Eleven O'Clock Number

MUSICAL #29: WEST SIDE STORY

29: YOU WOULDN'T KNOW SEXUAL FRUSTRATION IF IT SLAPPED YOU IN THE FACE

« te adoro, anton. »

"SO, ARE YOU going to talk about the elephant in the room, or should I?"

Allison almost falls off Lydia's hospital bed in surprise. It's hopefully the last night she'll have to stay before going home, and they've been spending the evening playing chess, which, yes, is kind of very extremely sad, but it's times like these that Lydia likes to feel intelligent, and Allison cannot be bothered to deny her. It's the most comfortable she's felt around Lydia in days, but now all that content is slowly slipping away into a grim picture of despair and panic.

From Allison's side of the room, anyway.

"Uh - what?"

"Elephant," Lydia replies evenly, capturing one of Allison's knights as she does so. "Room. Talk. Us."

"Us?"

"Us," she agrees.

Allison's mind has gone completely blank. It's not even that the words are stuck in her throat - more that she literally has no words to say.

"Uh..."

"Yes, how articulate," Lydia isn't even looking at her, instead choosing to examine the chessboard as though the state of play is actually going to impact whether she wins or not.

(It won't. Allison is okay at chess, but nothing compared to Lydia.)

"Well," Allison swallows audibly. It's quite disconcerting how Lydia is looking supremely unconcerned by the conversation they're about to have. "I..."

"Okay, since you are clearly incapable of forming coherent sentences," Lydia rolls her eyes, looking up for the first time since mentioning elephants in rooms. "I'll start. Why aren't you dating Toby yet? Why haven't you had sex yet? Alternatively: if you have, why are you keeping it a secret? Why are you keeping it a secret from me?"

Allison almost falls off the bed again.

"Wh - what?"

"Allison," Lydia sighs. "You know I don't like repeating myself."

"You think - elephant - me and  - Toby?"

"Mm," Lydia has returned to the chessboard. "Can you please make a move? I mean that in both ways, by the way."

Allison absently moves a random pawn, unfortunately opening her queen up for capture, an opportunity that Lydia doesn't hesitate to exploit.

"I don't understand," Allison blinks slowly at the chessboard, then up at Lydia.

"You left your queen open, so I moved my bishop -"

"No," she shakes her head. "I mean...you..."

Lydia cocks her head curiously. "I...?"

Allison pauses and clears her throat. "Nothing."

"Allison..." Lydia's eyes narrow. Allison's breath catches. "Have I done something wrong?"

"What? No, no -"

"- because you've been acting weird lately, and I know your thing with Toby is kind of in that stage, you know, that stage being that the thing doesn't exist at all, yet, but -"

" - Lydia -"

"I don't think it warrants the weird treatment I've been getting lately," Lydia finishes. By now, she's staring steadfastly at a point over Allison's shoulder, and Allison realises with a jolt that she's upset. Maybe a little nervous. She sighs.