Cloudborne

[Ravenbelle]

Isabel smiled and let the door close most of the way before placing the cookies on the bed and looked up as Elizabeth was changing. Which involves a brief lack of clothing.. and Izzie couldn't help but notice how fluidly her best friend's spine seemed to arch when she took off her shirt. Or how beautiful her hair cascaded down past her perfect shoulders.
Isabel blinked as Liz turned around and shook her head slightly, cheeks tinged pink. It's been too long since they had a sleepover. That's all.

"So what now? Truth or Dare? Two truths and a lie?"

"Ummm.." Iz curled up in the corner near the foot of the bed next to the cookies. "Truth or Dare. Be creative though," she warned, pulling her laptop off the desk and playing some of her music with a relatively low volume.

 

[Snowflake]

Liz pushed head head all the way off the bed letting her hair fall down towards the ground and over Izzie's shoulder. She pursed her lips making a faux thinking face. With a sigh she spoke up. "I can't really get creative with truth or dare. I guess I'll ask the obvious one, Why are you still single? I know for a fact guys, and girls mind you, have tried asking you out. So what gives?" She finished while rubbing her friend's head with the back of her palm messing about with her hair. She took lock and twirled it around her finger letting it go afterwards. If there was something on Izzie's mind she expected her to tell her about it, but if she was keeping it a secret than perhaps Elisabeth wan't such a good friend after all. That wasn't something she wanted and she hoped Izzie would confide in her, tell her what's been bothering her. Just because she had a boyfriend now that didn't mean her friendship was any less important.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Izzie rolled her eyes, half-smiling at how nice it felt to have her hair messed with and half dodging the question with a smirk. "Oh c'mon LIz, you know the rules. You didn't even ask me 'truth or dare'!"
Of course, Isabel usually chooses truth first, but that didn't mean Liz could just assume that's what she would choose this time. Besides, Iz wouldn't even know how to answer that question in the first place...There was just no one at school that she was all that interested in. She didn't have a lot of friends and she couldn't really imagine seriously dating someone she barely knew, let alone seriously dating anyone at the end of high school anyway. And casual flings just sort of felt fake and awkward to her.
What a way to start the game. She took another cookie to relieve her of any responsibility to explain any further while chewing.

 

[Snowflake]

"Fine, be that way. I don't have to know, I'm just your friend and no one important." Elizabeth raised her chin except her head was upside down so it wasn't much of a change from her original position. She pouted and kept stroking Izzie's hair, it felt so soft on touch unlike hers which was often dirty, oily or chock full of hairspray, sometimes even all of the above. "Maybe I'll just start telling you about all the things I did with Richard and then see if you get embarrassed and start talking." Turning to look at her with raised eyebrows she had a wicked smile across her face. A moment later she sighed and gestured to Isabel to take over. "Go ahead, I broke the rules so it's your turn then. I'll let you pick truth or dare for me, it's all the same to me anyway. I doubt you can think of anything that will shock me." There was no disguising that challenge. Liz dared her friend to think of something that will surprise her be it Truth or Dare.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Of course she would choose now to be so faux dramatic. Isabel rolled her eyes, but still lightly leaned into Liza's fingers in her hair.

"Maybe I'll just start telling you about all the things I did with Richard and then see if you get embarrassed and start talking."

Izzie stiffened, already turning slightly red at just the thought of how that one-sided conversation would go. She loved her best friend to the end of the earth, but that, she didn't wanna know.

"Go ahead, I broke the rules so it's your turn then. I'll let you pick truth or dare for me, it's all the same to me anyway. I doubt you can think of anything that will shock me."

Isabel let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, glad she wasn't making good on that threat. However, now she had to find a way to surprise the unsurprisable. Nothing gross would work; she'd already brushed her teeth with toilet water and licked peanut butter off her toes before. Nothing extreme would work because she had no shame to speak of..."Hm..." Isabel narrowed her eyes, considering while she watched Elizabeth chew on her cookie. Oh!
"I dare you..to kiss me," Isabel smirked, already finding what she had been looking for: genuine surprise.

