What A Girl Wants

Seven

Ryusei was right. Girls did really like slumber parties. Upon announcing it, the girls freaked out and started doing everything girls did, namely hugging and grabbing each other's arms and leaning their heads on each other's shoulders. Sae didn't really get it, but then again, she didn't watch any of those cheesy teen movies, unless they had a heavy cheerleading component. And it's not like she watched porn.

Ryusei leaned down to rest her chin on Sae's shoulder while the rest of the team continued to celebrate. "Does this mean I'll finally get to see your room?"

It made Sae shiver a little. She didn't quite know why. It's not like she had anything suspicious or embarrassing in her room. "I guess so."

"Can't wait," Ryusei said.

Sae paused. She wasn't quite sure what it would mean if she said, me neither.

Shuto and Oliver tried to rope her into going shopping for cute pyjamas, but she declined. That was going a little far. She didn't feel particularly interested to hang out with those two for an entire afternoon, especially not in a shopping context, and besides, all the pyjamas she already owned were cute.

Rin, who had also laughed at the invitation of going to shop for cute pyjamas, had failed to take any of Sae's bait, and so they found themselves in one of the rare occasions of driving home together. Ever since she got her license, Rin always drove. She insisted. Sae didn't mind. She could drive, but didn't consider herself particularly good at it, and usually had some homework to go over or some snack to eat, or something else to do.

Today, however, she just found herself looking out the window.

"What are you being all depressed for?" Rin eventually asked.

"What?" Sae said.

"You're staring out the window like you're in a bad music video," Rin said.

"Am not," Sae snapped.

Rin rolled her eyes. "Is it because you can't walk home with your female Frankenstein?"

"Isn't Frankenstein the doctor?" Sae asked. She was pretty sure she heard the pretentious kids mocking that joke during English class at some point.

"Whatever," Rin snapped. "That's it, isn't it?"

Now it was Sae's turn to roll her eyes. She didn't really get her sister's fixation on Ryusei, but didn't feel it was her place to defend her either. She wrote the whole thing off as jealousy. Rin was easily the best athlete on the squad besides herself, but Ryusei almost gave her a run for her money. Plus, Rin was indeed saddled with Shuto glass ankles Sendou. As it was, Sae stunt group was worlds above Rin's.

"You could have walked, for all I care," Rin said.

"I have slumber party prep to do," Sae said, brushing her off.

"That's another thing," Rin said, hitting her hand on the top of the steering wheel. "I can't believe you're going through with this slumber party bullshit."

"Why do you care?" Sae said. "Escape room was a bad idea. Besides, we'll be asleep for most of it. It's the perfect team building activity."

"You only think the escape room was a bad idea because you're an idiot who'd never get out," Rin said. Sae scoffed, but she didn't defend herself. "And you do realize how little sleep happens at a slumber party, don't you?"

Sae did not realize that. She genuinely thought they'd play a few games and be asleep by a reasonable hour and wake up in the morning for skincare and tea lattes and fruit topped waffles. She made a mental note to watch a few slumber party movies to get a better idea so she could adjust the itinerary accordingly.

"Seriously," Rin continued, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. Failing that, she flicked her head to get them to comply. "I don't get you or why you're so obsessed with her."

"I'm not obsessed with her," Sae said, starting to pick at her cuticles.

"You just do everything she says," Rin said.

"I don't do everything she says," Sae snapped, her voice sharpening.

"You do!" Rin fought back as she pulled into their driveway. "It's like whatever comes out of her mouth, you're just like great idea, bestie!"

Sae glared. "I've never once said that."

"You basically do," Rin said back. "It's so creepy what she's turned you into."

"You're so immature." Sae swung the passenger side door open, flashing Rin her coldest look as she did so. "It's not my fault she has good ideas sometimes."

"She doesn't!" Rin yelled behind her as Sae started up the walkway, flipping her off over her shoulder. "You're just weird about her!"

Sae made a big show of slamming the front door as she walked through it. It's not like she locked it or anything, but it would get her point across. And because their parents weren't home, it's not like she'd get in trouble for it. But her blood was still boiling or chilling or something inside her veins, so when she got upstairs, she slammed her bedroom door too. And locked both the door to her room and her and Rin's shared bathroom. Rin was immature and it stopped her from thinking objectively. That was what she was chocking it up to. She'd have to get over that if she wanted to be half the captain Sae was next year.

She tried to start in on slumber party prep, but as her luck would have it, searching up cheerleader slumber party didn't yield much besides porn. Adding movies to the search was even less promising. It didn't take long for her to be reaching for her phone.

hey, what are some good slumber party movies

I'm trying to get ideas

all that comes up when I search is porn

Her and Ryusei texted a little, not much, but some. It was mostly because Sae felt a little weird about it. She wasn't a casual texter and didn't like to do so unless she had a specific purpose. But it was also because, between practice and games and their walks home, they saw enough of each other to not have much to say to each other outside of those instances. This seemed like a reasonable exception. The reply came through pretty much immediately.

did you watch any?

lol no

you should

you'll get some good ideas

you're no help

alright, alright, hold on

let me get my list

Ryusei eventually did offer a few titles, and once Sae looked them up and confirmed they weren't porn, picked up her phone again.

thanks

anything for you, bestie ;)

Sae smiled, and then, feeling as if this somehow proved Rin's point, rolled her eyes at herself and tossed her phone onto her bed. She considered the purpose for texting fulfilled and the conversation over. She mourned it, but tried to push it away. They saw each other every day. They'd talk tomorrow. It wasn't a big deal.

She threw on the first movie and tried to watch it, but she couldn't help but feel restless. She kept the movie running, still half watching the girls on the screen paint each other's nails, scream about boys, and watch movies, and moved over to her dresser.

There was no regret when it came to rejecting Oliver and Shuto's invitation, but still, she did feel the sudden urge to make sure the pyjamas that she owned were indeed cute, and if they weren't, to make a mental note to go on her own to buy some new ones. It wasn't any type of weird reason, she assured herself. It was in the movies. The cool, popular girls had cute pyjamas. The ugly losers showed up in frumpy or fuzzy or childish pyjamas. Her, being a cool, popular girl and all, it was simply necessity, nothing more.

That being said, she did spend more time that she cared to admit trying on every single pyjama set she owned and looking at herself in her full length mirror from every angle her petite frame had to offer.