/𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐒\ [𝒔. 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌]

𝟓.𝟠.𝟤

"the fear of death follows from the fear of life. a man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time." ~ Mark Twain

~february 1975~ (continued)

On Valentine's night, Marlene had Artemis, Lily, and Mary clear out of the dormitory so she and Dorcas could spend an evening together. It wasn't hard. Mary was going for a night time walk with Peter, Lily wanted some time with Fabian in his dormitory, and Artemis had snuck off again to god knew where. Marlene had stopped asking.

The two girls sat together on Marlene's bed, a Stevie Nicks record playing in the background. Marlene laced her fingers through Dorcas's and smiled when she saw the ink marks splattered all over them. "You work too hard," she said, running Dorcas's hand through hers.

"Staying at the top of the class takes work," said Dorcas with a wry smile. "And those are just because I push down too hard on my quill."

"Then you're too stressed," said Marlene.

Dorcas shrugged. "I'm not stressed," she said simply, and then laughed. "Stop psychoanalyzing my hands, McKinnon."

Marlene chuckled and then leaned forward, her hair swinging over her shoulders, until her lips were inches from Dorcas. Dorcas closed the gap and then pushed Marlene back onto the pink blanket she'd brought from home. She could taste Marlene's bubble gum lip gloss and smell her perfume, and in that moment, all of Dorcas's worries about school faded away. Marlene's hand wandered to the waistline of Dorcas's ripped up black jeans. "This okay?" she asked softly as Dorcas broke away, looking down at Marlene with solemn, yet no less adoring brown eyes.

"Yeah," said Dorcas. "Yeah, this is okay."

Marlene grinned and pulled Dorcas in again, rougher this time, loving the feeling of Dorcas's hand woven in her hair, the other resting on her waist. She was thinking hard, trying to get a read on the quiet girl who always seemed to know what she was doing. Then, it became obvious to her. Dorcas had never actually done anything with a girl before.

As if on instinct, Marlene took the situation into her own hands. "Here," she said gently. "Let's do it like this." She carefully slipped out from under Dorcas and Dorcas laid back down on her back, letting Marlene straddle her hips, gazing up at her in wonder. Marlene had always been a bit of a mystery to Dorcas. She put on a good act of being a mix between the sweet, innocent, pastel pink-loving girl everyone adored, along with her more chaotic side, ready for a fight, eager to stand up for her friends and herself. Now, Dorcas felt like she was seeing both sides of Marlene all at once. Her blue eyes were lit with a tender fire, her hands moved gently, but confidently. Self-assured that she knew what she was doing. Dorcas wished she could be more like that.

Marlene thumbed away a little streak of lipgloss she'd accidentally left on Dorcas's mouth, and then leaned down and kissed her again, faster now, more passionately. She started to unbutton Dorcas's collared shirt, asking again if she was alright. "Yes," said Dorcas, a little breathless. "Yeah, this is- this is good."