Amanda, Bethany - Thursday mid-morning
Apr. 29th, 2004 10:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsFollowing this exchange of emails, Bethany's mother drops her off and she and Amanda have something of a reunion after the Rack incident. Cute warnings.
It helped being the 'neice' of one of the guidance counsellors who just happened to be an ex-spook. As soon as Amanda got Bethany's email, she'd practically flown down the stairs to Pete's office, babbled at him until he finally worked out what was going on and made the necessary arrangements, and now she was 'casually' leaning on the front porch railing, smoking and trying to get her breath back. A car pulled into the driveway and she hurriedly stubbed out her cigarette half-smoked, and straightened her t-shirt, wishing the exhausted trembling in her knees would go away.
The car's not even completely stopped before the passenger door swings open, and despite the exasperated cry of "Bethany!" from within the sedan, sneaker-clad feet hit the pavement running. They don't stop running until Bethany's in a position to yank Amanda into a fierce hug whether she likes it or not, muttering a quick "You scared the piss out of me!" before planting a firm kiss right on the other girl's lips, heedless of who may or may not be watching.
"I scared the piss out of meself," Amanda said when she was able. Which was not soon, as Bethany's kiss left her breathless. "An' yer not exactly discouragin' me from doin' it again if this is what I get, luv." She stroked the hair out of Bethany's face. "'M sorry I scared you."
She leant her head into Amanda's fingers, smiling faintly despite the worried knot that had been residing in the pit of her stomach for far longer than she'd care to think about. "You're okay. S'all that matters. Just try not to do it again too soon, huh? You can get my attention without going to nearly so much trouble."
"'Trouble' is me other name. But I won't be doin' anythin' like that again, believe me. Comas ain't fun." Bethany opened her mouth to ask what the hell she was talking about, but Amanda shushed her with a quick kiss. "I'll tell you in a bit - I'd better say hello t' yer mum first. She comin' in, or just droppin' you off?" She held tightly to Bethany's hand as they headed back over to the car, partly because she didn't really want to let the other girl go, but partly because she'd exhausted herself with the mad rush earlier. For about the hundredth time in the last week, she mentally cursed Rack's draining spell.
"Just dropping me off," Bethany replied as she let herself be lead back to the car, giving Amanda's hand a tight squeeze. "She has an appointment in town, so she's just going to come get me when she's done. We've got a couple hours, given how long these things usually take."
"Perfect." Amanda waved to the woman in the car, who wound down her window. "Hey, Mrs M. Thanks for bringin' Beth."
"We're just glad you're alright, sweetheart," the woman in the driver's seat replied, smiling warmly as she snaked a manicured hand out the window to give Amanda a fond pat on the cheek. "You just let Bethany know when you're up to it, and you'll come over to the house for dinner again, mm?"
"You could bring your uncle," Bethany asided to Amanda, grinning mischeviously at the girl before ducking down to kiss her mother on the cheek. "Thanks for the lift, ma. Two hours, right?"
"Give or take. I'll call when I'm on my way."
"Ta, Mrs M. An' yeah, I'd like that. They tell me I'll be back t' me usual annoyin' self in a week or so, so 's all good." Amanda rolled her eyes at Bethany as she straightened and her mother pulled away. "I just might do that, invite Pete. It'd be a right laugh. Tho' I did say I'd stop causin' him grief, least for a bit, after this whole mess."
"It wouldn't be grief," Bethany sniffed, waving at the retreating sedan before focusing more fully on Amanda, trying not to give her too obvious a looking-over to make sure she's as okay as she said she was. "We are excellent hosts. Now… what's this shit about a coma? What the hell happened to you, baby?"
Amanda sighed, and pulled Bethany back over to the front steps. "'S a fuckin' long story, luv, an' I'm gunna need t' sit down before I fall over." She dropped, rather than sat, on the step, gently pulling Bethany down beside her. "You know how I ain't told you much 'bout me past? Well, there's a reason for that, an' it sort of caught up with me when I was in LA with Angelo."
