Poison

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created originally by Chris Angel and are copyrighted to him, any reposting or archiving without written permission is an infringement on the copyright of this series. So in other words You damn well better ask before you steal it.

Feedback: Every author in his or her own way makes it a point to ask for feedback when posting a story, well me I don't usually. But there are several reasons as to why a reader should consider taking the time to give it. The simple fact is that giving some form of feedback is truly the most important thing a reader can do after reading and enjoying a story. Hopefully in the process providing that author with at least one viable reason as to what you liked about the story. This small amount of time spent will no doubt inspire the author to write more and possibly at a quicker pace, knowing that they have a fan base who are waiting on their next works. So thanks for the feedback and please keep it comin.

Summary: From writer/producer Chris Angel comes this intoxicating tale of lesbian lust and...love? Poison.

Original Airdate: October 29, 2008 @ 9:00 p.m.
(following an ALL NEW ' Slash Tv')

Story Codes: no sex

Normally Lisa was an indescribable early bird. She woke up at hours that hadn't seen sun yet and filled that time with chores she cared for personally; like going online to check her e-mails as well as her most frequently visited websites and blogs. She might even be so bold as to make herself a cup of coffee or go downstairs to feed Koenig. And if she felt frivolous enough she'd even do her homework or polish up any unfinished essays and reports she had collecting dust in her computer's numerous folders. She would tip-toe around the house to make sure she didn't disturb her parents while they slept. The whole house was hers in those hours and she relished it because it was the one time where she didn't have to put on masks in her own backyard. No fake indifference toward her inconsiderate father's hidden conservatism, no deflecting her mother's inglorious fussing over the most trivial aspects of her diet or anything equally as mundane. It was a short few hours of self-hood and reflection for Lisa.

Which was why her sleeping through it that Saturday morning stood as a testimony to how exhausting the past week had been. All of her normal habits for the morning were pushed aside for sleep and sleep alone. She had been asleep since coming home from school yesterday morning and hadn't cracked open an eyelid since. Her parents had come by her room in that time, but rather than disturb her (well-needed) sleep, Daphne pulled a blanket over her daughter's slumbering form and let her have her rest.

When Lisa's eyes finally started to flutter open there was a shower of golden morning light cast over her entire room past the unfurled curtains of her window. She looked up and emitted a kind of grumble/groan hybrid. It didn't take long for her to register that she'd overslept (at least by her own schedule). So the young woman yawned and leaned up from her bed, pulling the blanket off of her. All things considered Lisa usually get the grandest amount of sleep. Unfortunately that was happening at a time when she truly needed it. This sudden burst was therefore fully welcomed. It did nothing to change her preoccupations though. In instantaneous flashes she recalled what a hell of a week it had been. Her relationship with Dani and bringing that to an end, meeting Nicole, taking care of Dani after her bruising, then watching she and Nicole scrapping in school and finally the coup de grace, having to lie to Nicole about Dani and her ties to the Italian girl.

With all that had happened this week... it was the lie that seemed the most foul right now.

Make no mistake. Lisa hadn't wanted to lie to Nicole. But what choice did she really have? Lose the closest and probably only friend she'd ever had? If not lose her then weaken the friendship itself? Lisa could picture that little scenario oh so well. She might tell Nicole and Nicole might try to accept it, awkwardly so, just to please her. Then the Milligan girl would over time grow distant and unbecoming. It was a slow corrosion that Lisa had admittedly not seen for herself or better yet experienced; but she was more than smart enough to know how these things worked. And she couldn't bear it. The last thing she needed now was to lose a good friend. If that meant having to lie to her then she would do that -- no matter how sick that sounded in her head.

