Second Place (Safia)

[Deleted]

Marcus looked down at his phone, at the message that he'd gotten just moments ago from his mother.

To Marcus: Can't make it today, hun. Something came up. We'll reschedule and do something even better! I'll call you soon, sweetie.

A small, despondent smile crossed his lips. He should have known Heather wasn't going to show up. Something always came up at the last minute. And whenever she did finally come around, it was always without notice and he was expected to drop everything to indulge whatever plan she had(or most often, didn't have) for the day. He sighed and started typing out a reply.

To Mom: No worries, I understand. We'll get together another time. Love you mom!

Marcus pushed the send button and leaned back on the bench across from the restaurant they were planning on going to for his birthday. People were milling about around him, the dull sound of chattering droning on in the background. He looked up to the high ceiling of the mall then closed his eyes. Now what was he supposed to do?

He sat there like that for a good moment or two before lifting his head again and wiping the dampness from the corner of his eyes. Marcus unlocked his phone again and shuffled through his contacts list until it landed on...that girl...she saved him once. She'd do it again, right?

To Safia: hey safia! I'm at the mall, wanna join me? could use the company, actually XD i'm in front of xxxxxx restaurant. xP

Marcus hovered his thumb over the 'send' button for a good 30 seconds before finally punching it. He wondered who would respond first: Safia, or his mom with an apology and birthday wish? Honestly...Marcus was putting his money on Safia. He slumped back into the bench, his slouch growing deeper from the sheer weight on his heart.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia didn't have anything special planned for the day, just to make some orders she'd gotten on Etsy for some clay sculptures. With How to Train Your Dragon 2 having come out recently, she was getting a load of Toothless orders, which she was thrilled about (yay money!).

When her phone buzzed, Safia glanced up from the lump of black clay she was molding in her hands, brow furrowing curiously. Who would be texting her? A moment of hope made her wonder if it was Rhea, but as she took the device in her hand and opened the message, her heart leapt for another reason. Marc. Safia hadn't seen the other girl for a while, which was a shame, because she'd enjoyed their... First encounter... Quite a bit.

She quickly began typing a reply.

To Marc: Sure, I'm not busy. I'll be over there in twenty or so. I'll bring some cash for food ;P

Did that sound too unexcited? Or would she sound too eager if she added anything? Safia debated before she hit send, then quickly dressed up in a form-fitting black tanktop and jeans short-shorts, which were appropriate for the warm weather. She slipped on a pair of boots and away she went, tossing a small knapsack over her shoulder as she walked.

It took about fifteen minutes for her to get to the mall and another couple to locate the restaurant Marc had mentioned. Safia looked around the crowded area, biting her lip as she tried to find her.

To Marc: Where are you? I'm right by xxxxxx.

[Deleted]

How many times had she done this? Marcus hadn’t kept count, so he couldn’t put a number on it, but it wouldn’t matter anyway. If he told her that she did it all the time, Heather would want dates and times and a finite number, a list in fact, otherwise they never happened. Or if they did, then there was some justifiable reason for it that he shouldn’t be getting upset over.

Damn…was mom always like this? Probably…not, Marcus was just making too big a deal of it. Something just came up. She really would be here if she could. And once she did, she’d have a hell of a story about whatever thing she went through that kept her away.

Right…?

Marcus’ phone chimed again before he could ruminate over those thoughts for too long. He smiled from ear to ear to see that Safia was on her way and instantly started typing a response.

To Safia: Awesome! I’ll be waiting XDD

He hit send and flumped back in the bench smiling excitedly with the phone held up against his chin. Nothing made a guy feel better than spending it with a girl he liked.

A girl he liked…who only liked girls. Sigh…that’s right! He needed to change before she got there. How long had it been? Marcus looked at the time and realized that somehow he’d been gleeing over this for a whole ten minutes! Where did the time go? He quickly sprang up to his feet and looked around to see if there was a place nearby where he could shift without drawing attention.

Nope…not there…not there either…where were the bathrooms? He went on another search now for a sign that said bathroom and when he couldn’t find that, he went on a search for a mall directory. After finally finding one, Marcus located a rather secluded hallway that led down to an isolated security office. He ducked down into it and rounded the corner. He took his time, it only took 30 seconds to change after all, but by the time he was done…she was looking into the eyes of a security guard giving her the queerest look. “Uh….sorry!” she uttered out quickly, and Marcus darted back down the hallway to the main mall area.

