[003] stray

                                    Gwen wakes up first, her eyes taking her a couple of seconds to fully adjust to the light. But when it does, she could see Iris lying in her bed. The memories of last night quickly come flooding back in Gwen's mind. She sits up, her eyes never leaving Iris's sleeping form for a second. With the way the sunlight hit Iris, it made her appear as though she was glowing. 

                                    Gwen crept closer and closer until she was looming above Iris now, her hand reaching out to touch Iris's hair. She carefully runs her finger through the long, soft strands before she decides to be even more daring. Her fingertips graze the soft skin of Iris's cheek, instantly causing Iris to move closer to Gwen's touch. Gwen panics, backing away from Iris and making her way back to her desk. Just as Gwen sits down, Iris suddenly wakes up.

                                    For a moment, Gwen worries that Iris had been fully aware of what she had done. But instead, Iris just groans while holding her head in her hands. She was still pretty hungover so Gwen's secret was safe with her.

                                  "Still feeling terrible?" Gwen asks, her tone soft and soothing in a way that made Iris feel a little more at ease.

                                  "Like I just got hit by a truck. My head's killing me," Iris complained.

                                  "I have some pills. Might help with the migraine," Gwen quickly got up, looking through one of her drawers until she was able to find the migraine pills she had brought with her.

                                  "That'd be lovely, thank you. And, uh, thanks for letting me stay here," Iris sighs, resting her chin in the palm of her hand.

                                  "It's no problem," Gwen shakes her head.

                                   Iris weakly smiles over at Gwen. "You're my hero honestly. I don't know what I would've done without you."

                                  "It was nothing. Anyone else could've done it," Gwen reasoned.

                                  "Bullshit. Anyone else would've left me there. Or some asshole probably would've tried to take advantage of me. You're the only person who actually wanted to help me," Iris argued.

                                  Gwen looks away, a small and sheepish smile pulling at the corner of her lips. 

                                  "Do you like breakfast?" Iris then asked.

                                   "Yeah, sometimes," Gwen snorts.

                                   "Then have breakfast with me. You could sit with me and my friends. It'll be fun," Iris offered.

                                   The offer makes Gwen's heart skip a beat and she turns to look at Iris, wanting to make sure she wasn't joking around or anything. "Are you sure?"

                                   "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't. Besides, I'm really in the mood for something greasy right now. I won't take no for an answer," Iris persisted.

                                   "Okay," Gwen chuckles. "Okay, I'll go."

                                   She was so excited, doing her best to contain it while Iris was there. But she left shortly after to go and freshen up. But they both agreed to meet up in the dining hall so Gwen could have breakfast with Iris and her friends. When Iris was gone, Gwen lied down in the exact same spot Iris had been. She buried her head into the pillow Iris had laid on, breathing in Iris's scent. It was fucked up, but it brought Gwen a lot more comfort than it should have.

                                    Afterwards, Gwen decided to get ready as well. She knew that she had to hurry if she was ever going to catch up to Iris. Gwen tried her best to dress up, although her definition and Iris's definition of dressing up was obviously two very different things. Her heart was racing inside of her chest as Gwen walked into the dining hall, looking around for any sign of Iris. The girl was impossible to miss. She had a presence about her that made her stand out even in a crowded room.

                                  Eventually, Gwen spotted Iris sitting at a table with her friends. Iris seemed to sense Gwen's eyes on her because she looked up, smiling when she locked eyes with Gwen. She got up from the table and walked over to Gwen, pulling her in for a hug. Gwen was surprised by it, standing there awkwardly the whole time until Gwen pulled away.

                                 "You made it," Iris smiles, looking so pretty that it didn't appear as though she was hungover at all. The pill Gwen had given her really helped to ease the pounding headache that threatened to crack her head open. "I'm glad. They're boring me to tears over there."

                                 "Aren't those your friends?" Gwen questioned.

                                 "That's a kind way of putting it. Come on, you might as well meet them," Iris answered, grabbing Gwen's hand and leading her over to the table.

                                Gwen was so focused on Iris holding her hand that she was unaware of the looks being thrown her way by Virginia, Dana, and Buffy. Obviously, they weren't too keen on letting just about anyone in. And yet Iris was letting her sit with them like it was nothing.

                                 "Don't I know you from somewhere?" Dana narrows her eyes at Gwen.

                                 "You two bumped into each other. Literally. She's also the girl who saved me last night when I got super fucked up," Iris answered.