 

[Snowflake]

Sure enough there was surprise on Elizabeth's face, not from what Izzie had dared her to do but because she actually had the gall to to dare her something like that knowing full well Liz never backs down against a challenge. It was a moment of raised eyebrows and wide eyes staring at her in disbelief before it turned into a mischievous grin and the hand on Izzie's head went to the back and pulled her face closer to Elizabeth's. Their lips touching Liz chose not to stop there and parting hers decided to see just how far Isabel was willing to go with this move. It was a full inverted kiss, lips parted and tongues touching sharing a few small crumbs of cookie still clinging around. Elizabeth went further still and her other hand reached up to caress Izzie's cheek. To think she actually managed to surprise her, there had to be some retribution and the kiss was about as perfect an opportunity as she could get.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Isabel kept her smile planted as Liz's fingers crawled to the back of her neck. Was she..actually..? Elizabeth didn't even think about it, not that she was ever anything less than impulsive, but..
Izzie gasped just slightly as their lips touched and then interlocked. Deep red roses bloomed under Isabel's cheeks as her eyes fell closed and her brain turned to mush, forgetting to stop her from kissing back. She had forgotten how pleasant it felt to touch tongues between lips, especially these that tasted like caramel and the color pink. As their kiss began to slowly come to an end, Isabel nearly leaned forward, but caught herself and sat up swiftly with a high-pitched squeak. With an embarrassed and very internally confuzzled laugh, Izzie stuttered, "I n-never said w-where.."
Her face was comically red nearly down to her neck, but she was still jokingly smiling and very carefully hiding away the notion that she should not have stopped.

 

[Snowflake]

As she pulled away from her friend's face Elizabeth's lips curled into a toothy grin. Mission accomplished. She watched Izzie's cheeks turn rosy red from embarrassment and her voice crack as she spoke. "Oh, and where pray tell, princess, did you want me to kiss you? On the ass? Inner thigh? Or maybe somewhere, even more intimate?" She said suggestively repeatedly raising and lowering her eyebrow like a cartoon character. Her head reached up and ruffled Isabel's hair. "Come on Izzie, you know better than to try and push me that far, you mess with the bull you get the horns." She turned over and moved so that her head was just above Isabel's. Leaning down she kissed the crown of her friend's head and brought her hands down to massage her as an apology for getting her so embarrassed. "You knew how I was, it was your fault really." She leaned down to her ear unable to resist one last tease. "You're a great kisser by the way." She whispered, the backed off and laughed happy to finally be alone with her best friend. Hugging her from behind she whispered a silent apology and hoped Isabel wouldn't plan revenge.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Izzie covered her face with both hands, shaking her head and regretting her life choices as Liz made it worse. She stuck her tongue out at her best friend when she ruffled her hair and tried to fix it with her hands, fake anger, pouty lips and all.

"You're a great kisser by the way."

Isabel stiffened with a frustrated mix between a growl and whine. "You're the worst," she huffed, shrugging off the hug Elizabeth was trying to apologize with.
"Hmph. It's your turn, Lizard. Dare me," Isabel challenged, eyes narrowed, but obviously not truly mad with Liz. That didn't stop her from using the nickname she hated the most though. "Lizzie the Lizard" was made up during a random conversation about dinosaurs and now Isabel will never let it die. Though it seemed sometimes to outsiders that Isabel and Elizabeth were a very strange pair, they actually do have quite a bit in common. For instance, the both understand the power of spite, especially when paired with affectionate insults.

 

[Snowflake]

"Alright then." Liz pushed herself off Izzie's shoulders and hopped off the bed down on the floor next to the cookies. One ended up in her mouth rather quickly to fuel the creativity.

