Disguised In Lavender

Part 10

It only took a moment for Ann to find what she was looking for and notice the roommate had vanished. Lauren glanced up from staring out the window when she heard Ann close the cabinet and unscrew the little bottle of Neosporin. Dabbing a bit on her pointer finger, she crawled up close to Lauren, laying her other hand on her thigh for balance. Gentle strokes laid the cream across the rider's under eye as she stayed perfectly still, not daring to lower her eyes from the ceiling. Her breath felt forced as though her lungs were squeezed shut, her thigh where Ann leaned burnt and her skin along her fingers tingled.

"So are you not gonna tell me what happened?" Ann asked as she sat back, twisting the cap back on the medicine when she'd finished and tossing it onto Zack's bed. "Nothing." Lauren whispered, touching the cold cream along her eye and glancing back up as Ann caught her wrist. "Don't-Don't touch it." She stammered when she realized what she'd done, letting her hand drop with her gaze. "Thanks for this, I would never know how to do it." Lauren laughed lightly, her heart soaring when Ann lifted her gaze and revealed her dimpled smile, rolling her eyes. "Getting into fights and not being able to fix them doesn't seem very responsible." Maybe not but it hadn't crossed Lauren's mind that morning at the barn, she was purely protecting her friend.

"What about your class?" She asked, drawing the subject away as Ann leaned over her and took her swelled wrist cautiously.

They were close enough to hear each other's breath, Lauren felt herself relax at the pounding feeling of Ann's pulse on her arm. "I hate to say it but class seems a little bit unimportant doesn't it?" She smiled, lifting her hand and ducking her head to look into Lauren's eyes as she drew her fingers over the swollen joint. "Not if you get kicked out and I end up bleeding out." Lauren sighed, letting her arm to limp as she bit her lip against the numbing pain in her wrist, slowly lifting her gaze to Ann's. "I'm sorry about blowing up this morning." The atmosphere turned somber as Lauren recalled the stinging words they'd both shared before her scuffle with Dalla.

"Don't be, you're cute when you're mad." Lauren broke into a grin as blush coaxed around Ann's cheeks, a suppressed smile making her cheeks grow fluffier. "I know about Dalla, JK told me this morning by my locker. For the record, you're cute angry too, even if I don't understand how you're so brave." The pain in her wrist vanished as she gazed at Ann, smiling to herself at the sheepish stammering that made her toss her head back in laughter at herself. Even if Dalla was trying to use Ann against her, Lauren was positive that it wouldn't work even if she beat the rider to a pulp.

Feeling as if Ann had gone silent in displeasure, Lauren leaned forward and propped her elbows on her knees, holding up her chin. The trainer glanced up and huffed in amusement, scooting back and mirroring her with a scrunch of her nose. "What?" She asked as Lauren rolled onto her side to look up at Ann with her thumb and pointer finger making a canvas. "I'm trying to decide how we're going to go riding when you're afraid of horses." Ann crossed her arms and crouched over Lauren, folding her legs under her to appear even taller. "I'm not afraid of anything." She insisted as the rider burst out laughing, throwing her arms around her neck to pull herself up, freezing as their foreheads touched.

Ann blinked in surprise, craning her neck back and swallowing the lump in her throat as Lauren lowered her arms. "You seem to be fine by now, maybe I should get a nursing degree." The tension dissolved into giggles as both fell onto their backs, using their hands to shield the sun slanting across them from the window. "Shouldn't we get to class?" Ann asked reluctantly, crossing her arms across her chest, facing Lauren with a pout. "I guess so, thanks by the way, for forgiving me and everything." That smile would get her every time, make her wish she was riding free across the hills where her father's ranch stood with Ann beside her.

Best friends were just that way, no one had made Lauren want to do everything with them in a long time, it felt so good. "Not a problem, ah, and about the horse thing, meet at the stables after final bell?" Lauren's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously, bouncing up to watch clap her hands excitedly. Fear was a worth thing to get over if it made Lauren so happy, Ann thought idly to herself as Lauren went quiet with a goofy smile, planning their route.

"I have History, don't touch that scratch and it's only a rug burn on your wrist, reapply the neosporin tonight." Ann instructed as she heaved herself to her feet, straightening the sleeves of her flannel blouse. Lauren made a disappointed face but dangled her feet over the bed, sighing as she stood. "Just make sure you're not late." She pointed a stern finger at Ann who rolled her eyes and waved a farewell as she left before Lauren. Stay, she wanted to run after Ann and make her lay back beside her with the warmth of her body beside her. The feeling of her glossy hair hanging in waves down her back as they fell over her shoulder and tickled Lauren's arms. Though the hope that she'd get to ride with Ann to the lake that night made her spur into action, grabbing her bag and dashing back to the school building.

Five hours, then four, then three, Lauren slipped into her seat in her final class beside Tae, unable to stop her leg from bouncing. "What?" He huffed finally, grabbing her and shoving her to the ground, glaring at her irritably as his curled hair dangled into his eyes. "Jeez I'm just excited, what's with you?" Lauren grumbled back, pulling her legs to the opposite side of the desk and having to twist fully around and see Tanner. He sighed and laid his hands open on his desk, staring at them as if they were the most boring book he'd ever read. "JK's parents are coming to town tomorrow. He's not out and they're staying for the rest of the semester." Lauren knew JK wasn't out to anyone outside of the dorms but she could have sworn he would have told his parents.

"Oh, are you gonna be alright?" She asked gently, spinning back to face him fully and patting his shoulder gently, pushing away the urge to tell him about Ann. "Yeah, it just sucks. He said he would sneak me out though so I guess that's alright." Tanner's face broke into a small smile as he muttered the last part to himself, Lauren chuckled and punched his arm lightly. "Who knew, a 'bad boy' like Justin is sneaking his boyfriend out while his parents are around, cute~." She teased in a sing song melody, noticing Tanner's face go crimson red as he tried to shut her up, covering her mouth with his wide hand. "Come out with us sometime, we found this really neat abandoned cabin at the edge of the woods. Bring Ann, it'll be fun." The mention of Ann's name made her turn serious, bordering possessive and hoping Tanner hadn't seen.