“Wh-where did you learn that…”
“My sweet little innocent Tiffy~”
“That… second to last thing you did, i didn’t even know...”
“HIhihi…”

Linn moved her hand down Christina’s belly

“N-no, you’re gonna k-kill me if you do that again”
“You said that before as well, and yet…”
“Y-yeah yeah, you’re good with your hands, so what?”
“You were squealing like a little girl. A little girl liking it”

Christina shuffled around a little in the bed, trying to get even closer to Linn

“Just don’t tell anyone…”
“No? I think i’m going to show you off to all the world. Aaaaand, since you lost the bet~”
“I’m not wearing that skirt”
“Oh yes…”

Linn moved her hands. Christina knew very well this would go Linn’s way if she decided to do that

“You are wearing the skirt. Ooooor, i have these cute, pink fluffy cuf-”
“N-no more, i’ll wear the damn skirt. Christ, you’re going to wear me out before i reach 25…”
“Nope, won't let you. And we have to wash before we go. You're all sweaty, and my hand is sticky”
“That is all your fault”

Linn smiles smugly and lurches off the bed. She deliberately stretches a little in front of the bed, which was showing off as much as it was giving Christina a nice view. 

“C’mon, shower”
“You go first. Your “showers” don't actually include washing. And I don't want to get yelled at for using all that warm water again”
“Aww… okay then. I'll go first”

Linn could actually be quick in a shower. Just one of those little bathing caps so her hair didn't get wet. Because if all that hair got wet, it was a lot of work to dry and brush it. Sadly, her hair was a complete mess, which she would have entirely blamed on Christina if someone had asked. She was given no choice but to do the long version with three different bottles of things to put in the hair and rinse it out twice. 

She was still brushing it 40 minutes later when Christina had finally gotten out of the shower. It was her time to look smug, her hair was of the much sorter variety and could be dried in a minute. 

The problem came with the clothes. Christina had foolishly promised to wear whatever Linn wanted for their next outing together. A promise made when Linn was *that* close to completely turning her into a puddle. 

“You never even wear this short skirts yourself”
“I used to just because I liked the showing off, but I'd much rather look at someone else in them”
“Just anyone, huh?”

Linn stood up, took two steps towards Christina, and caught her with a firm grip. The two fall to the bed with a thump

“What are you doing??”
“You can't say that”
“What?”
“You're not just anyone. Tiffy is special”
“Are you going to do this again?”
“I'm not letting go until you feel special. Tiffy is the best”
“Linn…”
“Tiffy is cute. Tiffy has pretty legs. And a nice smile! Tiffy is the best”
“...”
“Tiffy has a cute butt, slim waist and an ample bosom. Tiffy makes me happy. Tiffy is the best”
“Linn, stop it…”
“Tiffy tastes good. Tiffy has little cute, pink and puffy ni-”
“Jesus christ, Linn. Yes, I feel special”
“You can't just say “just anyone”about someone I love. It's forbidden. You're special, and if you don't feel that way I'm doing something wrong”
“Sorry Linn, I was just joking a little…”
“I'm not joking”
“Linn. You make me feel special, and all kinds of bubbly I don't understand. I just know I want more of it. Good enough?”
“You mean it?”
“Enough to wear your stupid skirt… Hand it over”
“Yes!”

Linn flew off from the bed and retrieved the black piece of cloth

“This!”
“You actually wore that…”
“Yep!”
“As protective as Annie is, I'm surprised she let you out of the house in that”
“She uhh… Made sure I can take care of myself”
“What do you mean?”
“Shit…”

Linn swears and sighs instead of watching Christina step into the skirt

“I was supposed to keep my mouth very very shut about this, but I care too much about you to lie. And this is a secret, can't tell anyone”
“I promise, Anna-Linnea”
“You don't have to call me that…”
“It sounds more serious if i do”

Linn walks over to her handbag and to Christina's great surprise, takes out a handgun

“Linn…”
“Don't worry. Gnevny, come out”

A little girl appears between them. Standing a little over 4 feet in height and with a mess of red hair. She looks around and hops behind Linn, keeping her own head close to Linn’s hand

“Gnevny, this is Christina. She my best- uhh, wait a second… Tiffy, we're dating right?”
“Yeah, I'd say we are”
“Okay, trying again. Gnevny, this is Christina, my girlfriend. She means me or you no ill, and I trust her. Okay?”

