Sanctuary High

Was she losing her touch? Ix was always jumpy. She began to worry that perhaps she'd gone to far at lunchtime. But she wasn't going to let it show.
"Ooooooohhhhh....?" She asked, a hungry sparkle in her eye. Damn she was cute when she was all shy.

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Zara raised an eyebrow at Adri.
"Adri." Zara responded. Her tone was much less cold than usual, and she looked slightly awkward, uncertain how to act around her. She made an effort to smile, but it looked a little forced.

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"Oh?" Jane asked, peaking around from her colossal pile of books. "Oh, sushi. Nice. I've always enjoyed trying out unique dishes." Jane smiled, somehow making the act of balancing the books look easy.

"T-That's if you are still interested o-of course..." she says while looking down, blushing.

"Y-You see... I-I really like to hang out with you... Even when you try to scare or tease me, I have lots of fun with y-you..." She then looked at Kathrynne's eyes "W-What I really want to say it... I-I l-like..." She stopped, she was too nervous to continue.

"Right? It seems like a pretty good place for a double date," he said. "Should we go casual for this one?"
//
Adri twiddled her fingers nervously for a moment before seeing the forced smile. She couldn't help but snicker a little, getting the first genuine smile, however small, for Zara in a while. "You don't have to do that," she said, a bit of soft laughter mixed in.

Kathrynne's eyes glittered as she realised what she thought Ix was trying to say. But she didn't want to interrupt for three reasons.
1. She didn't want to take away from Ix's moment of bravery.
2. She was absolutely beyond adorable in her flustered state right now.
3. She wanted to be certain she wasn't jumping to conclusions.
She waited patiently for Ix to finish what she was saying.

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Jane let out a little laugh.
"I think that may be something we want to discuss with Dixi and Yumi. After all, imagine how awkward it would be for one of them if three of us are casual, and one of them is dressed up. Or worse, the opposite situation." Jane suggested. "And I do not know Yumi all that well, but I'm relatively sure Dixi will not have thought about it."

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Ah laughter. The great unawkwardifier (which is a totally cromulent word!!!). Her fake smile became slightly more genuine after that.
"Sorry, it's... been a while since I've had to act casual." Zara responded.

"No, no, it's fine," she assured her coworker. Adri felt a little calmer after that. Honestly, seeing Zara try to force a smile kind of reminds her of when they were kids. "Anyways, I thought...well, if we're going to try and make amends and all, that maybe you and I could go out for drinks this weekend."
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Ferro laughed, "Yeah, that's a good point. Come on, then, let's ask them."
///
Orianna and Maybelle we're led into Orianna's home before the young rich girl immediately made a beeline for the garden. thanks

"I... I..." Ix was really nervous so she slapped her cheeks to focus "I-I like you Kath!" After saying it she turned around, her face completely red, for a second she thought about retreating saying something like she likes sweets or some excuse like that, but she decided to be brave.

Zara pulled out her phone, checking her calendar for her weekend plans. She had agreed to go along to a stockholders' meeting to a company she had a very large stake in, but equally she didn't want to seem like she was blowing Adri off. After a cursory glance she put away her phone.

"Sure, I've got nothing planned." Zara agreed. There would be other meetings. And besides, she sort of liked the idea of the company being at her beck and call, and not the other way around.

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Jane nodded, following after Ferro.
"Of course, I'll need to drop these books off first regardless." Jane pointed out.

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Kathrynne beamed at Ix's confession. She gently placed her hands on Ix's shoulders, to guide her to face her. She wasn't forceful, so if Ix resisted, she'd stop.
"Well, I like you too, Ix." Kathrynne responded. Her tone was genuine, rather than her usual teasing tone, and she was blushing slightly herself, especially after reciprocating so sincerely.

Adri smiled upon Zara thankfully, having been unsure about this so soon. "Thanks, Zara," she said. "The Bunny Queen Bar? Or the Red Riot on the Rocks?"
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"Right, right! Here why don't I help carry some of those," he offered.

Zara raised an eyebrow. She'd heard of both of those places, but she'd never have expected Adri to know of them, let alone suggest them as bars to go to. She smirked slightly.
"Since when did you become cool?" She asked, jokingly. "Let's go to 3R then. BQB doesn't make cocktails like they used to." Zara suggested.

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"Oh, no, don't worry about it." Jane responded, in the 'token denial of help' manner. As Ferro knew, Jane rarely accepted help on the first offer.

"H-Hey, I've always been cool!" she huffed jokingly. She sighed and smiled before looking at the mountains of papers. "Need any assistance?"
///
Ferro smiled knowingly at her and, after making sure no one was watching, moved in and gave her a full kiss. While she was distracted, he snatched half the books and started to backpedal towards tbe library. "You're cute when you're stubborn," he told her.

When Ix heard what Kathrynne said she turned around "R-Really!? D-Do you mean it!?" Her eyes were sparkling with happiness.

Zara waved her hands.
"I'll manage. It'll only take me another hour to get through this. After school hours is pretty much the only chance I get to get this stuff done." Zara responded. She paused for a second. "But... I wouldn't object to some company whilst I get through it." She added, hesitantly.
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Jane's eyes widened in surprise as Ferro kissed her, before closing to enjoy the kiss. It was like a weight had been lifted from her. When she opened her eyes again, she found that a weight had indeed been lifted. She blushed, and poured ever so slightly.
"I'm not stubborn. I'm self reliant." Jane protested.
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Kathrynne nodded.
"If I didn't, would I do... this?" She asked, as she leaned in to kiss Ix, in full view of the front gates.

