Girl Master of Disguises (Lesbian Story, GirlxGirl)

Chapter Twenty-Three - Crashing At Laina's (You Know, For Work Purposes)

As fast as they could, Laina and Buggy strip the room of Buggy's possessions. When Buggy's sure they have everything, the girls head down to the check-in/check-out area. The man there seems more than happy to check Buggy out of the hotel, but Buggy suspects (from the red-eyes) that it's so he can get someone in the drug-dealing area.

     "You are not a light traveler," Laina comments as she struggles to get the suitcase on its wheels. "Did you put rocks in here or something?"

     "Yes," Buggy deadpans. "I put so many of them in there to screw with your mind." She lets out an odd laugh as she gets the suitcase from Laina. "I thought I'd need a lot of outfits for this trip."

     Eyeing the mussed-up black hair wig Buggy put on, Laina says, "I should have requested the maximum of five outfits."

     "Then where's the fun in playing dress-up when I only have that little?"

     Laina rolls her eyes at Buggy's sarcasm. They get outside, and she points to their left. "I live in that direction," she says. "If we walk fast, we can get there in ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

     For the first half of the walk, they're quiet. Buggy awkwardly looks around the area, while at the same time avoiding to look at Laina. For God's sake, get over it, she thinks. "So, did anything interesting happen at Tempted Moon?" she asks the girl.

     "Besides the drink names, no. Apparently, I can order an Outraged Schoolmarm there."

     Buggy snorts. "You can find several of them at a school," she informs.

     She notices the farther away they're from the hotel, the nicer the places seem. Is Laina some kind of a wealthy agent? "I did, however, hear that there's going to be some news about Malik in the next few days," Laina says.

     Buggy whips her head towards her. "Really? Where did you hear that?"  

     "One of the underground club participants mentioned it nearby me," Laina says casually. "Hopefully, it's not going to be about him dying." Before Buggy knows it, they're at a huge apartment complex. "We're here."

     Buggy looks at it open-mouthed. "How-how can you afford to live here?" she asks. The apartment complex in question is as big as the ones she's seen--probably even bigger--and far more luxurious. She wonders if this is where the Pope would stay at if he ever came to visit Seattle.

     "Unlike you, I don't have to pay for any student loans," Laina responds. "That and my job is risky. The riskier a job is, the better the pay."

     "Remind me to apply at your workplace," Buggy mutters. Fortunately for her, the girl doesn't hear.

     They walk in the entrance, and Laina leads Buggy to the elevators. Laina pushes a button and patiently waits for the elevator doors to open. As soon as they do, the girls get in with an elderly man reading a newspaper while walking at the same time. Buggy watches as the numbers above the doors change from one, two, all the way up to seven. The doors open for the man, and the girls travel up to one more.

     Laina makes some noise to herself as she looks for her place. They walk about halfway across the big hallway when she reaches into her pocket and pulls out a ring half-full of keys. She sorts through them until she finds the one she wants, and Laina inserts the key in the lock. She lets Buggy in when she opens the door. 

     The apartment, unlike Buggy's, is neat and, well, big. The living room takes up most of the front, where there are comfortable furniture that looked like they were placed at random. A big bookcase stands against one wall, and if she gets closer she wouldn't be surprised to see at least half the books to be about some kind of law enforcement. 

     Laina takes Buggy's things and hauls the suitcase towards the kitchen, where while it's small, it's a picture of the model room of the year. She leans it against the counter and starts to pull out dishes from the cupboards. "You hungry?" she asks Buggy.

     "Um, I guess." Buggy hasn't really thought about food all that much. At the mention of it, her stomach starts protesting against starvation. 

     Laina gets out some eggs. "Make yourself at home," she says. "Who knows when you'll be able to stay somewhere else?" Buggy has to admit she has a point. 

     Stepping towards the bookcase, Buggy looks at the title. As she suspected, the lot of them are about the laws of many things. She is, however, a little surprised to find a paperback. Taking it out of its place, Buggy notices the cover is full of a topless man with a six-pack. 

     Typical, she thinks. 

     Since she has no idea what to do while Laina's cooking, Buggy opens the book to the beginning. She reads while standing in the same place, once in the while being caught off guard by a strong smell of good food. It's not until she gets to the battle scene when she hears her name being called. She turns her head to Laina.

     "I said food's ready," Laina says, eyeing the book. She gestures Buggy to come sit at the dining room table.

     As soon as Buggy sits down, she stares down at her plate. She's pretty sure she's the only person in the world who's not fond of breakfast for dinner, but what the hell. She picks up her fork and starts eating. 

     It's not until she's halfway when she notices Laina staring at her oddly. "What?" she asks. "Did I get something on my face?"

     The girl shakes her head. "I'm thinking."

     "Do I want to know what about?"

     "No, it can wait until tomorrow." Laina starts eating her own dinner. Buggy notices the girl was a little too quick to answer.

     She decides to let it slide by changing the subject. At least, she tries to. "Do you think it's possible we can keep tabs on stores that sell weapons and such?" Laina gives her a confused look. Buggy continues with, "You know, keep track of the purchases in the last couple of days and see if Blond Beard and Dean are preparing themselves yet?"

     Laina seems to consider it. "There might be too many people getting what the guys will need for the murder," she says. "By the time we'd find them, I doubt Malik would still be alive."

     "Then what do you think--"

     She interrupts Buggy with a raised hand. "Relax," she says. "It's too late in the night to worry about it. I hate to say it, but it's true. You'd be too tired to work the next day."

     "Which was why someone invented caffeine," Buggy pipes up.

     "Not the point," Laina says. She stands up, apparently finished eating. She points at Buggy's plate. "You finished?"

     Nodding, Buggy stands up as well. "I'll clean them," she says. She takes both plates to the kitchen before Laina can point out that she has a dishwater like a normal modern person. Not that Buggy would use it; right now she needs some peace.

     After washing and hand-drying the dishes, Buggy puts them aside and turns to find Laina's set up the couch. (Translation: a lot more pillows than the couch can hold.) It's probably the way the light is shining on Laina right now, but Buggy swears there's something different about her.

     "I hope you're good on sleeping on couches," Laina says. She picks up a pillow that fell off of the furniture and disappears with it. She comes back to drop off a blanket, and disappears.

     "Um, I uh, yeah," Buggy says quietly, to no one in particular. She glances at the clock. Is it really that late? It feels like it's been an hour since she was at the club. Out of instinct, she yawns. She walks to the now-white couch and lays down on it, not bothering to take off her shoes or pull the blanket over her head. 

     With her arms crossed, Buggy stares up at the ceiling for a long time, until her eyelids flutter and close for the night.

___________

When Buggy wakes up in the morning, she notices the blanket's carefully sprawled over her, her shoes are on the floor next to the couch, and a steaming mug of coffee is placed next to her on the coffee table.