That’s when her phone chimed again and she took it out to see Safia’s message. “Shit!” she exclaimed. Marcus didn’t dare look back to see if the security guard was chasing after her, but clomping down the mall like she was, it wasn’t hard for her to attract attention. Finally, she saw the familiar sign of the restaurant, and hollered out to grab the other girl’s attention. “Safia! I’m here! Sorry, had to take a leak, you know?”

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia used to hate standing by herself, feeling like she stuck out like a sore thumb around couples or families wandering around. Like all eyes were on her (even though they weren't). She still didn't like it, but she eased her nerves by leaning against a nearby wall and messed around with her phone, so it looked like she was actually doing something productive and not just awkwardly standing there like she'd gotten stood up.

There was no reason for Marc not to show up. Right? No, she probably just... Had to go to the bathroom, or got distracted by a shop, or something. That's what Safia told herself as she waited for the other girl to either reply to her text or-

Ah, there she was.

Safia looked up and smiled at the oncoming figure, taking a moment to look at what she was wearing. She raised an eyebrow. Marc sure had an interesting taste in clothing, she thought. But Safia wasn't one to judge; it seemed to somehow suit the other girl anyway. "It's alright," she replied with a small laugh and a smile. "I figured that's what had happened." Take a leak? Heh, Marc was definitely an interesting person.

She tugged down the hem of her figure-hugging tanktop before glancing up at the sign of the restaurant above them. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty hungry after walking over here," Safia told Marc with a hand held against her stomach. "Wanna grab something before we do anything else? Thai food sounds good to me." She shifted subtly so she was standing beside the other girl, arms barely brushing. "Unless you'd rather get something else."

[Deleted]

Marcus slowed as she jogged up to the dark-haired girl with heavy footsteps and a big smile. “Safia!” she said again, clearly happy to see the other girl. “I’m glad you could make it, uh…sorry to call you out like this all of a sudden.” She chuckled nervously and scratched the side of her head as she came to a full stop in front of the shorter girl. Safia wasn’t that much shorter than the femme-Marcus, but enough that Marcus had to look down to meet their eyes.

“Huh? Oh, yes! I’d like that too, I’m starving actually!” Marcus was supposed to have an early dinner with his mother about an hour ago, so of course her stomach was starting to feel sunken and knotty from hunger pangs. Despite it’s tightness from being empty, her stomach did a little flutter when Safia brushed up next to her. “Nope, Thai sounds good to me. Uh…you know a place?” Marcus turned her head to look down at the indian girl, her long blonde hair falling further forward over her shoulder. She kept her smile up, bright as the sun. Maybe a little too bright.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia couldn't help but smile a little wider, seeing how happy the other girl seemed to be to see her. It was really an ego boost, having a pretty girl text you out of the blue. "It's alright," she replied with a wave of her hand. Being somewhat tall for a girl of her build, Safia wasn't used to looking up at people, but... She liked the idea of being with someone a little taller than her.

Anyway...

"Great," she replied. "Well, I mean, not great that you're starving, but great that we're both..." Safia trailed off and laughed with a bit of embarrassment. Why did it seem like she always turned into a loser around attractive women? "Thai it is," she replied, glancing around for the place she knew was nearby. "Mm, it's that one," she added as she pointed it out across the food court. "Come on, hungry butt!"

Hungry butt? Really?

Safia snagged Marc's hand and led her over. Fortunately the line wasn't too long, and soon the Indian girl was ordering some pad thai, mouth watering as she waited for it to be ready. "I love food," she admitted with a glance at her companion. "You wouldn't know it looking at me, but..." She chuckled and pinched her thin arm.

[Deleted]

Marcus wasn’t exactly sure what inspired her to text Safia instead of one of her other friends, like Axe, or Salem, or even that cool chick George she met at the Talk…or even one of his own lame guy friends who were all jerks and dorks yet he hung out with them anyway… But regardless of the reason, she was glad she had chosen Safia over the others, especially considering how excited she seemed to be meeting up with the blonde. It was enough to put Marcus in a chronic state of smiles.

“Yeah, of course, it’s not good to be starving, but good if you’re about to go eat food, because it’d suck if you were going out to eat and weren’t hungry because then that’s just…” What was he saying? Marcus should probably shut up before he made a fool of himself.