The private resolve steeled Lisa somewhat. She still felt guilty about lying to Nicole like that but stronger than that guilt was her desire to preserve the friendship she'd established with Nicole. That was what she told herself. And it was quite enough. So the blonde girl yawned aloud once more and stood upright to stretch out her arms. She was still dressed in the clothes she had worn to school yesterday so when she realized it she took them off and redressed in some indoor clothing -- a pair of white polyester summer shorts and a large black jersey that ran all the way down to her thighs. It was too big for her but she liked the way it felt when she wore it. After that Lisa went about unpacking her backpack, putting all her notebooks and texts away. Very briefly during that exchange she noticed her cell phone. Normally she didn't pay it any mind. Aside from Dani hardly anyone called her on it. But when she saw its screen declaring missed calls she couldn't help but take notice. Lisa put her Geography notebook down and flipped it open. She was startled to see there were five missed calls on it... but perhaps not so startled so see that they were all from Dani.

That bugged her.

Lisa closed her cell phone and threw it on her bed, somewhat childishly. Suddenly her thoughts turned from Nicole to Dani. New emotions she'd somehow tried to forego crossed territories in her head -- namely anger. What right did Dani have calling her up after what she did? After Lisa had told her so frankly to leave her alone? After provoking Nicole and fighting her like that? It actually annoyed her that Dani could be so self-centred. For as long as Lisa had known of Dani she had thought that it was her strength, tenacity and conviction that she found most attractive about the brunette. But now those very same things Lisa found repulsive. It made her wonder. Had she even really liked those things in Dani? Or was it more about the sex? Was it that someone had finally noticed her, not just as a bookworm or as an out-of-place WASP child, but as a woman? Much like every other question that she asked herself these days... Lisa had no answer for it. All she knew was that Dani had called her and those calls gave her a budding tingle of consternation. And the more she thought about it the more that tingle became a gripe.

At the moment she knew where she stood with Dani -- Lisa never wanted to see her again. But that didn't apply to Dani herself. They hadn't spoken to each other since the fight but Dani had been calling her. If it was to say goodbye then she wouldn't have tried calling over and over again. Obviously Dani wasn't ready to let this go. That rose another worry. How would she justify it if Dani ever came up to her and Nicole was there? The thought made her tremble. The last thing she wanted to was to see them fight again. It had all but broken her heart the last time. It occurred to Lisa then that if Dani didn't get it, nothing had really been resolve. She wasn't completely sure that Nicole had bought the lie anyway, she was probably still suspicious, and if it happened again, if Dani came up and confronted her while she was with Nicole, there was no telling what might go down.

Right now she knew that she couldn't let what happened in the lunchroom yesterday happen again. Though Lisa was aware that she had feelings or at least an attraction to Nicole, none of that was as important as her friendship right now. To protect that she would have to make things plain to Dani. She'd have to tell her that it was over and then make her understand that. She couldn't do it then run away like before. Lisa needed to have Dani know that it was over, to make sure she knew that the notion was an undeniable verity. In moments Lisa made the decision. After today, after her day with Nicole, she'd call Dani up, maybe arrange a meeting some place close by, then just tell her once and for all to back off. In all honesty Lisa wasn't sure if she could get the point across but she knew at least that she had to. She simply couldn't be wishy-washy about it. That was the plan.

Just then Lisa's cell phone went off.

Her clear blue eyes swung towards it and almost immediately a weight dropped in the pit of her stomach. Was it Dani? Lisa paused with alarm for a moment then balled her hand into a fist and shook her inertia off. So what if it was Dani? If she couldn't handle speaking to her now how in the blue hell would she handle articulating their break-up in person? That gave her a drop of iron. It was a small one (fledgling soldier she was not) but it was just about enough to get her to take up her cell again and make things clear.

So it made things slightly anti-climatic when she saw Nicole's name running across the screen. All the same, Lisa breathed a sigh of relief and accepted the call, remembering that she and Nicole had exchanged numbers once before. "Hello?"

"Hey Lisa, it's me."

Lisa couldn't help but feel all atwitter, even if it was just Nicole's voice. "Hi..."

"Sorry to call you so early in the morning. Were you sleeping?"

