【 Stranded 】 Miguel O'Hara

Part 8

Lori knocked lightly outside Gigi's window, pacing on the veranda as she waited for her friend to open it.

Miguel was back at home, deciding it best to minimise any suspicion from Gigi. So Lori was alone on her recon mission, taking some well-needed time away from him.

Since yesterday, other than feeling awkward around him, there had been an incessant sensation of something tight in her chest. And it wasn't only because her dimension was at risk, though that was a defining factor...

It was... Because of Miguel.

Previously she had never been nervous around him, despite his intimidating front. And her habit of teasing him had shown that. But after learning that he was... conscious of her as a member of the opposite sex, something had changed in the way she thought of him. And that something was confusing her to no end.

And so she was glad to get away from him, albeit only for a little while. She needed some time to sort things out, to get back to her usual self around him. To be ready enough to pretend that nothing happened yesterday.

And of course to find out Alchemax's supply route. That was crucial too.

The sliding open of the window from the inside made Lori jump in surprise. Gigi popped her head out. "The window is always open for you y'know. You don't have to knock." She said, greeting Lori with a smile.

"Thanks." She returned the smile but scolded. "That's not safe though. Keep it locked." Gigi merely rolled her eyes playfully as she stepped out of the way for Lori to slip through.

As soon as she did, Gigi pulled Lori into a tight hug, causing her to widen her eyes a little.

"I'm sorry about last Friday. I shouldn't have tried to set you up with Marcus out of the blue. It was silly."

Lori slowly returned the hug, patting her friend on the back. She hadn't even thought about last Friday, though she had been a bit peeved at the time. So much had happened since then with Miguel, Harriet and the collider that there had been no capacity in her mind to hold a grudge.

"It's all good, I know you meant well." Lori said, grinning. "And hey, you can make it up to me."

"Right, you texted me about a favour?" Gigi pulled away from her, taking a seat at the dining table on the side where her laptop was placed. Lori brought up a seat next to hers.

She nodded and said in a serious tone. "And no questions asked."

"Ooh, this should be fun." Gigi clapped her hands together.

The two had a sort of pact. 'No questions asked' favours. It was something Lori knew Miguel wouldn't have taken seriously which was why she opted not to tell him, but to the girls it was sacred. She remembered when Gigi had first started it after showing up to Lori's loft in the same clothes as the night before, and since then they had used the pact scarcely back and forth.

Gigi opened up her laptop. "You said it was some hacking stuff right? Like an Instagram account or?"

Lori scrunched her nose, cringing. "...I kinda need you to hack into Alchemax's system."

Gigi froze and her eyes darted from her screen to Lori. "Uh huh... Okay, a bit less fun than I thought."

"I know– I know, it's crazy. But it's really important. I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't."

Gigi stared Lori down with a puzzled expression. "Y'know, I'm really regretting making this no-questions-asked rule a thing. I'm dying to know why you would possibly need to do this."