"Hmph. It's your turn, Lizard. Dare me,"

Eyes closed Elizabeth faked deep thought as if preparing to unleash something horrible upon Isabel, proper retribution had to be thought of for that Lizard name. She squinted at her friend and held an index finger up to her lips. "I dare you..." There had to be a pause for dramatic effect there. It just wouldn't work otherwise. "To call Dave right now and ask him out on a double date with Rick and me." There was a triumphant smile on her face, like she somehow cheated her way around convincing Liz to go on this date by forcing her to be the one that makes the call. "I double dog dare you!" She added at the end taking a large victorious chunk off the cookie. With a smirk, she nodded at Izzie as if to say 'Oh yeah I went there.'.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Isabel shivered for a second as Elizabeth suddenly moved down to the carpet, preparing her dreadful dare. Izzie tried not to let her friend's dramatic antics get to her, but when she heard the request, she knew she'd been right to worry.

call Dave right now and ask him out on a double date with Rick and me." There was a triumphant smile on her face, like she somehow cheated her way around convincing Liz to go on this date by forcing her to be the one that makes the call. "I double dog dare you!"

Her jaw dropped, betrayed. Well now she couldn't refuse! And Liza knows how she is on the phone!
"UUUghhgdgubUg" Isabel groaned falling back onto her bed with her arms crossed over her eyes. "You're the worst!" she cried, but reached for her phone anyway. It took a moment to find Dave's number, since she had listed him under 'Dave Chemistry' when he had worked in her group last week. Her thumb trembled over the call button. "You know this is going to be a disaster..meanie," Iz griped and put the call on speaker. It rang three times before he picked up and with each ring, Isabel's face got redder.
"Hello?"
"Heyy..Dave right? Uh sorry just making sure i got your number right." Isabel spoke three octaves higher than her normal tone of voice.
"Uh yeah, who's this?"
Isabel's eyes grew to dinner plate size as she cursed every word out of her barely functioning mouth. "Isabel. Chemistry. Sorry I was supposed to text you with my name. Oops!" oops? jesus christ. Izzie cringed at her own lack of social skills over the phone, glaring so Elizabeth knew this was all her fault.

"Oh hey, yeah no worries. You sound so different on the phone,"
"I get that a lot," she squeaked, tomato red at this point.
"So..what's up?"
"Oh! Uh. Um. Well the new marvel movie is coming out tomorrow and we're all, uh, I'm going to go see it with a couple of friends and was.. wonderingifmaybeyouwanttocomewith...me?" shitshitshitshitshitshitshit
"Sure. You mean like a date? Should I pick you up or meet you there?"
Isabel blinked, eyes wide and hands shaky. "U-um meet us there. At..um. I'll text you the details when we figure out what showing, okay? SeeyatherethanksforsayingyesseeyaBYE!" And with that, she pressed end call, threw her phone on the floor and buried her face into a pillow to scream. Loudly.

 

[Snowflake]

That was rough even for Elizabeth, she felt embarrassed by proxy just from watching and listening to Izzie. When she was done Liz just got up and threw herself at Isabel hugging her and holding her close while she screamed into a pillow. "You got a date Iz! You got yourself a date! I am so proud of you." She fully expected Isabel to try and push her away or even try and bonk her on the head but she wrapped her arms and legs around Iz. "I am so sorry, please forgive me. I'll do anything you say. But hey if I knew all it took to get you to date was a dare I would have done it long ago!" She said with a laugh.

"Come on sweetie, cheer up! He said yes and even offered to pick you up. Told you he was a nice guy." Liz felt bad about pushing Izzie this far out of her comfort zone, first the kiss and now the phonecall. It was downright mean and she didn't like that her best friend was the one on the other end of these jokes. "Here you can do whatever you want to me as punishment, I really pushed you and I feel bad."

 

[Ravenbelle]

Isabel accepted her fate, though not with what one could call dignity. She fell back into the bed with Lizzie on top of her, limbs askew as she wailed dramatically. Why didn't anyone tell her puberty would take away her social skills for high school as well as the rest of eternity?!