Normally when she woke up it was still dark out so to her this was late. Nevertheless Lisa glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand to check the time. It was about half past nine. They clearly still had a great deal to learn about each other. "No. I was awake. How are you? Is everything okay?"

"Sure. Everything's fine," The other girl answered sweetly. "I'm psyched for today. Are we still on?"

"Of course." Hellish three-headed dogs couldn't keep her away.

"Good! I was thinking we should probably go see the movie first and then afterwards go get something to eat. How's that sound? Yay or nay?"

"...Yay. I think."

Lisa could envision Nicole grinning across the street. Her tone of voice suggested it. "Very cool. Come meet me in front of my place at about quarter past three. I'll be waiting there. Catch you later!"

Lisa whispered "Bye" very softly then heard Nicole hang up on the other end. She then dreamily pressed her cell against her chest, heaved a calming sigh and shut her eyes. Nicole was so sweet and adorable. Her voice alone was like a beautiful piece of music composed solely to relax and to soothe. There was grace and fire of the most potent nature within her. It had Lisa so charmed that she'd even forgot to ask the girl how her soccer tryouts went. She was sure that Nicole had made the team though. While she had never seen Nicole play (and was pretty much uninterested when it came to sports in general) she had faith in her friend's capabilities. If anyone could do it, it was Nicole.

With their impending day together Lisa went about her usual tasks with a small smile and a bit of a spring in her step. She went downstairs and opened up a can of lamb-flavoured cat food for Koenig whilst making her own self a cup of coffee and some thinly buttered toast. After that she went back upstairs to her room, saying a polite good morning to her mother when she woke up (while Richard slept in). Then came her online business. All her e-mails (and there were at least twenty-five unopened ones -- she hadn't been frequenting her hotmail account often) she replied to, all her favourite websites and blogs and mailing lists she visited to keep herself up to date. After that Lisa concentrated on the few pieces of homework that had to be done before next week. And subsequent to all of that the blonde girl took herself to her wardrobe and picked out what she was going to wear for the film with Nicole.

Lisa wasn't a Valley girl. It didn't really matter to her what she wore as long as it was comfortable and kept her warm when she needed to be warm. But in this case she wanted to look good for Nicole. So it was a question of what she had at her disposal. It was not much to be sure because her wardrobe was in no way flashy. What Lisa ended up settling on was a pleated mid-length brown skirt coupled with a pearl-coloured v-neck shirt, cotton ankle socks and her polished up brown penny loafers. It perhaps wasn't as becoming an outfit as Lisa would have intended but it looked casual enough to pass as casual and formal enough to be formal. It suited Lisa in that sense. She too was neither here nor there. Once she decided what she was going to wear there wasn't much else left for her to do. All of that took about three hours. All that was left was to wait for the time to pass. She hastened its movement by taking a bath, listening to a CD of excepts from the Ring Cycle as performed by some random Latin American philharmonic, and playing with Koenig a little. Everything else was simply a distraction. Though it couldn't have come any slower than it did it was eventually time for Lisa to get ready. The young woman brushed her hair again, doused herself with a few spurts of perfume then got dressed in the clothes she'd picked out. Lisa didn't normally bother with jewellery so by the time she'd gotten changed that was an afterthought. Then she turned to the full body mirror in her room and observed herself.

She thought that she looked okay.

Koenig at that point came up to her leg and nuzzled his little head against it. Lisa smiled, taking that as a share of the sentiment, then grabbed her purse. Having one really made her feel like a dork and while she had no idea why; it was necessary to have something to carry her keys, cell and money in. The blonde closed the bedroom door behind her then descended her stairs and entered the lounge to say goodbye to her Mom. Daphne was sitting alone in one of the armchairs now; Richard had left earlier for one of his weekend shifts at the hospital. She was busy though, sorting through numerous case files she brought home with her from her law firm. Daphne went through them all with studious nobility.

Lisa approached her and said, "Hey Mom? I'm leaving now."

