I hate your red hair. So much so that I want to drown in them

      - I’m surprised I found you in your room and not on the roof. The pale hand with the cigarette didn’t even flinch at the sudden voice, and Andrea didn’t dignify it by paying attention to the uninvited guest who stood behind her back. Brown eyes stared blankly at the night city, which in turn continued to be alive even at a time like this. Cautious footsteps were heard, followed by the creaking of a wooden chair under the weight of someone else. Taking a puff, Minyard turned her head languidly towards her companion, and with that she began to think of possible ways to escape if Nila got cocky. But there was no avoiding it, and the alcohol in the blonde’s blood was getting in the way of any plan. — I’m waiting. — Andrea replied shortly and clearly after a long time of silence and meaningless staring. At the same time she thought that in the end Nila would have given up anyway, because she didn’t have the talent called patience that Andrea had.       Even so, Josten rested her chin on the palms of her hands, which she had folded on the back of the chair in front of her, and after a few seconds turned her head toward the open window, throwing a quick glance at the cigarette. But she said nothing. Minyard exhaled intermittently and stood in another pose: she rested her elbow on the window sill so that she was facing the girl with her whole body, and tilted her head to the side, lighting a cigarette. She caught Nila’s attention, just as she’d hoped, and slowly let the smoke out of her mouth as she continued to watch the redhead carefully. — I just came by to see you. — Nila finally spoke up, looking at the girl differently, as if she was surprised by something but trying to hide it. Licking her dry lips, Josten reached for the cigarette, but it was sharply away from her as soon as Andrea took her hand away. — If you’ve been looking for me, you have something to say. — She concluded, And you can’t “just show up.” Not because you don’t want to, but because you don’t know how. Andrea put the cigarette to her lips, took a small puff, and threw it out the window with a flick. Nila’s reaction she’d predicted. Complete indifference to the almost whole cigarette, because the redhead had long ago gotten used to such a habit of her girlfriend. And the “girlfriend” didn’t look out the window right away, looking for something quickly.       - When I leave the room, I won’t run after her, even if you missed and didn’t hit a puddle. — Neela smiled as she caught a brief glance from Andrea that confirmed her hunch. — I was don’t miss. A skinny hand was behind her back, and then she appeared with a new pack of cigarettes. Minyard opened it quickly, but kept her movements calm. With a shake, one cigarette slid out of the packet, and Andrea had already squeezed it between her lips. After she did it again, she reached up to the redhead’s face and pulled it away when there were two less cigarettes in the pack. — How fucking boring. — Slowly saying this, Andrea turned back to the window and still hadn’t taken a puff, while from outside, a cigarette was already being actively smoked. Minyard didn’t notice it, or skillfully pretended to. — I’m getting ready for bed. So you can go back to your place.       - And throw away a cig like that? — In an attempt to catch Andrea’s eye, Nila straightened her back and moved closer to her in her chair. — Then I’ll be forced to carry all your packs around until you finally decide to light and throw away, light and throw away. — Noticing the blonde twitching the corner of her lips in displeasure, Nila continued with a smile. — Just as Kevin used to carry your pills, I’m will carrying your cigarettes. — Did you decide to show off your powers of humor so I wouldn’t be so bored? — Andrea eventually turned her head and looked at her companion again, a faint smile playing on her face at the former’s displeasure. — That’s so sweet. Blue eyes smiled for their owner as soon as she heard what Andrea eventually added after a few seconds of silence. — Did you really think so? Sighing heavily, Andrea shook her head and pressed her untouched cigarette into the windowsill with inexplicable distaste. Nila, perplexed, looked up at the girl look away the pile of tobacco and paper. Something new to her. — Sarcasm, my dear, — Andrea straightened up and began to shake the remains of the ash off her palm, — sarcasm. Minyard turned her whole body to the redhead and crossed her arms over her chest as she continued to study her blue eyes. The picture in front of her eyes shook a little, making the goalkeeper do so as well, but even the effect of the vodka on her system couldn’t make her take her eyes off the girl.       The scar on the cheek, hidden beneath a curtain of curly red hair, caught her eye. Her palm languidly reached for it, and Andrea touched the recently trimmed ends with an unaccustomed caution. The gaze of her brown eyes scrutinized each lock, not even reaching the scars on her back. Neela didn’t resist or interfere with what was happening, considering any touch from Andrea to be a gift. When the blonde took a step back and removed her hand behind her back, however, it didn’t slip past Nila’s attention that Minyard was looking specifically at the band-aid and said at the same time: — I hate you. The expression on Josten’s face didn’t change as she had had to hear those words spoken to her too many times. And while Nila felt nothing from the others, from the fox’s lips they only caressed her ears. She wasn’t offended by this attitude towards herself. She didn’t ask Andrea to be gentler to her, nor did she ask Nila to be gentler to her. Joosten wasn’t stupid, no matter how much the blonde persuaded her otherwise, reminding her at every convenient and inconvenient occasion of how she’d attracted the attention of reporters, how she’d left Kevin for the Ravens, and reminded her of her father, who’d yet ended up where he should have been seven years ago — among the worms underground. And though Andrea was too good a reminder, it still couldn’t overwhelm the fresh scars on the Butcher’s daughter’s face.       