Chapter Text
It starts with Natalia.
At this point, everything starts with Natalia. Natalia got the entire school banned from the local aquarium. Natalia is the reason that the girls' bathroom on the second floor in the math hall is getting repainted for the second time this semester.
And it always starts with Natalia Arlovskaya. But it never, ever ends with her.
Because Natalia Arlovskaya does not get caught.
Lily knows this. Lily sees this. She's Witness No. 1, Accomplice the Premier, because snitches get stitches and squealers need wheelers. But she digresses.
Natalia Arlovskaya is self-declared Queen of the Girls' Bathroom, but no one really knows that. Except for Lily, of course.
Because that's what's happening to her, right now. Natalia had rolled up Lily's sleeve to her elbow, and is now carefully writing the words on Lily's forearm. Dark pinkish sharpie, fuchsia, underlined three times, and the i is dotted with a stylized bullet. The class is talking, volume loud-- the bell is going to ring in five minutes for lunch and their English teacher doesn't bother to attempt to teach at this time. No one pays attention to Natalia's weird fascination with Lily's arms. No one pays attention to the fact that Natalia Arlovskaya is drawing on Lily's arm, oh my gosh.
The bathroom on the second floor, that one in the math hall? It's getting repainted due to severe vandalism, something about jealous girlfriends and boyfriends and sisters, all scratched into the wall with some sharp object.
Natalia caps the marker, gazing at Lily expectantly. "Well?" she prompts, resting her head on a dainty, manicured hand. Dark blue nail polish. Lily giggles nervously.
"I...really don't understand," Lily says. Natalia continues to stare. "Ah, shouldn't you be working?"
"You shouldn't tell me that when you fell asleep in class yesterday," Natalia says flatly.
"I was absorbing the information," Lily murmurs, turning to stare at her arm. There it is, wrist to elbow, fuchsia sharpie-- QUEEN OF THE GIRLS' BATHROOM. She calmly rolls her sleeve down, chewing at the inside of her lip.
Natalia nods in understanding. "Yes, my brother told me something about that, when he was more excited about science. The brain registers information as the body is sleeping." She pauses, peering at Lily through her Snow-Queen-blonde eyelashes. "Or something."
Lily forces a smile. "Um, y-yes! Of course." She glances down at her now-covered arm. "Why did you write that?" And why did you write on me, Lily adds in her head, a little desperately.
"Meet me there," Natalia declares. "You know which one." She lifts up the fuchsia-pink sharpie and points it at Lily with skilled fingers, and oh, Lily didn't want to think of the word skilled, that leads her mind to all sorts of unnecessary conclusions. "I have a request to ask of you, after school. 3PM."
Lily gives Natalia her most pleasant smile, ignoring the way she's tapping her own feet. "My...my brother usually expects me to walk home with him."
"..." Natalia looks away, suddenly. Quickly. It's by no means cute, or adorable, or, or whatever Lily's traitorous mind is thinking of. "I understand." She taps a manicured finger against the inside of Lily's wrist, and the touch is enough to make Lily squeak. "But, if you change your mind..."
The bell rings and Lily almost pushes the teacher out of the way, trying to leave the class.