Thin As Water

10.

The change was subtle. Perhaps, it was even only in Lil's mind. Daisy certainly had more on her plate now that play season had once again begun, and Lil herself was busier as the grind of school without a break caused more students to act out. But as October turned to November, Lilian couldn't quite shake the feeling that something had changed in Daisy, that she was more distant than usual.

 And even stronger was the feeling that it was her fault.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lilian walked down the hall, her usual optimism pasted on her face. Her mind was quite another story, but she'd be damned if she allowed herself to lose control again like she had with Daisy. Goodness, Lilian, you've survived years of abuse without much more than a few screams, you can't go soft now.

As she walked, thoughts swirling through her mind, she noticed Christina sitting by herself in the quad, reading a book. Lil paused. She hadn't seen Tina alone in weeks, and wondered if, by herself, the girl would be back to normal.

"Hi, Tina." Lil approached with a friendly smile.

Tina looked up, startled. "Hi. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to say hi. We haven't talked in a while." Lil paused, the smile slipping from her face. "Is that ok?"

Tina shrugged noncommittally.

Lil held back a sigh. "So how are you doing?"

Tina shrugged again. "I'm fine."

"That's good. What book is that?" Lil enquired.

Tina pushed the book into her bag with a frown. "Nothing. It's just a stupid book."

Lil raised an eyebrow and Tina squirmed slightly.

"Is it a book you shouldn't have?" Lil questioned in her smooth, head-girl voice.

"No! God, fine. Whatever." Tina pulled the book back out and tossed it at Lil, crossing her arms.

Lil caught the paperback and glanced at it. "Murder on the Orient Express? It's a fine book."

"Yeah, exactly." Tina huffed.

"So why didn't you want me to know you had it?" Lil stared down at the brunette.

"It's just, it isn't me."

Lil frowned in confusion. "But it is. You love Agatha Christie. You always have."

Tina rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I used to. But not really. It's not who I am."

"If it isn't who you are, then why are you reading it?" Lil reasoned.

Tina stood up suddenly and snatched the book back, shoving it deep into her bag. "How do you know? You don't know anything about me, Lilian. God!"

Lil's frown deepened. "Watch your tone, Christina. And of course I know about you, we've been friends for three years."

"We were friends, sure. But that was before you turned into a nosy little b-" The steely gaze that Lil was giving Tina caused her to stop talking and swallow hard.

"Would you like to finish that?" Lil asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"No."

"No what?" Lil took a step forward so that she was only about 8 inches away from the girl.

Tina barely kept from rolling her eyes. "No miss."

Lil silently inclined her head. The two girls stared at each other for a moment, then suddenly Lil shot out her arm and grabbed Tina by the shoulder. Quick as a flash she pulled Tina in front of her and smacked her bottom 12 times, hard.

"Adjust your attitude, Christina. You don't want me to adjust it for you."

With that, Lil turned on her heel and stalked off, leaving Tina glaring at her as she rubbed her bottom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And then she smacked me and told me to adjust my attitude." Tina rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Alissa laughed. "God, and I thought Hazel was bad. She's such a bitch."

"Hazel wasn't terrible. At least she was less invasive of privacy." Tina settled back onto her bed, where she was sitting next to her cousin Katherine. Alissa and her roommate Alivia were sitting on Kat's bed.

"Well yeah, you were friends with her or something. You were probably her favorite." Liv smirked at Tina.

"But still, Lilian thinks that we're still friends or something. With friends like these, who needs enemies." Tina crossed her arms.

Kat sighed. "Look Chrissa. Don't worry about the biatch. She isn't really your friend. We're your friends."

Tina rolled her eyes. "You're the only one who can get away with calling me that, Cuz."

Alissa suddenly smiled. "Hey, what if we messed with her a little?"

Tina raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Lilian. She's so damn focused on her school work all the time. She could use a little fun, don't you think?"

Kat grinned. "What did you have in mind?"

Alissa smirked. "I have an idea."

AN: And the plot thickens. Sorry for the long delay in posting, I'll try to be more regular from now on!

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