Going Home

Lan felt almost self-conscious as Jocelyn was staring at her, looking her over from head to toe. Lan cursed herself for feeling that way. She was the one who needed to be strong here. She was the one who was forcing an issue that had caused her so much angst over these past few months. Jocelyn was the one who was naked and drunk and trying to get into a shoving match just to annoy Lan. Jocelyn should have felt self-conscious. But it didn't seem like the Chinese-Australian girl had any shame. She hardly ever seemed to have any.

<If y-you—y-you're—fine. I-if you don't want clothes, you don't need clothes...to listen,> Lan would relent. Jocelyn could stand here naked, as long as she was listening to what Lan was saying. Jocelyn didn't seem to be willing to budge on that point at all, and Lan had more important subjects to cover than arguing with the other girl for an hour over whether or not she could be damned to put a basic bra and panties set on.

Lan's cheeks burned up when Jocelyn started talking about shagging, and about what she would do to the girl in her room if she got the chance. <S-stop!> Lan insisted, hissing angrily at Jocelyn, reaching up with both hands to grab Jocelyn's wrists and try to pry those hands away from her body. She stared intently into Jocelyn's eyes, which were hardly an inch away with their faces this close. <If you think that this is b-because I'm...I'm jealous, or something, then you're...you're...> Lan paused, then, with a little smirk, and a well-practiced imitation of Jocelyn's Australian accent, she would finish: "...th-then you're a bloomin' drongo."

Lan hoped that would at least get Jocelyn's attention, shock her into shutting up and listening as Lan switched back to Mandarin. <If you hadn't brought...b-brought that girl here, then m-maybe I would've waited to do this. But...not for very long. This isn't a, umm, a hissy fit over you...ch-cheating on me, or something.> Lan thought that she was doing well so far. <This is only about you...and me.>

Jocelyn leered at Lan as it seemed like she was about to break down again. The stuttering returned, the meek shrinking aura. Jocelyn was used to that kind of Lan. Maybe she could shove the girl aside and get some sleep. However, Lan managed to right herself a bit and as she spoke of jealousy, Jocelyn rolled her eyes until finally she was addressed in English. Well, Australian.

Jocelyn balked and tried to tug her hands free from the girl. Her lip curled into a sneer and she bent her fingers into a fist as Lan continued. Jocelyn tugged again and eyed Lan whens he was finished. "Don't take the fuckin piss, Sheila!" She growled. "Fuck on off with that!?" She said. "My fun's fuckin wearin off because of you! If this is about you an me, then why're you doin this shite when there's SOMEONE IN THE OTHER FUCKIN ROOM!" Jocelyn said and kicked at the door as hard as she could to either make a loud noise or, preferably, kick the door open.

"BLLOODY FUCKIN CHUNDAH!!"

Mei-Li snapped awake at the loud sound, sitting straight up with a small scream and looking around in a panic. Both her vision and her memories from earlier were still a bit fuzzy, but she could make out two distinct forms out in the door way. < "L-l-lu J-jiao...? Wh-what's going on...!?" > she cried out in her native tongue, scared and confused about what she had gotten herself in to.

Lan tried to stop Jocelyn from kicking that door in and waking up the girl who was still fast asleep in Jocelyn's bed. Lan truly did not want to involve her in this. It was none of her concern. She was an innocent bystander. Lan knew nothing about her, but she knew that the girl could not possibly deserve to get entangled in this web of anger and sociopathy that Lu Jiao Jocelyn was weaving. This was something that Lan had been planning for a long time, and she had been planning on confronting Jocelyn one on one, without anyone else involved.

Unfortunately, Lan could not push Jocelyn back before the Chinese-Australian girl kicked open the door. From inside, behind her, Lan heard a scream and a quick cry in Mandarin. Guilt immediately flooded her body as she heard the fear and confusion in the girl's voice. This could have waited. It should have waited...

Lan would give Jocelyn as hard a shove as she could manage to try to force her to back up. Then, Lan would turn to the girl in the bed and take a couple of steps closer, regretfully bowing her head, not making eye contact with the girl, looking down at the floor. <I am s-so s-sorry that...th-that we woke you. I, umm, I am Yi Lan—L-Lu Jiao's...roommate.> She sighed deeply and bowed her head lower, keeping an eye open to watch the door for what Jocelyn was going to do. <I d-don't—I don't know how I can—I am sorry. V-very, very sorry.>

What an awful way to have to make a first impression, Lan thought bitterly. Her gut was tying itself in knots, now, as she knew that she could not possibly ask this girl to leave, but in her own head she was hoping and praying that the girl would leave, so that she could be spared from the fight that would have to happen between Lan and Jocelyn, and so that Lan could continue as she had planned without any additional complications.