"I am so sorry, please forgive me. I'll do anything you say. But hey if I knew all it took to get you to date was a dare I would have done it long ago!" She said with a laugh

"Well good thing you didn't! You've condemned me to a life as a HusK of wHat i UsEd to beee! 'Thanks for saying yes'?! I will never recover." Isabel groaned.

"Come on sweetie, cheer up! He said yes and even offered to pick you up. Told you he was a nice guy."

"Yeah yeah y--"

"What have you done to my dear daughter!?" Josefina Blanca barreled in with an exaggerated heroic face as the door bumped against the wall beside her. "Oh NO! My wittle Isa has been captured by a gIANt Lizard! I must rescue her!" She exclaimed, then promptly jumped on top of them with Isabel choking out giggles at the bottom of the pile.

 

[Snowflake]

"Ms B! Noo!" Elizabeth barely had the time to shout out the words before the heroic mother jumped into the fray on top of them both. Izzie giggled and Liz was laughing her ass off as well. She never got to experience this brand of love back home, her parents loved her unconditionally and would tuck her in and give her a kiss but she couldn't ever remember them snuggling like this. Of course, Izzie and Josefina were like a second family to her especially when they treated her like this. "The Lizard got her a date with a cute and kind boy. Hahaha!" Liz shouted over the laughs and giggles. Eventually, breathing got hard so she had to crawl out of the mess and catch some fresh air. She opened up the window to let in some air and freshen up the room a bit. "How was your day, Ms B?" She asked a smile on her face.

 

[Ravenbelle]

The close-knit pile of women disassembled when Elizabeth announced that Isabel had a date. Josefina was surprised enough that Liz managed to wriggle out and open the window. "OOoooh?! Isa, no me dijiste! I need to know everything."
"Mooom, I only just called him it's not a huge thing, just a double date at the movies tomorrow, that's all," Isabel mumbled between exasperated breaths while Lizzie also got some air.
"That's nothing. You're going to tell me all of the details later," she responded, mom eyes at the ready as she reached down for the last cookie.

"How was your day, Ms B?" She asked a smile on her face.

"Boring. Busy as usual," she shrugged, biting the edges of the cookie off first. "Except I got stuck giving Mr. Reges another sponge bath. Ugh, ese pervertido, always with his eyes down my scrubs..
"Eew," Isabel stuck her tongue out.
"..speaking of, I should shower. I won't get in your way," she smiled and headed for the door witht he empty cookie tray before turning back swiftly with an I'm-watching-you gesture. "But you're telling everything about this little double date later," she winked and closed the door behind her.

Isabel rolled onto her back and gave a dramatic groan at the ceiling. "Great. Now I have to tell my mom all about my pathetic phone call date proposal. This is all YOUR fault!" she whined, pointing at Liz and grabbing her phone with her other hand. "Oh crap it's almost time!" she turned off the music on her computer and turned on the TV. "C'mon hurry up," she patted the seat next to her excitedly.

 

[Snowflake]

"It's my fault you're pathetic? Well I guess it's kind of true. I am so awesome you have no choice but balance it out." Liz nudged her friend's shoulder while sitting down next to her. At least one of them remembered they were supposed to watch the finale of Pushing Roses. It was disappointing as far as the end of the show went, nothing but sequel bait, which was sad because the midseason made it clear there would be no sequel. Of course, it wasn't about the show, it was about friends doing something together. There was more teasing long into the night over how nerdy Izzie was on the phone and how cute it was to watch. Of course, Liz took some fire as well for that kiss and compliment.