Adri smiled and took a seat next to Zara's desk. "So, how's work at the company? I can't imagine it being particularly easy juggling your job there and here."
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Ferro laughed maniacally, "Your dubious boyfriend has struck again!" Maybe he should take a break from drama class.

(Is Yumi going to surprise Dixi now with a kiss to follow the trend or what? xD)

Ix's eyes widened as Kathrynne suddenly kissed her all of the sudden "Y-You... t-that was my first..."She touched her lips with the tips of her fingers after that Ix gave Kathyrnne a warm smile and pulled two tickets for an amusement park "I-I have these... if you w-want to come with me..." she offered her one of the tickets.

Zara shrugged.
"We'll, it's long hours, but they are pretty flexible. I suppose they have to be when I'm the largest shareholder too." Zara commented, sounding a little exhausted. "But it's worth it for my girls. They deserve the best, after all." Zara sighed. "And not all of us can marry into money." A little spiteful voice in Zara's head added, but she dismissed that thought.
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Jane rolled her eyes, but she was smiling despite herself.
"You can be really cheesy sometimes. Did you know that?"
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Kathrynne beamed, practically glowing.
"I don't know. I can think of a lot of things that could amuse m-" she glanced at the tickets. "Wait, are those tickets to the new park on Main Street? I thought that wasn't meant to open for another month! How did you get those?" Kathrynne asked, slightly in awe of Ix. This was entirely unexpected.

"There was a design contest for an attraction and this was the second prize, the first one was your attraction being made real, but I think this one is more worth so I'm happy and also... I-I can invite you..." She was explaining cheerfully until the last part, she would still have to get use to this girlfriends thing.

"You love it, don't lie!" he laughed as he carried the books into the return slot once they'd arrived.
//
"That's good at least," she said. What Zara seemed to overlook was that Adrianna was the principle of a well-reputed school, despite having been married to a rich business owner.

(Zara didn't. The vindictive voice in her head did :p )

Kathrynne's eyes flashed.
"Well, I'm honoured that you'd choose me to accompany you." She grinned. "By the way, I hear the haunted house ride there is really good. We should definitely give that a go." Kathrynne added, as an afterthought. It was clear that she had ABSOLUTELY NO ULTERIOR MOTIVE.
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Jane placed her books down and rolled her eyes again, but couldn't hold back a slight giggle.
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Zara put her head down, and began signing off various sheets with one hand, and eating from a bag of potato chips in the other.
"How about you? How's it feel being the great leader of the school?" Zara asked.

"Somewhat similar. Hard work, little play, but I'm only ever here for little more than eight hours, so I'm usually at home not long after Ferro," she said. "Then again, I don't have a second job on the side, so I probably have it easier than you, huh?" She stopped for a moment and started to regret a few od those words. "Uh, that is to say, I'm not rubbing anything in, I just thought it's not as impressive!"
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Once all the books had been returned, Ferro moved in on her again and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Alright, let's not keep them waiting."

"E-Eh? I-I guess we could try... being honest with you, I'm not too fond of haunted houses... but if you are there too maybe it won't be that bad." She admited.
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Meanwhile Dixi and Yumi were visited by a group of 'unhappy' students that were a bit annoyed by the gym class, the results? They were beaten to a pulp once again and started to run away from the couple "They never learn..." Dixi said with an unimpressed look on her face "Together we are invincible!"

Zara frowned at Adri's initial words. But nodded, understanding, when she clarified.
"I'm just glad I get to work here. It's hard enough not getting to see them in the mornings, and they've grown up so fast. It seems like yesterday that they were all bright eyed little children who only wanted to spend there time with 'Mommy'. And now... Xana's becoming her own woman and Dixi's getting into dating." Zara commented. "And who knows how long I've got left with Ix?" Zara added. It was clear she needed to vent that. She looked up apologetically at Adri. "Sorry, I didn't mean to rant."
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Jane took hold of Ferro's hand and began to move out.
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"Don't worry, Ix." Kathrynne smiled. "I'll protect you."

Soon, Jane and Ferro would find Dixi and Yumi, with just enough dirt and dust for the recent occurrence to become clear. "Another fight?"
//
"No, I don't mind. To be honest, I feel the same about Ferro," she said. "He's started dating that cute librarian girl, he's got a whole bunch of friends...and sometimes I feel like he doesn't have time for his mother." Despite how sad Zara and her exchange sounded, she had a calm smile on her face. "But that's life. We still have room to influence our children, but they're becoming more and more free to do what they want."

"Some people were annoyed because we beated them in gym class and wanted a rematch... they didn't expect that Yumi was pretty good at fighting too." She said bursting out laught.

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"T-Thanks Kath." She gave her a warm smile and a hug.

"Wooow, wish I could've seen it! Anyways, we were wondering what kind of clothes we should wear. Casual, formal, clothes clearly made to impress?" Ferro asked.

"I don't have any preference to be honest, I'll just accept the choice, what about you Yumi?" Dixi shrugged.