Warm me up, please (Safia)

[Marnie Sullivan]

It was evenings like this that reminded Marnie how much she enjoyed winters in Vermont. All day, thick, silent snowflakes had fallen over the school, spreading a fresh blanket that hid the muddy footprints dcriss-crossing the grounds and the grimy slush that lined the edges of the parking lot. In class, she'd watched them swirl past the window, as the sky faded from steely grey to darkness. She knew in the morning it meant she'd have to run indoors, but she didn't mind.

It was pitch black outside by the time the final class of the week ended, and most of her classmates were making their way to the cafeteria or heating up microwave meals in their dorms. A glance out the window would show only those flakes that blew close enough to the glass to catch the light from inside. Even so, the downfall showed no signs of abating anytime soon. Marnie herself sat in her dorm, attempting to read but frequently distracted by the sight of it. Maybe tomorrow she'd brace the cold and run outside anyway, if it didn't get too deep.

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia hated the cold. Hated hated hated it. She’d spent most of her childhood in the hot, muggy city of Los Angeles, and her ancestors were accustomed to the hot, muggy climate of eastern India; snow was not enjoyable to the easily cold girl. And she hated being cold, because that meant she had to bundle up, and bundling up meant a greater chance of ripping something if her power went wacky and decided to tear apart her clothes. That was why, when the Indian girl glanced out the window and saw the snow falling heavily, she grumbled and grumped to herself, and headed towards the home ec. room instead of the dorms. No way did she want to go out in that if she didn’t have to.

Fortunately, the classroom was kept pretty well-stocked, so Safia had plenty to work with for dinner. As she went to work, a certain someone came to mind, someone that she thought might be able to help keep her warm this blustery evening. With a sly smile, she pulled out her phone and texted Marnie.

Hey, I’m making chicken masala in home ec, want to join me? Wouldn’t want you to be alone in the cold

For all she knew, Marnie was busy with other friends, but she might as well give it a shot, right? Safia sent off the text and went back to work, eventually peeling off her sweater in favor for her tanktop underneath when the work got her more warmed up.

[Marnie Sullivan]

A chirp from her cellphone was enough to pull Marnie's attention away from the window for the eightieth time. As she reached for it, she wondered absently who it might be; she knew who she hoped it wasn't, but that concern was quickly dispelled when she read the message and her face split into a grin. She wasn't quite sure what chicken masala was, but she knew what a dinner invitation was, and honestly, the book could wait, it wasn't quite as exciting.

But how to respond - the winky face was flirty, right? Considering what had happened? Now was not the time to hyperanalyze, not when it meant she would keep Safia waiting, but all the same....

Mmm, tasty

I bet it'll warm me right up

Sounds great, I'll be there in a few, Marnie finally decided on. A yes, but a safe yes. If she was wrong, no harm done. If she was wrong about being wrong, well... either way, she needed to get a move on.

A hasty minute or two of preening and several more hurrying from the dorms to the classroom wing later, Marnie reached the home ec room. She paused to smooth out her skirt and her hair, which had been pulled back; deep breath, knock, enter.

"Hi!" she called brightly, trying to hit that balance of casual and enthusiastic. "Thanks for - " Her words caught in her throat when she noticed Safia's clothing, or rather where it wasn't. Marnie hurriedly pulled her eyes from the girl's bronze shoulders to her face and coughed. "Ahem, thanks for the invite! What're we having?"

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia realized as she kept working that she felt a little… Nervous? No, that couldn’t be it, she didn’t get nervous! At least, not very often… But the fact was, she kept seeing Marnie’s smiling face in her head, and she couldn’t help but smile dumbly to herself as a weird, fluttery feeling hit her chest. It intensified as her phone buzzed and she read the reply. Marnie was coming over… Yes…!

Ahem. Safia took a moment to fix her hair, which had probably gotten a little fuzzy and unkempt as she worked, before she went back to cooking and tried not to look over her shoulder every ten seconds to see if Marnie was there yet.

When she finally heard that cheery greeting, Safia straightened and twisted around to look at her, not realizing her dumb smile from before had returned. “Hey cutie,” she greeted back with a playful wink. Safia didn’t quite notice Marnie’s lapse in concentration, as she was dealing with her own bout of nervous jitters, but she did nod at the pan she was working in at the question. “Chicken masala,” she replied, waving for her friend(?) to come over and look. “It’s pretty much chicken and yogurt and onions and a ton of spices, served on rice,” she explained. “I wasn’t sure how spicy you would like, though, so we can taste test it soon and see what you think?”