Easily maneuvered, Bethany settled down next to Amanda on the step, not bothering to hide it as she gave up and began to give her friend a quick looking-over. "He's alright too, right?" she asks after a moment, eyes returning to Amanda's face.
"Yeah, he's fine. I got the worst of it - it was me Rack was after." Amanda's fingers itched for a cigarette, but she settled for wrapping both hands around Bethany's. " I'd best start from the start. I told you me mutant power is t' absorb mystic energy, right? Well, when I was just a nipper, me birth parents sold me t' a black magician, nasty piece of work callin' himself Rack. He wanted me for me power, you see - he used t' drain it out of me an' use it himself."
"Fucknut," Bethany declared with a brief scowl. Slowly shaking her head, she shifted in place enough to lean over and lightly pillow her head on Amanda's shoulder. When the witch starts to continue, Bethany wriggles a hand free so she can press a finger to her lips, peeking up at her without bothering to lift her head from its new perch. "You don't have t' go into it. Can't be fun shit t' think about. Now is nicer t' concentrate on, anyway."
"You asked, luv." Amanda turned to kiss Bethany's hair briefly, before laying her cheek against her head. "Fucker's out of the picture now, thanks t' Pete, an' I'm on the mend, tho' I was out of it for four days, apparently."
"Guess I did ask. Eh. I've un-asked, 'less you need somebody t'talk to about it. How's that?" Smiling faintly, she let her eyes drift closed, tucking herself up against the other girl's side with a little sigh of contentment. "No more comas, okay?"
"That'll do. An' I'm good with it - I was more worried 'bout upsettin' everyone here, an' you an' all." Amanda wrapped one arms around Bethany's shoulders, the fingers of her other hand interlaced with the other girl's. "An' no more comas. I've seen enough of medlab t' last me a lifetime."
"Let's keep it that way," Bethany agreed, practically curling up against Amanda's side as the arm wrapped around her shoulders. "No more comas, no more assholes in town, no more.. whatever else goes on around here." She made a bit of a face before looking up, offering a slight grin that mostly hides her lingering worry. "Only way you could upset me is if you didn't come back."
"Not bloody likely, luv. Got too much here." Amanda took advantage of Bethany looking up to sneak another kiss. "An' if I do anythin' like that again, you have full permission t' kick me arse, okay?" Then a sudden thought struck her, and she untangled her fingers from Bethany's to grope in her jeans pocket. "I've got somethin' for you. Got it in LA, at this thing called the Floatin' Market. Magic user's Tesco's."
She leant into the kiss with a pleased noise, smiling against Amanda's lips. "I can think'a things I'd rather do than kick it, but I'll keep it in mind," Bethany replied with a grin, casting a quick, curious look down as her hand is abandoned. "All that, and you still got me a present?" she blinks, looking back up with a faintly bewildered grin.
"Well, I got it before everythin' went pear-shaped, an' Angelo's mum sent our stuff back over a few days ago." Amanda pulled out a beaten silver bracelet, engraved with Celtic runes inside and out. "'M not sure if it's yer kind of thing, but it ain't just a bit of pretty - the runes are a protection charm. You wear it an' it'll protect you from harm, 'specially the mystical kind. Which might come in handy if you decide t' hang around with me for any amount of time. I don't go lookin' for trouble, but it has a habit of findin' me."
"You're just too damn sweet for your own good, you know that?" Bethany mused with a quirky smile, leaning over to curiously inspect the bracelet. "It isn't my usual fare, I'll admit, but.. I like it." She nodded her approval, sneaking her arms around the other girl to give a quick, tight hug. "Thanks, A. Would it be too mushy if I said I won't take it off?"
"Yeah, I'm a big marshmallow girl, I know. Any cred I had when I got here's completely down the toilet by now," Amanda laughed, returning the hug. "An' no, it ain't mushy. Mainly 'cause I'd feel better knowin' you were wearin' it." She tweaked the catch, and the bracelet fell open. "Pick which hand you want it on, babe." Bethany wordlessly held out her arm, and Amanda put the bracelet on, closing her eyes and murmuring a string of musical-sounding words under her breath. Her fingertips tingled, and the bracelet glowed briefly blue. "There."