Hungry butt? Where did that come from?

Whatever. Marcus just followed next to her to the food court, full of giggles, until the reached the place Safia had pointed out. “Really? I don’t think that make that much a difference. I mean, I like food too and look at me.” Marcus motioned to her skinny, non-existent figure. She glanced up to the menu, uncertain of what to get. “Uh…actually, I’ve never really had thai before, what’s it…what good? Any recommendations?”

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia wasn't sure why she was so stupid-happy about this meetup. It just felt good to be thought of when she wasn't around, she supposed. And maybe it had to do with the fact that she'd touched Marc's boobs and the other girl wasn't too weirded out to want to see her again.... Yeah that was probably part of it.

Her smile grew wider and more amused as Marc started to ramble, and she let out a laugh as she bumped into her shoulder. "It sounds like we're both ramblers," Safia told her, still chuckling. Maybe Marc was being a total dork, but the Indian girl found it quite cute.

And it wasn't like Safia was being any more intelligent in what she'd been saying...

There was something else they had in common, though. Both twiggy food addicts, apparently. "It's kinda nice being able to eat what I want and not gain weight, but..." Safia peeked around and then leaned in as though telling a secret. "I do wish I had some more curves sometimes," she admitted sheepishly. It wasn't something she'd admit to just anyone, especially a guy, but... Safia liked and trusted Marc. At the question, she glanced back up at the menu and tapped a finger against her lip. "If you like curry, or if you've never had it before, you could go for one of those. You can choose how spicy you'd like it too," she added, as was indicated on the menu by the little peppers beside the options. "Um... They have teriyaki chicken, too, if that'd be more your taste. Or.... I don't know, just pick blindly and hope you like what you get?" she giggled. Safia herself proudly advertised that she could take any spice level no matter how hot, but she wasn't sure if Marc's palate was more sensitive.

[Deleted]

“Uh, yeah, I guess so, ha ha,” Marcus chuckles out nervously. She really did tend to ramble, didn’t she? It wasn’t even a nervous habit, just habit, but it probably did get worse when she was feeling nervous or awkward. She was kind of glad that Safia didn’t seem to mind it, and actually seemed to be entertained by her geekiness.

“Yeah, I guess that’s kinda cool, but you know, it also kinda sucks that I don’t even meet the minimum weight reqs for featherweight no matter how much I eat, so…” Marcus shrugged. A lot of people would have agreed that it was a blessing to be able to maintain a slim weight like that. Marcus disagreed…at least for herself.

“I..I think you’re..you’re fine the way you…” Marcus trailed off into mumbles, covering her mouth with a hook of her finger. Damn she was acting like such a girl. Well, she was a girl right now, but that wasn’t the point!

Sigh…

“Um..Curry! Curry sounds good, I’ll go with that,” she said with a bit too much enthusiasm. “And I’m fine with all sorts of spicy stuff, I’m like a regular…well, maybe not all sorts, I mean I can handle some but not everything, because let’s face it I’m completely….” Marcus trailed off again. She was rambling. Again. About things that were probably not kosher and whatnot.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia sensed the nervousness in Marc's voice, and glanced up at the other girl, a smile dimpling her cheek. "Hey, I think it's cute," she said, in case she was worried about it. "And besides, I'm glad it's not just me." Safia was half-tempted to make some sort of flirty move on Marc, but... Chickened out at the last minute.

She blinked and considered what the other girl was saying. "Yeah... I can get that," she mused with a shrug. "And it's so much harder to seem intimidating when you're so scrawny," Safia added with a slight scowl, talking about herself. "But I've got tricks up my sleeve to take care of that." Like claws. And scales. And fangs. Not that Marc knew... Yet.

A blush rose on the girl's cheeks as Marc started mumbling, and she gave a small half-grin as she trailed off into silence. "Aww..." she murmured, threading her fingers together with the other girl's and swinging their conjoined arms a little. "I think you're just fine too. M... More than fine, really." Seriously, Marc was stunning. All tall and angular and pretty...

"Curry it is," Safia replied, quickly placing in an order for the blonde for a dish with a pretty high spiciness level. "I bet I could beat you at eating anything spicy," she challenged with a wink as they waited for their food. "I'm like, the Mother of Dragons. Nothing is too hot for me." She grinned and giggled. "A lot of the stuff I cook is too spicy for most people, actually. At least in my experience."