Safia reached across the counter and held out a bag of flattish-looking bread to show Marnie as well. “I got some naan bread to go with it,” she explained, turning towards the other girl. She caught Marnie’s eyes, and she felt her cheeks flush a little bit. She was glad the lighting was dim; she’d set up a couple candles on one of the tables nearby, and aside from the light around the area she was working in, the room was mostly dark. “Thanks… for coming over,” she added, almost shyly. “I hope you weren’t busy. I just thought… Maybe you might enjoy this.”

[Marnie Sullivan]

Cutie? Was Marnie imagining things or was the room suddenly warmer than a minute ago?

By some miracle, she managed to maintain some semblance of composure as she crossed to the stove. Whatever doubts she might have had on the way here, the more Safia said, the more they were dispelled. Which did nothing for her nerves, actually. Indeed, when Marnie spotted a pair of candles off to the side - so that's why it was so dark in here! - her stomach did a flip.

"No, of course I wasn't busy," she replied - wait, that was a bad move, it made her sound like she had nothing to do on a Friday night, which was technically true, except now she had a Friday night date, it was a date, wasn't it? There were candles and everything and she needed to say something else instead of just standing there silently turning red. "I mean, um, homework can wait, it's only Friday, y'know?"

In an effort not to gape like an idiot, Marnie turned her attention to the dish Safia was preparing. Had she mentioned... yogurt? Chicken and yogurt sounded pretty weird to her, but it smelled good, and no way was she about to ruin this by being a picky eater.

"I bet it'll be great," she said, turning back to Safia with a smile. Not for the first time, Marnie noticed her gaze beginning to linger; she hastily cleared her throat and glanced away. "Can I help with anything? I could chop, or... stir, or something."

[Safia Chatterjee]

Safia's nerves were slowly settling as she adjusted to Marnie's presence. You've got this, she told herself. The other girl didn't seem disturbed or confused by the whole setup, so that gave her some confidence as well. She didn't even realize a few scales had popped up on her shoulders until they were melting back into her skin. Whoops. Nervous habit.

"Oh, good," she replied, once again ignorant of Marnie's internal turmoil. "I come in here quite a bit by myself, so I just, you know... Thought it would be nice to have some pleasant company for once." Safia sent the girl a smile. "Oh man, don't even remind me about homework," she laughed. "I already have a paper due next week, and this time I don't even have a lovely partner to help me research." Hint hint. That project that had done together had been awesome, and she gave Marnie much of the credit for it. They worked well together... Hehe.

"It should be... I've made it several times before, so unless I do something dumb, I have confidence in my abilities," she said brightly. Safia looked at Marnie just as the other girl looked away, and she smiled to herself. "Hmm... I'd ask you to cut the onion, but that would be rude, so how about you stir while I do that?" she suggested. Safia offered her friend the spoon before she went and started peeling the onion she had set aside. "I think I've pretty much burned out my tear ducts from all of the spicy food I've cooked in my life," she giggled, starting to chop. "Try not to get too close, though, you might not be as... Immune." The burn of the vegetable hit her as she sliced to the center, but as she predicted, her eyes barely watered at all. "It should be ready pretty soon after this," she added, smiling.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Hearing Safia talk about the paper they'd done together, calling her lovely... It was becoming more and more difficult for Marnie to ignore the giddy pressure swelling in her chest. Long after that project had concluded, it had remained on her mind - mainly one particularly memorable study session, when she'd learned that she hadn't been imagining Safia's flirtations. When it was over and they'd returned to being classmates, Marnie had puzzled over the same questions for weeks: What had it meant? Was it just a fun hookup? Did she really like Safia that much, that way, or was she only experimenting? How did it compare to what she'd done with Lucas? And what were the chances of it happening again?

Being too nervous to try anything herself, Marnie had just about convinced herself that the chances were slim to none, and that she was fine with that. But here, now, with candles on the table and hints mingling in the air with the spices, she felt her hopes rising and did nothing to stop them.

"Okay, sure." Marnie took the spoon Safia held, hyper alert to their fingers brushing, and stationed hersel at the pan next to the other girl. Safia was right - this close, the mixture stung at her eyes and nostrils as she stirred.

"You know, um, if you wanted," she began, struck by an idea that seemed completely ridiculous now that she'd opened her mouth, but oh well, too late. "I could maybe help you with that paper. And who knows - " Marnie shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "If you get a good grade on it, you could, maybe, cook for me again. A-as a thank you, I mean."