Gnevny is still behind Linn, but nods

“She's a-”
“Yes. Mom used to carry her around. Thought it would be good to have her look after me”
“That's not legal…”

Gnevny holds Linn a little tighter. 

“Well, no. But mom and dad are also very good friends with the sheriff. The point is not to be seen in the first place. And Gnevny is a pro at that, right?”

The little redhead nods

“Right. She won't disturb us or anything, and doesn't need that much attention as long as she's close. But I usually let her walk around in the room when the door is locked”

Gnevny still stood behind Linn and had a firm grip around her shirt sleeve. Linn chuckles a little, ruffles her hair and soon puts back the little girl to sit down on the bed. Tiffy still looks at the spot the little one stood, with surprise and doubt in her eyes

“Uhh…”
“Sorry, I've wanted to tell you all week”
“Just this week? That's why you passed up on the movie on Saturday?”
“Yeah. After our little… accident mom wanted me to have someone that can…”

Linn lowers her voice 

“...change me back, should I need that”
“Riiiight, I'll try and help out if that happens”

“I help!” Little Gnevny peeks up

“Yeah, that makes sense. So uhh, do we do anything for you?”

Gnevny shakes her head

“Not really. She is just happy to be around. Now stop delaying this, and get the skirt on”
“Augh…”
“And the socks”
“Really?”
“What?”
“White thigh highs. And this thing that i’m not even sure if it qualifies as a skirt, and the white shirt”
“C’mon, it’s a classic look, and it makes you look innocent”
“Look?!”
“Now, i didn’t sneak into professor Anderson’s room to adjust things. You know anyone who did?”

Christina is visibly ashamed at the mention of professor Anderson

“It was just two points, and I failed i’d ne-”
“Exactly. One of many reasons i love you”
“...”
“C’mon now, let’s go”

With Gnevny turned back and taken along, the two went down the stairs, out and away. 
The day out took them to a zoo, some planes driving around until they finally settled to go to that comfy little café in the more hipster parts of town. However, Christina had taken notice of one car in the rear view mirror. 

“Linn, I think we're being followed”
“What?”
“Yeah, black Chevrolet, right lane”

Linn spent a moment to study her right hand mirror, and it was indeed a black Chevrolet that had been there for a few minutes.

“Sure it’s following us?”
“I dunno…” Linn mumbles, mostly to herself.

She did a quick right turn, turned back 180 degrees two crossings further up and then returned in their original heading. Chevrolet still after them. 

“It’s still after us…”

Linn flings her phone up, and tries to call but it goes straight to voicemail. She leaves a message and sends away text message without even looking at the screen, possible only by a swipe keyboard and very skilled fingers. 

“Tiffy, it's serious now. These people are going to confront us”
“What are we going to do?”
“First of, it's me they are after, not you. So you-”
“No. Not leaving”
“Tiffy, seriously, this could be a serious God damn situation and-”
“I'll stay with you”
“I don’t have time for this…”

Linn finds a right turn, throwing the 3500lb sedan around and slams in a new gear. The six cylinders sing, and with a dab on the handbrake, it finds an open spot, on the opposite side of the street, outside a Starbucks, just in front of a beige minivan that was about to reverse into that spot. Linn skips out of her car, seeing Christina over her shoulder following her. She marches in through the door, take a quick left turn and sits down. Her back is to the toilet, and she was looking out over both exits. Just like her parents taught her. Next to her was now Gnevny, who was taken in a firm grip on her shoulder. Linn could get the neck and have a Makarov ready to fire in two seconds. Surprisingly, Christina is not the first one to enter the café.

“You should be in jail Missus!”
“What?!”

A 30 something woman in strange clothes comes in and starts screaming at Linn

“You stole my parking spot! Thief!”

Linn sighs as Christina comes closer. Whoever was in that black Chevy could come in right away and an she is now being interrupted by stupid shit.

“Just go, i got there first”
“No, i was reversing in and you stole it from me, i’m calling the police”

Linn saw the black Chevy slow to a halt opposite to the street

“Yeah, fine, just get out of here”
“Oh no! So you can run away? You are not escaping from the police! You stay just there Missus!”
“Fucking hell, just-”
“NO, YOU’RE GOING TO JAIL. I WAS TAKING MY CHILDREN TO TAI CHI LESSONS AND WAS JUST HAVING A ICED SOY LATTE AND YOU STOLE MY SPOT. THEFT. THIEVES GO TO JAIL”

The woman kept screaming her lungs out for the next two minutes, until coming someone from behind interrupts her

“Is the the Toyota yours?”
“What do you want ?1 Can’t you see i’m busy detaining a criminal here?!”
“You didn’t put it in park, it’s rolled down like two blocks”

The woman looks out, and just like the person said, the beige minivan was no longer there. 