"Oooh… glowy." With a smile, she brought her right hand up so she could inspect her wrist's newest acquisition, a little corner of her mind half expecting the spell to have left a new mark on the silver. "I won't take it off," she repeated, grinning and leaning over to give Amanda a kiss on the cheek. "Especially not if it'll make you feel better. S' nice to be worried after."
"So I'm findin'." Briefly Amanda what Manuel was making of the extremely happy feelings that she was projecting, and decided it served him right after his merciless use of the link the previous night. A bit of distraction in the middle of class was appropriate revenge. "I probably ain't up for givin' you the grand tour, but there's any number of places that're more private 'n here an' not that far away..." She followed up the suggestion with another kiss, this one far less chaste than the previous ones.
Bethany made a muffled sound of approval as she found herself being kissed, snaking an arm around Amanda's neck with her best approximation of a purr. "The tour can wait for another time," she replied once she had a chance to catch her breath, her smile impish. "More private and not that far away sounds very good, since we have so very much time to kill..."
"So what're we hangin' 'round here for?" Amanda asked, her own smile wicked. "C'mon, I've got a hidey hole near the library I use t' study - as private as you like."
"Because it's comfy," Bethany replied intelligently, but it didn't stop her from disentangling herself from Amanda and pushing herself up to her feet, not bothering to dust herself off before offering a hand. "You sure it's private enough? I may be a reasonably devil-may-care kind'a girl, but when it comes to activities involving what I hope to be a minimal amount of clothing... audiences aren't my cup've tea." She grinned teasingly.
"It will be," Amanda said, taking the hand and pulling herself up, glad of the help. "Once I lock the door an' put a ward on it." She kept hold of Bethany's hand, using it to pull the other girl in close. "I don't feel particularly like sharin' right now," she added, leaning in and nuzzling at Bethany's ear with her nose, following up with a kiss.
"Audience participation ruins the best shows," Bethany mused in a mildly dazed, distracted voice as she tilted her head towards the attention. "Be as possessive of me as you like. It's cute." She smiled lazily, free arm slinking its way around the other girl's waist. "Show me this hidey-hole of yours, Amanda, 'fore we wind up with one helluva audience."
Amanda chuckled, pressing one last kiss against Bethany's temple before pulling back. "Sorry, got distracted," she said, grinning shamelessly. "There was this really amazin' girl standin' next t' me an' I couldn't help meself." She kept her grip on Bethany's hand and led her towards the front door. "Right. Hidey hole. Privacy. I can do that."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were tryin' to flatter your way into my pants," Bethany mused innocently, quite happy to let herself be lead on by the hand. "You did that after the movie, you don't have to re-flatter me every time you want a roll, y'know."
"I know. Which is why it ain't flattery, 's truth." The halls were empty, everyone else occupied with classes or their own affairs, which suited Amanda down to the ground. She fully intended to make up for the worry she'd caused in as fun a way as possible. "You are pretty fuckin' amazin', so there."
Bethany couldn't help but snort in amusement, rolling her eyes and gently prodding Amanda in the shoulder. "Says the witch. You're pretty fuckin' amazin' yourself. So there." Grinning, she trusted Amanda to lead her around and not run her into anything as she looked around curiously, having a great deal of difficulty hiding just how impressive she was finding the school to be.
A pleased blush coloured Amanda's face. "Yer gunna have t' come back when I'm up for showin' you everythin'," she said, noticing the other girl's curiosity. It reminded her that it really hadn't been that long since she'd first seen the place, although it felt like several lifetimes. "'S pretty impressive." She snickered. "I'd show you me room, but I have roomies an' there's that whole privacy thing..."
"You can show it to me 'fore I have to leave, though," Bethany observed cheerfully. "If we've got time, anyway. Maybe introduce me to some've your friends. Dad'll want to come out when he finds out mom dropped me off, though, so I'll definitely be back at some point.."