After these thoughts, the pack of cigarettes in Andrea’s hand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Nila, still smiling, hid it behind her back, and with her free hand prepared to assert her right to possess the cigarettes, one of which was already clamped between the girl’s teeth, looking at the redhead as if she were a creature. — I warned you. — Nila gradually lowered her hand in front of her, realizing that Andrea wouldn’t do anything to regain hers. — You said if I threw it away, — The girl replied a little inarticulately from behind her cigarette, — and I crushed it. — It’s the same thing. — Joosten looked at the blonde, not taking her gaze away from her dark brown eyes. — 'I’ll give you your cigarettes back if you answer why you hate me. — I don’t want to answer. — Andrea shrugged indifferently and frowned her eyebrows slightly. — What the fuck makes you think you can make your own rules in my room? You have a roommate, in case you haven’t forgotten, so it’s okay for him to fuck your brains out just like you’re doing to me right now, but in your own place. — I don’t think that’s possible right now. — Nyla repeated after the girl as she stretched her shoulders languidly. — Matt and Danielle are gone, so it’s really boring in the room. — So that’s what you’re here for. You thought I’d be your entertainment?       - As I am yours. — A wide smile immediately colored the face of this girl, who made it clear that she had long ago figured out all the habits of this wild fox. And since she had been talking to her for so long, she was no longer as bored as Minyard had tried to show. Andrea subdued her interlocutor with a hard stare, but failed to get the expected result. Seeing that insolent smirk of Nila, who visibly felt like the winner in their next game, wanted to set fire not only to the cigarette, but also to that red hair. After giving the idea a chance to develop, the goalkeeper changed her mind, since hardly anyone from the team would believe her if she said that it was just a stupid accident. Therefore, the lighter only flickered near her face. Minyard chose to remain silent further, reluctantly admitting her defeat against the red-haired fox. — So you don’t want to answer anymore? — Neela spoke up and moved up to be very close to the blonde. — I answered. — She replied sullenly and crossed her arms, one of which held a cigarette, under her chest. The girl lowered her head down, and the blond strands that she had tucked behind her ears immediately came loose. — It’s your problem if you don’t have the intelligence to understand. — Your problem if you’re so hard of hearing, Andrea. — Josten teased, at the same time gently opening her palm to take the cigarette for herself. Andrea, surprisingly, allowed it. — I said, why do you hate me?       Andrea remained silent, thus insisting on her point, and the blue eyes of her interlocutor proudly remained at attention brown. Nila didn’t think she had asked such a difficult question for a fox who could talk about Drake’s horrible and unacceptable behavior as if it were an item on her list of necessary things to do for the day. But even Josten briefly fell into a stupor at such silence, broken only by the voices of the television in the next room, and under that gaze of Andrea’s. Footsteps of a man who was ready to get tangled up in his own feet were heard outside the door, followed by Niki’s voice calling out the name of her tonight’s drinking companion, Kevin. Neela turned around as one of the guys tried to open the door, but changed his mind with the phrase “oh, but here we have more! Kevin, come on!”. The fear that this conversation could be ruined just because of one drunken soul stiffened Neela for a second, but gradually began to sink in, judging by the relaxed shoulders. But Andrea still hadn’t answered anything, so the redhead was already ready to dismiss any attempts to learn the secret until she returned her attention to the girl. For a split second, Josten allowed herself to be confused by the surprise of the blonde next to her attacker’s face. Nila had to cock her head upward to keep her eyes on the light in the brown eyes.       - I hate you because your instinct for self-preservation is dulled and I have to pull you out. A smile stretched across Josten’s face. That’s a good start. — I’m not asking you to do that. — Nila shifted smoothly to a whisper, ignoring the way Andrea’s pupils narrowed the moment she touched her fingers to her scarred knuckles. — Then on the bus, you took back your promise. You have no obligation to me. — Shut up. — Unlike Joosten, the blonde continued to speak as loudly as she had before. She wasn’t afraid that Nicky-he-needs-everything-Hammick would be able to hear their conversation, because even over loud music, he would find any way to clearly hear every voiced letter. — I don’t ask for your opinion when it comes to your safety. — Andrea paused and exhaled slowly, but she knew that Nila already understood her sensation of touching her palm. The girl frowned, showing the redhead supposedly really having far from the most pleasant feelings for her. — I hate you most of all for what you make me experience. Aaron once suggested that you were a witch. And now I’m wondering more and more if he’s right. Because every time I think about it, I’d run after you if they were going to beat you up.       A pack of cigarettes immediately appeared in front of Minyard’s face, but the girl looked through it. Her gaze was completely fixed on the so-called witch, who once again managed to untie the wild fox’s tongue. Now she made no attempt to show that she had opposing feelings for this girl. Seeing Nila’s satisfied smile, Andrea couldn’t let anyone erase it. Not even herself. She could feel the loss behind her, twice, but right now it was only causing a tickling feeling in the bottom of her stomach that kept her down. — Matt told me he was going to be late and stay the night at Dan’s. — Stroking the bandage on Andrea’s arm with her thumb, Nila had to let go of the girl and got to her feet. She placed her cigarette on the windowsill and saluted at the very door with the pack in her hand. — 'You didn’t answer my question for a long time, so the deal is off. Now I’ll give it back if you offer me something interesting in return! When only Andrea was left in the room, she silently turned back to the open window, deciding not to see the uninvited guest off or say goodbye. Not at all because she considered her attention a great honor for this man. The reason was that, after counting to six, Minyard left the room after her girlfriend, taking with her an unfinished bottle of vodka.