[Deleted]

Marcus blushed in the face of the ‘cute’ comment. Such a tiny word should affect her so much, but coming from Safia, she couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering. This was bad, probably, but Marcus wasn’t thinking about that right now. Just that she really wanted to spend the day with Safia, and was ecstatic that she had responded so quickly to Marcus’ plea for help(even if Safia didn’t know that’s what it was).

“Yeah,” she agreed. She was glad that Safia was someone who could relate to the whole too-skinny business, thought Safia had actually gone out and learned how to not let that kind of thing be a handicap. “Yeah, you said you practice, like, boxing or something, right?” Was that what she said? Marcus didn’t really remember, her memory was pretty shit when it came to details.

The flush on her cheeks only deepened as Safia entangled their fingers and returned the compliments. Was Marcus smiling? She was, wasn’t she? Like a complete dope, no doubt. “Th-thanks…” She wondered if Safia would still think so if she saw Marcus as a boy…? Marcus tried to imagine that scenario…

Which she quickly purged as it ended in her bloody death. Nope, not happening, Marcus liked living.

And what was that saying? It was easier to ask for forgiveness than permission? Damn, that made her sound like some sort of low-life, sexual predator. Marcus would take this secret to the grave!

Marcus laughed along with her contagious giggles. “I’m pretty okay with spicy things, as long as it’s not too much and I have something to wash it down with.” Milk was the usual poison. “Mother of Dragons…?” she repeated somewhat confused. She understood the reference, just not how it applied to Safia.

[Safia Chatterjee]

"Mmm..." Safia hummed, rolling back onto the heels of her feet as she casually kept their hands linked. "I'm in the self-defense club at school, but I do a little boxing on the side," she said. Especially after she'd met Rhea, Safia had been working hard to get stronger. "I'm quicker than I am strong, though, so that's what I use to my advantage." She was also an aggressive fighter too - Mr. Meian, more than once, had had to make her step out of a match when she got too feisty and claws started coming out.

However, she was completely and utterly clueless about the situation she was in. As far as Safia was concerned, Marc was an interesting girl with an interesting name and style. But it worked for her.

If she found out... There was no telling what would happen. She'd lose her trust in Marc, for certain. It would be incredibly conflicting, though, because Marc would still be the same person... And Safia already liked said person.

She grinned. "Well, maybe I'll have to cook for you sometime, then," she replied, shooting the other girl a wink. "We'll see just how... Hot you can take it." When Safia realized how that statement could be taken, she blushed a bit and looked away, biting her lip to hide more giggles. "Yeah... You know, Game of Thrones? She can walk through fire and be totally fine? Oh, and..."

Safia glanced around secretively before holding up her arm towards Marc and concentrating. Scales began to bubble up through her skin and settle over it like black shards of obsidian armor. "There's more to my ability than that, but it's part of it," she said with a grin. After a moment, Safia let the scales fade away, just as their food was called. She snagged both plates and handed one to Marc. "So what's your ability?" she asked as she sought out an empty table.

[Deleted]

Wait, the school had a self-defense club? Maybe Marcus should join…..nah, probably a bad idea. Even if Marcus managed to not get snapped in half on the first day, she probably couldn’t justify to the instructor why she showed up as a girl everyday. “Oh, yeah! Like in those fighting animes, they always say that it’s better to be quick than it is strong.” She wondered if it was too offensive to be comparing reality to cartoons though. “Or something like that, right?” Either way, Marcus didn’t think she’d be able to do it.

“C-cook? For me!?” Marcus’ eyes widened into such a childish awe-filled wonder that there may as well have been stars in his eyes. “I’d like that,” she said, her lips twitching up into a dorky half smile.

It took Marcus a second to understand why Safia had referenced Game of Thrones. “Oh! Of course, because of the ‘hot’-ness and—“ Was that really it? She looked down to Safia’s arm as she showed her the ‘other’ reason for the comparison. Scales? “That’s…that really cool!” Wow, Safia just got cooler and cooler! “So, you’re, like, some sort of dragon girl?” Was it okay to call her that? It was probably better than lizard-girl.