"To meet your little friend?" Though Daphne hadn't intended any offence there, the way she said `little friend' didn't do anything but highlight how everyone saw the concept of Lisa having a friend, a quaint novelty. With Dani it was more a result of her intractable jealousy but with her mother it was just the naked thought. That stung, if only a little.

Lisa nodded. "Yes. Nicole."

"Nicole? That's her name?"

Lisa became cautious. "Yes. Why?"

"Oh it's nothing. It's just that I was speaking to Mrs. Wilberman this morning and she told me that the other night, before your father and I got home, there was a girl banging on our door and screaming for someone. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

At first that comment didn't quite sink in. Then it did and Lisa froze. That was the night before last when she had originally broken up with Dani. Lisa clearly remembered sobbing into her pillow until she left that night. But since no one had said anything to her parents the day after she had assumed that the event had gone unnoticed by their neighbours. Apparently that wasn't the case. Lisa frowned with irritation. If anything about white affluent suburbia cheesed her off it was that stupid way everyone was up everyone else's ass. You couldn't step more than three yards from your door without stepping into someone else's business. All the gossip and innuendo and thin walls were the ultimate antagonist to privacy in this place.

"I uh..." Now she'd have to lie again. "...I don't... remember anything like that, Mom. But I... I-I-I guess someone must have... gotten the wrong door or something. That`s all it is."

How many lies would she have to tell to cover up the trail of shit she and Dani left behind them whenever they were together? Daphne stared evenly at her for a moment then returned to case files. Apparently she'd bought that big steaming load. But why wouldn't she? To Daphne, to their family, and to their family's friends, Lisa was a pristine angel of finely crafted porcelain and delicate Asian paints. A pretty object on the shelf to be admired and fused over but never understood. Something precious, something subtle, something fragile. Would anyone ever know the real Lisa?

"Okay, sweetheart. Be back before ten." Daphne answered.

That was enough. Since Lisa's social life was practically non-existent she'd forgotten that she had a curfew. But she didn't intend to be back any later than say eight or nine so it was moot. The scholarly teen bade her mother another goodbye then left the Whitfield Household. Once outside she could already see Nicole standing beside her door in wait for her. And she looked absolutely gorgeous. Lisa bit her lip when hazarding a probing glance at her friend outside the realm of school. Nicole was wearing a tiny grey tee shirt (with the phrase `savage badlands' across the back) that cut itself off about three inches above her belly button. The lower half of her body sported a dark blue denim skirt that ended above her knees. Pointed high-heel boots were her choice of footwear and hanging from her earlobes were two sparkling silver teardrop earrings. As for her hair? She'd braided two long tresses of it, one dangling either side of her forehead, while her bangs bounced freely. There was a tint of pink lip-gloss spread across her lips. The colour didn't seem at all smutty while she was wearing it. On the contrary. The pink matched well with the sea green of her eyes and the golden brown of her hair as well as accentuating Nicole's natural pucker. Aside from the bruise her cheek still had from her fight with Dani (which had been de-emphasised with a little pap of crafty make-up) she was a sight to behold.

Lisa licked her lips unintentionally, perhaps forgetting for a moment that this wasn't a date; and crossed the empty suburban street toward her friend. The blonde one greeted the brunette with mature zest. "Hi, Nicole...!"

"Lisa," Nicole's patient waiting frown became a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ready and waiting."

Nicole gestured down the street with a grin. "Well then follow me. Someone from my Math class told me about the local Cineplex. It`s pretty good."

All Lisa did was follow the lead Nicole set for her as they journeyed down the street to their bus stop and waited for a modern wagon to take them downtown. When they reached the Cineplex they got to the business of picking a movie. All things considered Lisa really wasn't big on film so it really didn't matter to her which one they went with. Fortunately Nicole wasn't the type to heckle and chide about something like that and just made her choice; I Am Legend. They then waited in line for tickets for about twenty minutes (it was surprisingly busy this time of day) and after purchasing them walked upstairs across burgundy carpeted steps to the food stands of the second floor. The girls were forced to wait in line once more behind a grouping of men and women mostly the same age as themselves. While the line dwindled in number Lisa patiently stood behind Nicole (who was somewhat more impatiently eyeballing the last few foot-long hotdogs sitting tight and warm on a grill behind the counter.