Jocelyn had known what she was going to be doing when she kicked the door open. However, as soon as she did it, she mentally cursed herself. Yeah, it was a bitch move, but still. She looked at Yi Lan and then up at Mei-Li, who had a worried look on her face. Jocelyn had to keep herself from laughing out loud.

<Go back to bed. There's nothing going on.> She said in Chinese and looked at Yi Lan. <Right?> She said to the ashen haired girl and roughly bumped past her to try and get back in the bed.  <I was just getting a drink and saw her home. Must have opened the door a little too hard. Sorry.>

< "Ah... Um... I am Mei-Li. It... It is nice to meet you, Yi Lan..." Mei stammered out, blushing furiously and crossing her arms over her chest as she realized she was still completely naked. Quite an embarrassing state to be in while meeting someone new. Lu Jiao had definitely not mentioned she had a roommate. It was a little weird she was not around earlier, but Mei was definitely feeling even more guilty knowing she had intruded like this in not only Lu Jiao's home, but someone else's as well.

While she didn't quite buy Jocelyn's explanation, Mei really did not want to pry further, slowly retreating underneath the covers and praying no trouble would come of this.

<It...it is nice to meet you, too, Mei-Li. Again...I'm v-very sorry.> Lan dipped her head again. The girl seemed nice, and definitely did not deserve to be caught in the middle of something between Lan and Jocelyn. She didn't deserve to be led on by Jocelyn at all, either. And neither do I, Lan added bitterly. She had hoped that Jocelyn could be changed, but everything she had done since Lan moved into this apartment—including this little tryst with Mei-Li, however nice the voluptuous girl was—only served to prove otherwise.

And now Jocelyn was trying to dodge this conversation. Lan scrunched up her face, trying to keep her composure, trying to keep her voice steady as she spoke. <Mei-Li, L-Lu Jiao and I need to...to speak some more. We will do it in my room, b-but I apologize in advance if we are loud. Please...please try to go back to sleep.> Lan would reach out to grab onto Jocelyn's wrist, to stop the Chinese-Australian girl from sliding back into the bed with Mei-Li.

<Lu Jiao...we still need to talk. Come with me,> she would insist.

Lan was furious with Jocelyn. The Chinese-Australian girl had almost no sense of decency—that much had been clear to Lan for months, but it seemed that not only was she going to be terrible to Lan, but she was going to ruin whatever memories this Mei-Li had of whatever...pleasurable things the two of them had done the night before by forcing her to be a witness to their fight. If Jocelyn had followed along with Lan out of the room and into Lan's room, then they could have let Mei-Li get back to sleep. She wouldn't need to know about Lan's issues. As it was, Jocelyn was forcing Lan to either give up on having this conversation, after she had come so far already, or to wave about her dirty laundry in front of a near-stranger.

<I...what I want to t-talk about has nothing to do with...with what you two did! I d-don't have anything against Mei-Li here at all!> Lan would insist, glancing over at the guest a little hesitantly. <R-really. I don't,> she would add. She would yank hard on Jocelyn's arm, putting her whole weight into her pulling, too. She wasn't a heavy girl, but she should be heavy enough to drag back Jocelyn and keep her from getting into the bed. Lan could not let this pass right now. <Y-you let her sleep, and we'll talk! I, uh, I'm not going to tolerate all...all of these things that you do anymore! I am going t-to talk, and you...you need to listen, Lu Jiao! I can't—I c-can't take it anymore!>

Lan was not going to give Jocelyn a choice in this matter. She couldn't afford to. Jocelyn would stand up and listen, and she would reply in Mandarin. This was going to go Lan's way, even if she had to get rough with her...roommate.

Tucking her head down and pretending to sleep, Mei-Li tried not to eavesdrop, though it became a bit difficult when her named popped up. She could understand Yi Lan's side, but with Lu Jiao having switched over to English (with a very strange accent) it was hard to her to really follow what was going on. It was clear that the two did not get along, but Mei had no clue why it felt like she was getting dragged into this, despite her strong desire not to get involved.