---

The following day Elizabeth slept in as long as others would let her. Smart cookie she turned off her phone just in case some outside power tried to disturb her rest. First thing after breakfast the girls picked out a good time for the showing that would also give them some time to hang out with their dates afterwards and notified them right away. Richard volunteered to get there early and make sure their reservation isn't cancelled but chances were he was gonna bring Dave along. The boy in question confirmed the time with Isabel and even said it was cute how flustered she was on the phone and decided he was going to take it as a compliment. It was yet more ammo for Liz but she refrained from further teasing her friend. They spent most of the day talking and fooling around like they used to, listening to music and watching bad TV.

In the evening they got ready and took off in Liz's Jeep towards downtown. They went a little early to make sure there was parking. "Nervous much? You're not gonna be weird about it when you're with him are you?" She kept her eyes on the road but visibly raised her eyebrows. "The initial awkwardness is normal so don't get hung up on it, just know that he feels the same if not worse and is only pretending to be cool. Believe me, Rick told me about it in great detail. I thought he was ice cold but later he told me he was sweating bullets because he was running out of fun things to say." Elizabeth chuckled. They weren't far off now, only a couple of minutes and they would arrive.

 

[Ravenbelle]

"It's my fault you're pathetic? Well I guess it's kind of true. I am so awesome you have no choice but balance it out." Liz nudged her friend's shoulder while sitting down next to her.

Izzie stuck out her tongue at her best friend, but moved over so they could get comfy for the show. Even if it wasn't that good, it was still fun to comment and complain about it with Elizabeth as they always did. Eventually they fell asleep in a tangled mess of limbs and blankets and Isabel slept fairly well except for when she was woken briefly while a sleeping Lizard asked about whether pigeons had any concept of space-time.

--

Isabel is usually an early bird, but she tried to stay in bed a little longer than she otherwise would have to keep from waking the blonde that had been drooling on her shoulder. When Mom woke them for breakfast, Liz was amusingly half asleep and when she finally woke, they planned out today's evening. Mom was there, handing out suggestions and embarrassing flirting tips until she left for work. And the rest of the day, Isabel did was she does best: worry. Lizzie's usually pretty good at distracting her, and for most of the day, she was successful. She was grateful they had time to spend together, just the two of them. But the nervousness lingered in the back of her mind every so often, reminding her of the movie. She was okay while getting ready (again, mostly thanks to Liz), but on the way there...

"The initial awkwardness is normal so don't get hung up on it, just know that he feels the same if not worse and is only pretending to be cool. Believe me, Rick told me about it in great detail. I thought he was ice cold but later he told me he was sweating bullets because he was running out of fun things to say." Elizabeth chuckled. They weren't far off now, only a couple of minutes and they would arrive.

"Really?" Iz bit her lip and reapplied her chapstick for the 8th time since they got in the car. "Geez I'm a mess." She took a deep breath as they pulled into the parking lot. "But I'll be fine right? It's been awhile since I've been on an actual date. Just um..do you remember the signal?" She looked to Elizabeth as they found a parking spot. The first few times they had developed crushes or gone on dates at the same time, they had come up with a nonverbal signal to signify that they were running out of things to say so the other could change the topic or otherwise intervene if necessary. They haven't needed to use it in a long time, but Isabel fiddled with her right earring to make sure Liz still knew it.

 

[Snowflake]

"With that kind of attitude you are bound to be too nervous. Put your hand down, stop messing with your ear." Liz swatted at her hand while the nervous girl tried to remind her of the signal. "Don't think, Izzie. Just do, act, be yourself. I won't always be there to bail you out of awkward silences so don't get used to it. There's a good chance we go separate ways next year. How am I supposed to leave you alone if you can't even go out on a date without me?" She squished Isabel's cheeks with her hand. "If I was a guy we wouldn't be friends because I would be all over you, so just be yourself and he won't be able to resist." Elizabeth checked her makeup one last time with a hand mirror. It wasn't much just some light shade and eyeliner. She had a habit of picking and rubbing away at her face while driving and sometimes it smeared the makeup but luckily this wasn't the time. She had a fancy pair of pants and a snazzy white shirt on with a cute light cardigan over it. She wasn't the one for handbags so everything she needed was stuffed in her pockets. Her hair was tied in a neat little bun.

