at them. She figured anything would work. She’d been eating a little too many sweets lately and she was starting to get the tiniest muffin top above her jeans, but she and Dani were still more or less the same size.

Finally, Lany pulled out a shirt she thought might loosely fit over her hips. She might have been overestimating, but she really wanted to overcompensate for her little hiccup this morning.

“How ‘bout this?” she asked, holding it up to her chest. It was a black T-shirt, with four pixel hearts, Zelda fashion.

[Danielle Cooper]

Dani watched carefully as Lany picked through her shirts. The idea of the aerokinetic wearing one of her shirts was…just too cute. Dani scratched the back of her head as she thought of what might be a good suggestion, but all of her shirts were too great, that was why she bought them in the first place.

She watched as Lany pulled out one, and a grin immediately took over Dani’s face, eyes lighting up with excitement. Of course this girl would choose a shirt that referenced the best video game series of all time! It didn’t matter if the shirt was a little big or not, Dani was sure that it was going to look wonderful on the other.

“Great choice!” she chirped, offering a thumbs up. “Uh, here. I’ll turn around or something so you can change.”

[Lany Bishop]

Lany giggled. Dani’s bright smile was infectious; she too grinned wide, except her cheeks flushed red. Clinging the shirt to her breast, she nodded. “A-alright. This one then.” She looked down at it. “I haven’t played many video games, but…I think I remember this.”

She looked up. “Just a little.”

At her offer to turn around, Lany simply nodded and turned away, so even if Dani kept watching, she’d only see her back. She crossed her arms to pull the shirt over her head, and let it drop to the floor. The black T-shirt was such a huge relief compared to her restricting top. It fell comfortably over her hips. “Oh,” she breathed. “This is so much better.”

Lany turned around. “You can look now,” she said, then spread out the shirt from its bottom. “How’s it look?”

Giggling, she came closer to embrace the other girl. “Thanks, Dani. You’re a real lifesaver.”

[Danielle Cooper]

This girl could not get any cuter. Seeing Lany grin back at her made Dani want to just reach out, pull her into a hug, and never let go. Instead, the Asian opted to shove her hands in her pocket, trying to not look too excited that her crush would be wearing a shirt that represented one of the best video games of all time.

“It’s The Legend of Zelda,” Dani chirped, “You know…if you ever wanted to play games, I have an awesome set up here.” The Asian motioned to the space around her. It was true – Dani had built it into what she liked to think was a gaming paradise considering the limitations of dorming. “We can make a day of it!” Was this an attempt to possibly have an excuse to cuddle up with Lany in her bed all day? Yes. Yes it was.

Dani went to turn as the other started to change, but she couldn’t help but to let her gaze linger over Lany’s figure as she pulled off the shirt. A goofy smile played about her lips; Lany was beautiful. She held her gaze for just a bit too long before Dani jerked her head in the opposite direction, forcing herself to look away.

Not that she had to for long, for Lany already gave her permission to look again. Dani turned to face the other, her goofy smile quickly turning back into her classic grin. “Excellent!” She meant it, too.

Dani was never one to shy away from an embrace, let alone one from Lany. “It’s no problem, really!” She replied, wrapping her arms around the aerokinetic and giving her a loving squeeze. “Anything for you.”

[Lany Bishop]

Lany had a typical ‘straight’ person mindset, more so as someone who was relatively sheltered, and whose only familiarity with romance had come from books and tv shows, which were, of course, overwhelmingly heterosexual. Lany had never considered being otherwise. She was attracted to guys enough, anyway – still found them ‘cute’ if asked, or handsome, or whatever…but all she knew otherwise was that she liked it when she and Dani embraced. She liked the way her head rested under her chin. That, and she had always found Dani quite pretty.

Lany took a step back. “Anything?” she laughed.

Video game day did sound like fun. “Sure. I like watching you play,” she said, and it was true; for an introverted girl like Lany, sitting around chatting with friends was better than a night out. “I don’t know much about it. I think I’ve seen John and Jacob play it, a little.”

She hadn’t stopped to watch them. “How ‘bout tomorrow? I’ll bring some cookies I made.”

[Danielle Cooper]

Dani knew Lany was straight, so much in fact that she needed to constantly remind herself of it. She tried her best not to pout as the other pulled away, but managed to shake it off as she offered another warm smile. “Anything!” she replied without hesitation. Dani just adored this girl too much for her own good.

Her eyes lit up as Lany agreed to her offer. “I’ll teach you how to play, too!” she chirped, bouncing a bit in her excitement. It was impossible to contain it.

“Tomorrow? That’s perfect!” The lights flickered just slightly as she beamed back at Lany, and Dani immediately glanced up at the ceiling. They continued to flicker in and out a few more times before settling. “Sorry ‘bout that.” Dani said sheepishly, bringing a hand to the back of her head. High emotions, especially excitement, always caused her ability to get a little out of hand.

She glanced at the clock quickly, before her eyes going a little wide. She had completely forgotten about their time limit. “We’re gonna be late…”

[Lany Bishop]

Lany looked up at the flickering light. She was surprised at first, and a little alarmed, thinking that they might be cast in darkness due to some power mishap…but then she heard Dani apologize. Lany tilted her head, and smiled. “Oh,” she said, like she’d put two and two together. She remembered Dani telling her her powers, but she had yet to see them in action (even such a minor thing as this). “That’s fine.”

She felt humbled in the face of Dani’s enthusiasm. It made her cheeks red. She wasn’t sure she was worth it all, being very quiet, and reserved, and (she thought) probably not as much fun to be around as a party-goer…it made her shift her feet and look down to hide the bashful smile spreading across her face.

And the shirt. She’d done a lot to help her, too. “You’re right,” she said. “Thanks so much – I’ll bring this back to you, tomorrow, all washed up and everything.” Lany put her hands up to her lips. “Let’s go…I’d hate to make us late for class.”