                                 "Looks like a stray to me," Dana murmured, still loud enough for Gwen to hear which she does.

                                 "She's not a stray. She's my new friend and her name is Gwen. Move over," Iris ordered, glaring directly at Virginia who had been sitting in the spot right next to Iris.

                                 "But I sat here first," Virginia weakly responds.

                                 "That's just terrible, isn't it?" Iris deadpans, not budging.

                                 Virginia reluctantly moves over, allowing Gwen to sit in her spot right next to Iris. She makes herself comfortable, her gaze briefly falling down onto the food on Iris's plate. She hadn't been kidding when she said that she had wanted something greasy. Gwen's stomach grumbled at the sight and she just hoped it wasn't loud enough for the others to hear. The other girls obviously thought of her as being beneath them and Gwen didn't want to give them any more reason to bully her.

                                "You're hungry, aren't you?" Iris questioned and Gwen glanced back up to meet Iris's gaze.

                                "A little," Gwen admits.

                                 "Can you get Gwen a plate?" Iris asks Dana whose face falls at the thought of getting up and doing work.

                                 "Oh, I can -," Gwen began to say.

                                 "I asked Dana to do it," Iris cuts Gwen off, focusing her intense stare on Dana. "What are you waiting for, Dana?"

                                  Gwen couldn't help but wonder if this was punishment for Dana treating her coldly earlier. Regardless, Dana swallows hard before getting up to fetch a plate of food for Gwen.

                                  "Besides, she could use the little exercise. I can't be the only one who's noticed her jeans getting a little tighter," Gwen says once Dana was out of earshot.

                                  Virginia gasps. "I thought I was the only one."

                                  "So, Gwen, what do you like to do?" Iris asked, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she looked at her.

                                  "I, uh... Writing, I guess. I plan on being an author when I finish here," Gwen answered.

                                  "That's super impressive," Buffy replies with an overly enthusiastic nod.

                                  "Yeah, very... scholarly," Virginia chimed in.

                                  "I don't think I've ever met an aspiring writer before. Can I read some of your stuff?" Iris questioned.

                                   "I'm afraid I haven't started yet. Writer's block," Gwen admits.

                                   "Oh, that sounds terrible. But if you ever want any ideas, you can ask me. Personally, I think you should write a horror story. We don't have enough horror stories written by females these days besides Mary Shelley," Iris mused aloud.

                                    "I hate horror stories! They scare me," Virginia frowns.

                                    "Isn't that the fucking point of a horror story?" Buffy scoffs.

                                    "I like horror stories so maybe I'll do that," Gwen agreed.

                                    Dana comes back with a plate of pancakes, slamming it down just a little too harshly in front of Gwen. "That's all they had."

                                    "Thanks," Gwen nods, grabbing her fork so she could start eating.

                                    "Don't you guys think Gwen here is hot? She has a rockstar vibe to her, no? The short hair, the ear piercings, it's very... Mick Jagger," Iris replies, running her fingers through Gwen's hair.

                                   Gwen looks over at Iris, reminded of the fact that she had touched Iris's hair just an hour before. But to have it done to her, it made Gwen feel all warm and tingly inside. No one had ever touched her hair, let alone so tenderly the way Iris did. As much as Gwen wanted her to keep going, she could only remain silent as Iris pulled her hand away afterwards.

                                    "Yeah, like a girl Mick Jagger," Virginia nodded.

                                    "Do you have a boyfriend?" Iris asks.

                                    Gwen looks around at the group of girls before shaking her head. "No."

                                   "Are you fucking anyone?" Iris asked next.

                                   "No," Gwen answered. She had never been with anyone before, deemed undesirable and unlovable. People at her old schools all thought she was insane and outside of that, she had no one either. So that left Gwen totally inexperienced in the world of dating and sex.

                                   "Oh, we have to change that," Buffy remarked.

                                   "I'm a good matchmaker," Virginia offered. "There are tons of guys on campus that I think you'll like."

                                   "Bullshit. The last guy you set me up turned out to be some weirdo with a foot fetish," Dana frowned.

                                   "How was I supposed to know he likes fucking girls' feet?" Virginia argued.

                                   Someone at the nearby table chokes on their coffee, shocked by the blunt and vulgar statement. Gwen decides to eat since no one else was really focusing on her anymore. Or so she thought.