“OOHH MA GAWWD MY BABIES”

She turn back out, stumbling on her heeled boots and runs away. With the woman gone, Linn can see who was behind her

“Doll? What are you doing here?”
“Just out for a drive. And i may have driven the van a few blocks”
“Fucking hell Doll…”
“You should probably leave before she comes back”

Linn takes Christina around the wrist and heads out. But outside was not just her old car, but the black Chevrolet from earlier, parked opposed to the street. With nobody in it.

“Christina, mind getting to the car? I have something to discuss with my acquaintance”
“Sure”

Linn was no one to fight with, especially when she was upset. And she was really upset now, most easily judged by her saying “Christina” and not “Tiffy”. Christina made little fuss and sat on the passenger side.

Linn starts to speak as the door closes with that very german “clonk”

“Doll, car keys”
“What?”
“I’m in no mood to fuck around. Give me your car keys”
“Yeah, bu-”
“DOLL!”

Linn may only be 17. But with the genetics she was blessed with, and all the time training, she was more than a match for Doll. She lowers her head and hands the keys over. And just like Linn guessed, a press on the unlock button made the black Chevrolet blink its hazards twice.

“You followed me”

Doll remains silent

“Now, if this is because dad asked you to follow me, i’m going to be seriously pissed off”
“N-not your father”
“Mother? Annie asked you to follow me?”
“No”
“Don’t fucking lie to me. I’m this close to punching your teeth in”
“Linn, i swear on the sun and the stars, they didn’t ask me to follow you”

Doll’s voice was breaking up and tears were forming in the bottom of her eyes

“Doll, who told you to spy on me?”

She was now crying

“N-no one…”
“What, then why did you…”
“Cause… it’s… it’s your date”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be spying. That’s fucking creepy. Why?”
“Cause… you’re happy, and, and she’s happy”
“That’s the point of a date. Spit it out”

Doll had now properly buried her face in her face

“I want to be happy too…”
“Wait, what… Doll, no...”
“I’m sorry Linn. It’s never happening again”

She turned around and headed back to her car. And Linn to hers.

“You don’t look angry anymore”
“No…. No, i’m not”
“Who was that?”
“Doll. And yes, that’s her name”
“Is she a… um, like…”
“She’s like me, yes. She’s like the oldest friend i have, but… She was in that black car that followed us. And, it looks creepy, but she has like, issues getting along with people”

Christina looks a little concerned.

“I know, it’s kinda weird, but… she isn’t happy, hasn’t been that type. Don't get close to anyone, even if she really wants it. And i didn’t make it better when i moved out”
“So… her source of enjoyment, is watching us on a date?”
“Yeah”

Linn nodded

“Yes it is”
“That’s pretty sad”
“Yep”
“Where does she live?”
“Mom and dad. Their property after all. And she… had a fight with mom long time ago, and Doll is still scared of her”
“Oh…”
“Sorry, you probably shouldn’t have-”
“Your oldest friend?”
“Yeah. Well, friend and friend, she looked just like that 20 years ago as well. Raised me as much as she co-, erm, as much as mom allowed her to”
“Annie is…”
“Very protective”

There was a silence in the car for a few minutes until Christina opened her mouth

“We could just watch a movie i guess?”
“With Doll? She isn’t allowed in the dorm. Hell, neither am i after curfew”
“That has stopped you before?
“Well, no-”
“And she can become a gun if she has to, we could hide that away”
“You’ve never seen an M60, have you?”
“Nope”
“Alright, i’ll give her a call”

Linn smiles a little as she dials in a phone number to someone she more saw as a big sister than anything else. Two hours later, Doll sits between two sleeping teenagers, watching the end credits of the latest big dumb summer movie. She turns the TV off a thinks. 

What she should do is either wake them up or carry them to their beds, but Dolls mind was going somewhere far more egoistic: nowhere. She had an arm around both their waists, and a head resting on both her shoulders. She'd sit here for two days if she could, just being close to someone. Anyone at all. 

Especially someone she knew was okay with her.