When they both stepped out of the vehicle she locked it and pocketed the keys. With a wink and a smile, she started down the parking lot towards the movie theatre. "Come on princess, your prince charming awaits." They were maybe ten minutes early. They didn't even open the doors to the showing hall yet which left plenty of time to find the duo of boys, which luckily due to excellent communication wasn't hard, they were right in front of the vintage JAWS poster. They didn't notice them yet so Liz nudged Izzie and leaned in to whisper. "They didn't see us yet. Think we can make a sexy entrance?" She asked with a grin. Nothing better than making them drop their jaws at the sight of the two.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Isabel put her hand in her lap dejectedly. On some level, she had been excited about this date. She'd never been on a double date before. It was stupid, but now all that's left is nervousness that she'd ruin it somehow.

"Don't think, Izzie. Just do, act, be yourself. I won't always be there to bail you out of awkward silences so don't get used to it. There's a good chance we go separate ways next year. How am I supposed to leave you alone if you can't even go out on a date without me?" She squished Isabel's cheeks with her hand. "If I was a guy we wouldn't be friends because I would be all over you, so just be yourself and he won't be able to resist."

She knew Liz was just trying to help, but she grew more worried as she spoke, unable to stop her habit of overthinking absolutely everything. She had been trying to avoid the subject of college and life after high school as often as possible. And now she wanted nothing less than to think about life without her best friend. Normally, it wouldn't bother her much, but the way Liz phrased things seemed to confirm Isabel's most recent doubts and fears. She felt clingy, needy, and dependent on Liz, a nuisance that the blonde hangs out with out of obligation rather than a want to enjoy Isabel's company. Isabel had expected to be put on the backburner a bit when Richard came along, but after awhile she started to feel lonely when she tried to make plans with Eliza because she was always inviting her over, but Liz never invited her anywhere. Until just recently.

So Isabel put on her brave face and stepped out of the car, rolling her shoulders and regretting the fact that she'd forgotten iburofen in her room before following her chipper companion. The lobby smelled like popcorn, but she couldn't see the source because of the weekend crowd. It didn't take long to find the boys though.

"They didn't see us yet. Think we can make a sexy entrance?"

"You go right ahead, but I will most certainly trip if I try," She gave a breathy laugh and rubbed at her left shoulder anxiously.

 

[Snowflake]

"As if, I am not leaving you behind and all alone." She wrapped her arm around Izzie's waist and pulled her along. "At the very least we can both look like dorky best friends." She didn't want to make her friend any more uncomfortable than he was doing it herself. As much as she loved her and wanted to help her this was not something she really could do for her so the next best thing was to not push her too far out of the comfort zone. "Relax, babe. You got this, eye of the tiger. He needs to charm you, not the other way around." She whispered one last thing before they joined the duo of boys.

"Rick, you got the tickets?" No hi, no hello, no I missed you, sweetie. The first thing Elizabeth asked was a very businesslike question and so was her demeanour. She let go of Isabel and looked up at her boyfriend seriously who very slowly as if building up tension reached into his pocket... "Steady, Rick, steady..." Dave encouraged his buddy catching on to what was going on rather quickly. As the tickets came to light Elizabeth smiled and jumped up at Richard hugging him and giving him a quick smack on the lips. "There's my good man." She turned to Dave. "And then there's Rick too." She chuckled and threw Dave a quick hi-five. "And of course, the two of you know each other already." She nodded at Izzie while standing beside Rick now. "Hey Isabel, thanks for inviting me." Dave seemed cool about it at the first glance but it was obvious he too was a bit nervous about this date, he seemed unsure if he should extend a hand in greetings or do anything more but he did well to try and hide it all under a smile, though the nervousness was clear to both Richard and Elizabeth.