Rowan sighed. She hoisted herself off of the bed and stood on her toes on the edge of her bed so she was practically eye level with her bunk mate. Around her the other girls chatted or laid on their bunks. She stared into her bunk mates round brown eyes. She noticed how they sparkled as the other girl stared back at her. Rowan smiled sweetly. “Pretty please?”
Nora grinned broadly at the other girl. The others in the room are practically nonexistent. “Oh, look at that sweet smile. How could anyone resist such a thing?” The croon was sarcastic but amused. “I’m Nora but you can call me the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” Her words were pretty cheesy but they sounded smooth the way she said them. “And what’s your name?”
Rowan snorted but was secretly pleased. Nora’s energy was explosive. It was a drug she never wanted to come down from. It brought out a much more flirtatious side of Rowan. A side that she liked. “Hey best thing that ever happened to me, I’m Rowan. Where’re you from?”
“All over. Nowhere interesting though.” Nora rolled over onto her back and looked at Rowan from an upside down point of view. “What about you? Got an interesting stories to tell me?” Just being laid out on a bunk had gotten very boring very fast.
“As a matter of fact, yes.” Rowan hoisted herself up with ease so she sat next to Nora in her bunk. “I was tragically abandoned as a child,” she said dramatically. She could feel her walls going up through the use of an easygoing smile. Haha, just kidding.
“Wow, daddy and mommy issues.” Nora glances over to Rowan as she chuckled. Serious topics don’t go over very well with her.Tell me all about your traumatizing childhood and how it drove you to join this shit hole like the rest of us outcasts and rejects.”
"Nah, it wasn't too bad." Nora stared at the ground thinking about her household growing up. So much yelling, so much screaming, so much-. She realized she had zoned out. "I just like structure is all. And I'm also a mechanic, which comes in handy." She flexed one arm and grinned. "All this muscle isn't for nothing."
She had made a joke the first time but that seemed to have been taken serious. Whoops. “What muscle?” Nora teased her as she flicked her arm. “You glad you joined up or are you missing home?” She rolled over again so that she laid on her stomach.
Rowan pointed a finger at Nora. "Don't joke about that or I'll have to challenge you to an arm wrestle. Gotta prove my strength." She flopped onto her back, aware of how close she was to Nora. "The army's fine. There are people telling me what to do and it was all pretty quiet until my bunkmate decided to get very chatty." She smiled teasingly at Nora. "What about you? Do you miss home at all?"
Nora laughed at the accusing finger point. “I would hate to have to beat your ass at an arm wrestling contest on our first day as bunkmates. You look like you have the strength of a newborn kitten.” With an amused eye roll, she nudged Rowan’s shoulder with her own. “Nah, not really. The food here is shit but not bad enough drive me away. Some decent coffee would be great though.” It’s not like she has a home to go back to so she’s stuck here.
Rowan eyed her. "Don't think I won't fight you. I will." She nodded. "Yeah, I think they mixed up our supply with some brown water," she said. "That's what it tastes like anyway." She looked up at the curved ceiling. Someone had etched a star into it. "What about you, any tragic backstories?"
“I don’t even think there’s any coffee in it. Just mud and warm water.” The coffee was horrible enough to kill someone. “No more so than everyone else.” Nora shrugged. Talking about her dead parents doesn’t solve anything so she just doesn’t bring them up in conversation unless deemed necessary.
"Yeah. Same here." She knew Nora probably was not telling the whole truth, but neither was she, and Rowan wasn't one to pry. She seemed to get a second wind of enthusiasm. "And the food they give us? Was that supposed to be meat?" She was very aware of how close she was to Nora, and of how much she didn't mind at all.
“It looked like a pile of mold. Tasted about the same. The food is inedible.” Nora bit down on her lower lip. After a short pause, she reached out and twirled a strand of Rowan’s hair. Personal boundaries don’t exist with her so there’s no problem with the close proximity. “You should let me dye your hair.”
Rowan almost stiffened but quickly relaxed into Nora's touch. "No one would take me seriously. And besides, where are you going to get hair dye? We're on a ship in the middle of space hurdling through nothingness."
(I added two more prompts)
(Also I was thinking the journey to the battlefield could take like a month, which I think would give them enough ish time to fall in love and stuff. We don't have to show the whole month, we can do a lot of time skipping. Then I was thinking they send them down to the planet or wherever they're fighting two at a time on a tiny ship but Nora and Rowan's ship gets hijacked and they get captured. And all the torturing ensues.)
“People take me seriously and I due my hair all of the time. I can still put the fear of God into people with bubblegum pink hair.” That had been an interesting couple of months. “I have a couple of boxes of hair dye with me. Just don’t tell anyone about it.”
(Oh, I love that prompt!
Yeah, that would be perfect. A bunch of mini skips to get the ball rolling will really help out and I like the thought of their ship getting hijacked.)
(Yay awesome!)
(I think I'll make it lights out soon and then we can skip to Nora dying Rowan's hair?)
Rowan considered it. "Do you have red? I'll only let you do it if it's red. It's my color," she declared, turning her head towards Nora. She was painfully aware of how close their faces were.
(Okay! That sounds like a good plan!)
Nora nodded her head. “I have a bunch of colors. Anything from red to neon green.” Her eyes flicked across the other girl’s face. It would be impossible for her to ignore just how close their faces were. Not that she would complain about such a thing.
Rowan sat up on her elbow, bringing the two girls even closer together. She could feel adrenaline running through her veins and Nora's breath on her face. Same thing, really. "I think I'll just stick with red. Everyone needs a aignature color. Right?"
Nora leaned forward a little so that their noses almost touched. "Mmhm, signature color. I think you would look fantastic in red." She smirked at the color that was on the other girl's face. "Do you want the red to be the same shade as your face right now?" She teased.
"As a matter of fact, I do look fantastic in red. Do you want me to make your face the same shade as mine?" Rowan shot back. "I have a couple of things in mind that could do the trick." Did she really just say that? Yeah, yeah she did. And she didn't regret it.
"Oh yeah? What exactly do you have in mind?" Nora smirked at her. "It would take an awful lot to make my face as red as yours is." She ran her hand lightly down the said of Rowan's face as she winked. "Do your best, Bottom." Like it or not, this is officially her nickname for her bunkmate.
"Really? Do my best? Are you sure?" Rowan asked, arching an eyebrow. She didn't want to do anything to ruin this moment. Ignoring the way Nora's touch made her skin burn she asked, "Are you really sure?"
"I'm positive." Nora nodded her head, confidence was written all over her face. She leaned in closer and allowed her hand to settle on the side of Rowan's face. The smirk was still on her face as she lifted her other hand and played with the other girl's curls.