"That I can do. You should meet Pete at least, seein' how I already met yer family. An' I'm sure there wouldn't be a problem with yer dad comin' - the X geezer likes t' foster mutant-human relations." Amanda rolled her eyes theatrically, before leading Bethany into the library itself and through the tall shelves of books to a series of doors in the back. "I think these were meant t' be offices for the graduate students or somethin', but no-one uses 'em much, so I snagged one for meself. Doc Strange - he's me tutor - said I needed somewhere I could concentrate an' not be distracted, an' this is as good as any." She opened the door to a small, dimly-lit study, sparsely furnished with desk and chair, an armchair (the small table beside it had several large leather-bound volumes stacked on it, as well as a half-full ashtray and a couple of large chunks of crystal holding down a sheaf of notebook paper) and a small battered sofa. "'S quiet, 's out of the way an' best of all, there's a lock on the door." Which she used, to illustrate.
"Cozy," Bethany murmured approvingly, looking around to take in the room before looking to Amanda again, absentmindedly swinging their joined hands. "So, Amanda.. we've got at least an hour and a half to kill. We've got a private hidey hole with a functioning lock on the door. We've got a couch. Whatever shall we do to occupy ourselves?"
"I can think of a couple of things..." Amanda said with a slow, wicked grin. She pulled Bethany towards her again, reaching up to run her fingers along the girl's cheekbone before cupping the back of her head and pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. "Like that," she murmured when they had to break off for air.
It took a degree of control Bethany was moderately surprised she had left to keep from simply melting into a little puddle, and almost more effort than she wanted to put forth to make a wordless sound of agreement, but she somehow did both. Fingers blindly hooked through a pair of Amanda's belthoops, carefully holding the girl close as she began to back her way towards where she dimly recalled seeing the sofa. "Let's sit down before I fall down," she breathed, tilting her head to steal herself another kiss.
"You an' me both," Amanda managed to say before her mouth became occupied again. She plunged both hands into Bethany's long, dark hair, making small whimpering noises in the back of her throat. Then the back of her knees hit the edge of the couch, and half-sat, half-fell backwards onto it, pulling Bethany after her.
It helped being the 'neice' of one of the guidance counsellors who just happened to be an ex-spook. As soon as Amanda got Bethany's email, she'd practically flown down the stairs to Pete's office, babbled at him until he finally worked out what was going on and made the necessary arrangements, and now she was 'casually' leaning on the front porch railing, smoking and trying to get her breath back. A car pulled into the driveway and she hurriedly stubbed out her cigarette half-smoked, and straightened her t-shirt, wishing the exhausted trembling in her knees would go away.
The car's not even completely stopped before the passenger door swings open, and despite the exasperated cry of "Bethany!" from within the sedan, sneaker-clad feet hit the pavement running. They don't stop running until Bethany's in a position to yank Amanda into a fierce hug whether she likes it or not, muttering a quick "You scared the piss out of me!" before planting a firm kiss right on the other girl's lips, heedless of who may or may not be watching.
"I scared the piss out of meself," Amanda said when she was able. Which was not soon, as Bethany's kiss left her breathless. "An' yer not exactly discouragin' me from doin' it again if this is what I get, luv." She stroked the hair out of Bethany's face. "'M sorry I scared you."
She leant her head into Amanda's fingers, smiling faintly despite the worried knot that had been residing in the pit of her stomach for far longer than she'd care to think about. "You're okay. S'all that matters. Just try not to do it again too soon, huh? You can get my attention without going to nearly so much trouble."
"'Trouble' is me other name. But I won't be doin' anythin' like that again, believe me. Comas ain't fun." Bethany opened her mouth to ask what the hell she was talking about, but Amanda shushed her with a quick kiss. "I'll tell you in a bit - I'd better say hello t' yer mum first. She comin' in, or just droppin' you off?" She held tightly to Bethany's hand as they headed back over to the car, partly because she didn't really want to let the other girl go, but partly because she'd exhausted herself with the mad rush earlier. For about the hundredth time in the last week, she mentally cursed Rack's draining spell.