Nicole snarled at the teenage maître d' that their queue was aligned to. "What's taking that pimpled jackass so long? If he doesn't hurry up all the foot-longs are gonna sell out...!"

That was another of Nicole's weaknesses. Junk food. For the life of her, Lisa honestly couldn't understand how a girl like Nicole could eat so unhealthily and still have such a sexy figure. It was just another one of those little foibles that made her so captivating.

At this point they were quite close together in the line. So close in fact that Lisa saw the light bouncing of the texture of Nicole's cinnamon brown hair, giving it a shimmering gleam. It looked very beautiful. It made her stare at Nicole's hair for a moment, just before she did something unusually bold of her, she leaned forward and quickly smelled the scent of Nicole's hair. It had a sensual aroma of coconuts to it. But as she realized what she was doing Lisa pulled back fast, looking from side to side to check if she had been seen. It was fortunate that she hadn't been. She chided herself for slipping like that. Then she blinked repeatedly when Nicole's bright mane of golden brown hair whipped around her shoulders when she turned to look back at Lisa.

"You know that lines are faster in Utah?" She remarked.

Lisa half-smiled. "You have to get used to L.A. some time..."

She rolled her eyes and turned back around. Eventually the line did speed up and about four minutes later they were only three people down from the attendant. It was right then that the pair of them heard someone say, "Hey it's Nicole!" from a parallel line to their own. Both she and Lisa looked across. There was a girl smiling with startled glee at the brunette. Lisa observed her cautiously. She was slightly taller than herself and Nicole, having perhaps an inch over the pair of them. Her smooth black hair was cropped, aside from her heavy bangs, which hung as far down her face as the bridge of her nose (though they had been parted to the side). She wore a chequered cotton jumper and black trousers whilst having a tiny backpack hanging from her shoulders. Lisa mused. She didn't know this girl but she somehow looked familiar, like Lisa had seen her before from somewhere. Behind the girl was another young woman that seemed to be `with' her. A demure and perhaps a little morose Asian girl that wouldn't utter so much as a word.

But while Lisa knew nothing of the pair of them, Nicole's expression brightened with familiarity. "Jenny...? Megan? Hey guys! What are you doing here?"

"We're catching a movie, genius," Replied the grinning taller one, the one that Lisa noticed first. Then that girl stared evenly at Lisa herself and said, "So who's your friend?"

"Oh right, damn." Nicole shook her head chidingly and first gestured to the tall girl, "Lisa, this is Jennifer Jones, but just call her Jenny. She likes that," then she went on to introduce the Asian girl, "And this is Megan, her best friend." Finally Nicole gestured at Lisa. "Megan? Jenny? This Lisa. My best `Los Angeles' friend."

Jenny gave her a polite "How you doing?" while the more tepid Megan gave her a nod and a brief smile. Nicole then went on talking, uttering, "I met these two last night at soccer tryouts. Jenny's a really good goalkeeper. I couldn't get one goddamned shot past her."

"Nicole. Sucking up to me won't get you anywhere. You're still not gonna score on me."

The brunette giggled. "Oh don't flatter yourself. I don't need any handouts. Besides, I was kind of distracted last night. Once you see me in action for real next week you'll be surprised. I'll kick all kinds of ass."

While Nicole and Jenny smiled and joked with each other, Lisa struggled not to let this dampen her mood. It was nice for Nicole to make some other friends, but... it bothered her that the private time she and Nicole had to spend with each other might now be intruded upon by two people she didn't even know. Nevertheless for Nicole's sake she tried to feign some kind of interest in all of this.

Lisa turned to Megan and asked blankly, "What position are you?""

Jenny was about to answer that for her when Megan quickly (and dourly) interjected, "I don't like soccer. I just go there to watch Megan play. Moral support."