                                   "Hey, what did you say your last name was?" Virginia then asked, deciding to change the subject.

                                    "I didn't," Gwen replies, clearing her throat when everyone looked at her to clarify. "Um, it's Hollow. Gwen Hollow."

                                    "Huh, sounds familiar. But I can't put my finger on it. Maybe your parents know mine or something," Virginia furrows her brows in deep thought.

                                    "Probably," Gwen avoids her gaze before continuing to eat. She just hoped Virginia wouldn't think too much about it or else things would get a lot more complicated.

                                    "I wish we could've met a lot sooner. Where have you been hiding this entire time?" Iris questioned. 

                                     Although she hadn't meant the question literally, Gwen still decided to answer. "My dorm."

                                    Iris chuckles as though Gwen had been joking and so Gwen chuckles too, deciding to play it off as such. "You can't spend all your time studying, Gwen! Don't worry, I'm going to help and break you out of your shell."

                                  "How?" Gwen reluctantly asks.

                                  "Just leave that up to me," Iris assures her with a small smile.

                                  Gwen is both nervous and excited, unsure of what Iris had planned for her. But as she continued to eat, she was unaware of Iris sneaking glances over at her. The jig would be up, however, when Iris noticed that Gwen was a little bit of a messy eater.

                                   "You have a little...," Iris trails off, reaching over to wipe the corner of Gwen's mouth with her thumb. Wiping off the syrup, Iris licks the rest of it off of her finger before smiling. "Maybe I should've gotten the pancakes instead."

                                   Gwen doesn't know what to say so she doesn't, opting to shovel some more food into her mouth instead. But she can't get the feeling of Iris's thumb on her mouth out of her head, no matter how hard she tries.

                                  "Did you run into William last night before you got all fucked up?" Dana asks.

                                   At the mention of William, Gwen nearly loses her appetite. She barely knew the guy but she already hated him. But the hatred truly stemmed from jealousy more than anything else. She was jealous of the fact that he got to be close with Iris in the way that Gwen wanted to.

                                  "Yeah. But nothing happened obviously. He's still asking me to give him a chance but there's no way I'm doing that," Iris replied, and Gwen nearly sighs in relief.

                                  "You're absolutely insane. William Booth is the fittest guy in this entire university. Any girl would be lucky to go out with him, let alone sleep with him," Virginia's eyes widened.

                                  "If you think so highly of him, why don't you sleep with him?" Iris scoffed.

                                   Virginia sighs. "I already tried but he wants you."

                                   "Oh my God, he's more pathetic than I thought. Is he actually saving himself for me?" Iris laughs. "I told him not to do that. I have to tell him to stop once and for all."

                                   "Yeah, let him know that you're not interested. Guys like him don't get the hint unless you make it clear," Gwen nodded.

                                   "You speak as though you have experience," Buffy snorted.

                                   "I've seen it happen before," Gwen weakly responds.

                                   "Maybe you can try and set him up with Grace here," Dana taunted.

                                   "It's Gwen," she quickly corrects Dana, realizing exactly what she was doing. Gwen's dealt with it all throughout her years in boarding school. For some reason, she thought things would be different here but that was clearly a lie.

                                   "Sorry," Dana apologizes, her tone suggesting that she was anything but sorry.

                                   "And as much as I appreciate the offer, he's not my type," Gwen continued, stabbing her pancake with her fork.

                                   "So what is your type?" Virginia asked.

                                   "Not William Booth," Gwen shrugged.

                                   "How descriptive," Buffy drawled.

                                   "Hey, Gwen probably doesn't know. But... I'm here to help her out. You know, return the favor since she helped me out," Iris offered. "That's what friends are for, right?"

                                    Gwen would sooner sit on a cactus than go on a bunch of dates with random boys. But she wasn't going to say that out loud. She only smiles and nods in response. Truth be told, Gwen wanted nothing more than to spend time with Iris only. Now that she had this opportunity to actually talk to her and be close to her, Gwen didn't want to waste another moment.

                                   "That's what friends are for," Gwen nods, making the smile on Iris's face grow wider.

                                   And just like that, the twisted relationship between Iris Catton and Gwen Hollow would begin.

( 🍇🖤🔪 )

word count: 2500
notes: iris is literally so gay and completely oblivious to it. she'll figure it out... eventually. also gwen sniffing the bed and touching iris in her sleep... she's such a weirdo but she's my weirdo, i love her a lot ok???