"Just dropping me off," Bethany replied as she let herself be lead back to the car, giving Amanda's hand a tight squeeze. "She has an appointment in town, so she's just going to come get me when she's done. We've got a couple hours, given how long these things usually take."
"Perfect." Amanda waved to the woman in the car, who wound down her window. "Hey, Mrs M. Thanks for bringin' Beth."
"We're just glad you're alright, sweetheart," the woman in the driver's seat replied, smiling warmly as she snaked a manicured hand out the window to give Amanda a fond pat on the cheek. "You just let Bethany know when you're up to it, and you'll come over to the house for dinner again, mm?"
"You could bring your uncle," Bethany asided to Amanda, grinning mischeviously at the girl before ducking down to kiss her mother on the cheek. "Thanks for the lift, ma. Two hours, right?"
"Give or take. I'll call when I'm on my way."
"Ta, Mrs M. An' yeah, I'd like that. They tell me I'll be back t' me usual annoyin' self in a week or so, so 's all good." Amanda rolled her eyes at Bethany as she straightened and her mother pulled away. "I just might do that, invite Pete. It'd be a right laugh. Tho' I did say I'd stop causin' him grief, least for a bit, after this whole mess."
"It wouldn't be grief," Bethany sniffed, waving at the retreating sedan before focusing more fully on Amanda, trying not to give her too obvious a looking-over to make sure she's as okay as she said she was. "We are excellent hosts. Now… what's this shit about a coma? What the hell happened to you, baby?"
Amanda sighed, and pulled Bethany back over to the front steps. "'S a fuckin' long story, luv, an' I'm gunna need t' sit down before I fall over." She dropped, rather than sat, on the step, gently pulling Bethany down beside her. "You know how I ain't told you much 'bout me past? Well, there's a reason for that, an' it sort of caught up with me when I was in LA with Angelo."
Easily maneuvered, Bethany settled down next to Amanda on the step, not bothering to hide it as she gave up and began to give her friend a quick looking-over. "He's alright too, right?" she asks after a moment, eyes returning to Amanda's face.
"Yeah, he's fine. I got the worst of it - it was me Rack was after." Amanda's fingers itched for a cigarette, but she settled for wrapping both hands around Bethany's. " I'd best start from the start. I told you me mutant power is t' absorb mystic energy, right? Well, when I was just a nipper, me birth parents sold me t' a black magician, nasty piece of work callin' himself Rack. He wanted me for me power, you see - he used t' drain it out of me an' use it himself."
"Fucknut," Bethany declared with a brief scowl. Slowly shaking her head, she shifted in place enough to lean over and lightly pillow her head on Amanda's shoulder. When the witch starts to continue, Bethany wriggles a hand free so she can press a finger to her lips, peeking up at her without bothering to lift her head from its new perch. "You don't have t' go into it. Can't be fun shit t' think about. Now is nicer t' concentrate on, anyway."
"You asked, luv." Amanda turned to kiss Bethany's hair briefly, before laying her cheek against her head. "Fucker's out of the picture now, thanks t' Pete, an' I'm on the mend, tho' I was out of it for four days, apparently."
"Guess I did ask. Eh. I've un-asked, 'less you need somebody t'talk to about it. How's that?" Smiling faintly, she let her eyes drift closed, tucking herself up against the other girl's side with a little sigh of contentment. "No more comas, okay?"
"That'll do. An' I'm good with it - I was more worried 'bout upsettin' everyone here, an' you an' all." Amanda wrapped one arms around Bethany's shoulders, the fingers of her other hand interlaced with the other girl's. "An' no more comas. I've seen enough of medlab t' last me a lifetime."
"Let's keep it that way," Bethany agreed, practically curling up against Amanda's side as the arm wrapped around her shoulders. "No more comas, no more assholes in town, no more.. whatever else goes on around here." She made a bit of a face before looking up, offering a slight grin that mostly hides her lingering worry. "Only way you could upset me is if you didn't come back."