Oh geeze, here it comes! She was asking about Marcus’ ability. “Uh…My ability?” How to explain? Was this the day she died? No, of course not! Just think, this is a good thing! Now she could finally tell her the truth and all this confusion could finally be behind them and…well, either Safia would reject him outright and kill him, or she’d reject him and never speak to him again, or reject him and at least let them stay friends somewhat…

All scenarios said she’d reject him…

Sigh… She followed Safia to the empty table and sat down at it, pulling out her phone a moment to check the time real quick. “My ability…mine is shifting too,” she started. “It’s…” Just then her phone chimed, interrupting her confession, and Marcus stopped mid-sentence to give it a quick glance. Her face fell at the message she saw.

Oh right! I almost forgot. Happy Birthday, sweetie! I’m so glad you’re such a grown up about this. I’ll see you next time I pass through. I’d love to introduce you to Steve! He’s such a sweetie, I’m sure you’ll love him! Anyway, love you! Bye!

Steve? Who the hell was Steve? Marcus looked at the text, all the lightness having fled from her face in an instant. Dammit, she felt like crying…

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia smiled and shrugged, pulling her fingers through her hair. “I… I guess so,” she replied. “But I would like to be stronger, too, as long as I can keep my speed. I have a friend that’s helping me with that.” Rhea was all that Safia wanted to be, albeit probably a hell of a lot more muscular than she could ever hope to be.

“Well… Yeah.” Safia smiled wider. “I mean, I do it regularly anyway, so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to make a little more for someone else.” Just seeing Marc’s excitement made Safia want to go back to Hammel and do it already. “Just let me know what you’d like beforehand and I’ll see what I can do.”

Safia thought back to when she’d told that one guy that her name was Dany and she was the Mother of dragons; she had to hide a snicker. “Thanks,” she replied, scratching the area where her scales had been; it itched. “And yup! Dragon shifter, that’s me. I think there’s a staff guy at Hammel with the same ability, but I don’t really know him.” So as far as Safia was concerned, she was the best.

She nodded when Marcus repeated her question, a look of blissful ignorance to Marc’s plight on her face. “Oh really, you’re a shifter?” Safia asked, raising a curious brow as she took a bite of her meal. Mmm, spicy. She was listening attentively when a chiming sound apparently distracted Marc, and Safia frowned as she noticed the other girl’s expression change over whatever was on her phone. “Hey… Is everything alright?” she asked softly, her curiosity about Marc’s ability overwhelmed with concern for what had happened. “What happened?” She didn’t know if it was her business or not, but she hoped she would get some sort of answer.

[Deleted]

“Really? That’s cool!” Safia was lucky to have someone willing to work with her like that. “You know, I think it’s awesome your so motivated to do all that stuff yourself. I mean, you’re not exactly doing it yourself, you have a trainer, but that you went out and found yourself one and you keep at it so you can get better and stuff…” If that made any sense. Marcus chuckled a bit nervously. “I’m no good at that kind of thing. I have drawings and stuff that I keep telling myself I’m going to finish one day, but then I never do.” It was actually sort of embarrassing, and was the reason why her room was always so messy. She somehow thought that if she left the stuff out, then that would inspire her enough to get to work on it again.

“Okay, yeah, sure! It’s a date!” Marcus winced internally as she said that word, wondering why the hell she used it in the first place. It was just a phrase, though, right? And they were just friends, but friends had ‘dates’ all the time, so it was all cool!

Hopefully.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t know anything about that, but I think it’s awesome that you shift into something so cool! Actually, I love dragons! I don’t know if you saw him last time, but next time you come over I’ll introduce you to Sidney. He’s my bearded dragon.” Marcus actually kind of had a thing for lizards too. So the fact that Safia was part lizard(of sorts) just made her even cooler.

Marcus was revved and ready to tell Safia the truth about herself, but then she was distracted, incredibly so, by the text message that her mom finally got around to sending her. Suddenly, Marcus felt deflated, as if that one message had popped a hole in her and all her energy and excitement from before just drained from her. It took a second for her to notice that Safia was asking about it.

Shit, she should pull herself together, otherwise she was going to worry her friend. “I-it’s nothing! Nothing, really!” she exclaimed with a little too much force. Marcus waved the phone around uselessly. “It was just my mom—“ Her voice cracked as she spoke that word and she swallowed to keep the lump down. Marcus lowered her head, hiding her flushed cheeks and trembling lips behind a veil of blonde hair. “Sorry….”