"Not bloody likely, luv. Got too much here." Amanda took advantage of Bethany looking up to sneak another kiss. "An' if I do anythin' like that again, you have full permission t' kick me arse, okay?" Then a sudden thought struck her, and she untangled her fingers from Bethany's to grope in her jeans pocket. "I've got somethin' for you. Got it in LA, at this thing called the Floatin' Market. Magic user's Tesco's."
She leant into the kiss with a pleased noise, smiling against Amanda's lips. "I can think'a things I'd rather do than kick it, but I'll keep it in mind," Bethany replied with a grin, casting a quick, curious look down as her hand is abandoned. "All that, and you still got me a present?" she blinks, looking back up with a faintly bewildered grin.
"Well, I got it before everythin' went pear-shaped, an' Angelo's mum sent our stuff back over a few days ago." Amanda pulled out a beaten silver bracelet, engraved with Celtic runes inside and out. "'M not sure if it's yer kind of thing, but it ain't just a bit of pretty - the runes are a protection charm. You wear it an' it'll protect you from harm, 'specially the mystical kind. Which might come in handy if you decide t' hang around with me for any amount of time. I don't go lookin' for trouble, but it has a habit of findin' me."
"You're just too damn sweet for your own good, you know that?" Bethany mused with a quirky smile, leaning over to curiously inspect the bracelet. "It isn't my usual fare, I'll admit, but.. I like it." She nodded her approval, sneaking her arms around the other girl to give a quick, tight hug. "Thanks, A. Would it be too mushy if I said I won't take it off?"
"Yeah, I'm a big marshmallow girl, I know. Any cred I had when I got here's completely down the toilet by now," Amanda laughed, returning the hug. "An' no, it ain't mushy. Mainly 'cause I'd feel better knowin' you were wearin' it." She tweaked the catch, and the bracelet fell open. "Pick which hand you want it on, babe." Bethany wordlessly held out her arm, and Amanda put the bracelet on, closing her eyes and murmuring a string of musical-sounding words under her breath. Her fingertips tingled, and the bracelet glowed briefly blue. "There."
"Oooh… glowy." With a smile, she brought her right hand up so she could inspect her wrist's newest acquisition, a little corner of her mind half expecting the spell to have left a new mark on the silver. "I won't take it off," she repeated, grinning and leaning over to give Amanda a kiss on the cheek. "Especially not if it'll make you feel better. S' nice to be worried after."
"So I'm findin'." Briefly Amanda what Manuel was making of the extremely happy feelings that she was projecting, and decided it served him right after his merciless use of the link the previous night. A bit of distraction in the middle of class was appropriate revenge. "I probably ain't up for givin' you the grand tour, but there's any number of places that're more private 'n here an' not that far away..." She followed up the suggestion with another kiss, this one far less chaste than the previous ones.
Bethany made a muffled sound of approval as she found herself being kissed, snaking an arm around Amanda's neck with her best approximation of a purr. "The tour can wait for another time," she replied once she had a chance to catch her breath, her smile impish. "More private and not that far away sounds very good, since we have so very much time to kill..."
"So what're we hangin' 'round here for?" Amanda asked, her own smile wicked. "C'mon, I've got a hidey hole near the library I use t' study - as private as you like."
"Because it's comfy," Bethany replied intelligently, but it didn't stop her from disentangling herself from Amanda and pushing herself up to her feet, not bothering to dust herself off before offering a hand. "You sure it's private enough? I may be a reasonably devil-may-care kind'a girl, but when it comes to activities involving what I hope to be a minimal amount of clothing... audiences aren't my cup've tea." She grinned teasingly.
"It will be," Amanda said, taking the hand and pulling herself up, glad of the help. "Once I lock the door an' put a ward on it." She kept hold of Bethany's hand, using it to pull the other girl in close. "I don't feel particularly like sharin' right now," she added, leaning in and nuzzling at Bethany's ear with her nose, following up with a kiss.
"Audience participation ruins the best shows," Bethany mused in a mildly dazed, distracted voice as she tilted her head towards the attention. "Be as possessive of me as you like. It's cute." She smiled lazily, free arm slinking its way around the other girl's waist. "Show me this hidey-hole of yours, Amanda, 'fore we wind up with one helluva audience."
Amanda chuckled, pressing one last kiss against Bethany's temple before pulling back. "Sorry, got distracted," she said, grinning shamelessly. "There was this really amazin' girl standin' next t' me an' I couldn't help meself." She kept her grip on Bethany's hand and led her towards the front door. "Right. Hidey hole. Privacy. I can do that."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were tryin' to flatter your way into my pants," Bethany mused innocently, quite happy to let herself be lead on by the hand. "You did that after the movie, you don't have to re-flatter me every time you want a roll, y'know."
"I know. Which is why it ain't flattery, 's truth." The halls were empty, everyone else occupied with classes or their own affairs, which suited Amanda down to the ground. She fully intended to make up for the worry she'd caused in as fun a way as possible. "You are pretty fuckin' amazin', so there."
Bethany couldn't help but snort in amusement, rolling her eyes and gently prodding Amanda in the shoulder. "Says the witch. You're pretty fuckin' amazin' yourself. So there." Grinning, she trusted Amanda to lead her around and not run her into anything as she looked around curiously, having a great deal of difficulty hiding just how impressive she was finding the school to be.
A pleased blush coloured Amanda's face. "Yer gunna have t' come back when I'm up for showin' you everythin'," she said, noticing the other girl's curiosity. It reminded her that it really hadn't been that long since she'd first seen the place, although it felt like several lifetimes. "'S pretty impressive." She snickered. "I'd show you me room, but I have roomies an' there's that whole privacy thing..."
"You can show it to me 'fore I have to leave, though," Bethany observed cheerfully. "If we've got time, anyway. Maybe introduce me to some've your friends. Dad'll want to come out when he finds out mom dropped me off, though, so I'll definitely be back at some point.."
"That I can do. You should meet Pete at least, seein' how I already met yer family. An' I'm sure there wouldn't be a problem with yer dad comin' - the X geezer likes t' foster mutant-human relations." Amanda rolled her eyes theatrically, before leading Bethany into the library itself and through the tall shelves of books to a series of doors in the back. "I think these were meant t' be offices for the graduate students or somethin', but no-one uses 'em much, so I snagged one for meself. Doc Strange - he's me tutor - said I needed somewhere I could concentrate an' not be distracted, an' this is as good as any." She opened the door to a small, dimly-lit study, sparsely furnished with desk and chair, an armchair (the small table beside it had several large leather-bound volumes stacked on it, as well as a half-full ashtray and a couple of large chunks of crystal holding down a sheaf of notebook paper) and a small battered sofa. "'S quiet, 's out of the way an' best of all, there's a lock on the door." Which she used, to illustrate.
"Cozy," Bethany murmured approvingly, looking around to take in the room before looking to Amanda again, absentmindedly swinging their joined hands. "So, Amanda.. we've got at least an hour and a half to kill. We've got a private hidey hole with a functioning lock on the door. We've got a couch. Whatever shall we do to occupy ourselves?"
"I can think of a couple of things..." Amanda said with a slow, wicked grin. She pulled Bethany towards her again, reaching up to run her fingers along the girl's cheekbone before cupping the back of her head and pulling her in for a long, deep kiss. "Like that," she murmured when they had to break off for air.
It took a degree of control Bethany was moderately surprised she had left to keep from simply melting into a little puddle, and almost more effort than she wanted to put forth to make a wordless sound of agreement, but she somehow did both. Fingers blindly hooked through a pair of Amanda's belthoops, carefully holding the girl close as she began to back her way towards where she dimly recalled seeing the sofa. "Let's sit down before I fall down," she breathed, tilting her head to steal herself another kiss.
"You an' me both," Amanda managed to say before her mouth became occupied again. She plunged both hands into Bethany's long, dark hair, making small whimpering noises in the back of her throat. Then the back of her knees hit the edge of the couch, and half-sat, half-fell backwards onto it, pulling Bethany after her.
