Wh@t A G@m3r N33ds

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex's eyes shifted to follow the redhead as she pulled away and went to the largely bland, boring shelf where Alex kept a few books and scattered knick knacks. She didn't want to make Erin feel uncomfortable around her. Erin had made her sexuality clear from the beginning and the last thing Alex wanted was to poke and prod at that with misleading, flirtatious comments. Thankfully, aside from a little blushing, Erin seemed to take it all in stride. "If anyone could, it'd probably be you." She said, her tone softening as she turned her attention back to the computer she still couldn't help but marvel over.

"Yeah, well, thanks again. And don't say I don't need to thank you." Alex said quickly, now shifting her eyes back to Erin once more. "I'm going to thank you at least a dozen more times. Especially when I'm playing every game with the highest graphics settings." She gave a little giggle at the idea. She was ecstatic over the whole thing. There were no words she could use to fully describe how the generous gesture had made her feel.

"That's kinda what I was thinking." Alex nodded a bit. She's caught the streak of blue in Erin's hair and it had put the bug in Alex's mind. The school year was over, she had a new job, a new boyfriend, it was time for a personal change and her hair was the first thing that popped into her mind. "See... I want to dye my hair... I even bought everything I needed." There was something to be said about getting a regular paycheck. "But I've never done anything more than highlights and never by myself." She frowned a little at that as her bright, brown eyes focused hopefully upon Erin.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin was pretty sure she was redder then her hair at Alex's next words, add to the fact that she was letting out a nervous chuckle as a hug smile had taken over her face. She was doing her best to not get her hopes up or anything, but that had certainty been an ego boost for her. It was not easy to flip a girl and normally you were only able to do it after sleeping with them. Since they had not even kissed; for Alex to say that, it just meant a lot. Erin wanted to say more on it but she didn't want to push her luck so was thankful the attention was on the computer for the time being.

"Guess I'm just going to have to deal with saying you’re welcome and that it was no problem at all. You're my friend and it was way cheaper then actually buying you a computer." Erin assured her, even giving her a smile and looking directly at her. That little ego boost had been enough for her confidence to increase a bit around the other girl. Then the topic was on hair dye, a subject that Erin was comfortable with as well so she didn't even feel nervous at all. Erin didn't say anything at first as Alex informed her of what she wanted to do and how she had everything she needed to do it.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what Alex was basically asking without actually saying it. Erin was bad at socializing but this social cue she was pleased to say that she caught it load and clear. "I would be happy to do it for you, whenever you want." Erin offered up since she knew that was what Alex wanted. They could even do it right now, it was not something that was hard to do and she honestly was happy to help. Dying someone’s hair was easier than putting a computer together on some levels and at least Alex could be confident in knowing her hair was going to come out right.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex didn't know what it was about flirting with Erin that she enjoyed so much. It wasn't watching the other girl squirm or turn red. Alex certainly wasn't the type that took pleasure in leading people on or even making them uncomfortable. She supposed it probably had more to do with the fact that she held Erin in high regards and to think she'd be interested in a tiny, spastic, sort of weird cheerleader was a confidence boost of sorts. Still, Alex knew when she was about to go too far and let the flirtatious comments die for the moment. Erin just had to stop setting her up. Alex's self-control was only so strong.

"Yeah, well, whether it was easy, cheap, or whatever." She did smile broadly at Erin now, though. "You're still awesome for doing this." At that Alex gave a curt nod and pointed her index finger in Erin's direction. "And that's that." She insisted. "Leave it at that. You can be modest all you want. I'm still going to think i treally hard anyway."

She gave Erin a playful nudge. "Anyway, yeah. I've done the highlights thing once or twice but never actually did it myself." She frowned a little. "And when you have this much hair, even that's expensive." Pulling away from the computer, Alex got to her feet and crossed the carpeted floor of her dorm. "I don't know." She said, ducking into the bathroom to snatch the box of hair dye off the sink. "What do you think?" She asked, holding the box displaying the bright red color she'd opted for up for comparison sake. "Too much?"

[Erin Hackett]

Erin honestly didn't mind that Alex was flirting with her, because a girl was flirting with her! Hello, Alex was hot and it was just so flattering that someone actually thought she was attractive enough or at least fun to play with in that kind of way. She just felt a little weird that Alex was in a relationship and flirting with her. Was that allowed? Well, there was no rule against it and Erin knew there were a lot of people that flirted and still had fun when they were in a relationship. She just didn't know how free Alex was with doing that and she didn't want to mess up the girl’s relationship.

Unless she wanted me, maybe she would want me more. No, I should not think about that. Erin thought to herself before she quickly refocused. There was no way that she would be able to flip Alex. Even if the other girl said that she might have been, Erin knew she was not that smooth without some kind of computer or video games between her and another person. Still, it was a nice thought and also nice that Alex had said what she did. "Fine, you win." Erin said with a slight chuckle. She had to let Alex have this because it was clear the girl was going to think it was a big deal and keep thanking her for it.

All of it was just building up Erin's ego so she could not complain too much. It certainly helps keep a small blush on her face along with a smile. Erin felt her heart skip a beat or something close to it when Alex's nudged her but she did her best to not get all weird about it. They were friends, just friends, and Alex was just playing with her. That was all this was. "Yeah, and you have to make sure you do it right or else the color won't look right." Erin pointed out. There was nothing worse than wanting one color and ending up with some ugly looking then that you were stuck with for a little while.

Erin blinked a few times as she watched Alex walk off before returning with that entire she needed to dye her hair. Erin could not help but to laugh at how eager and prepared for all of this that Alex was. It just made her like the girl even more but she just laughed a little before moving to take a look at what was in the box. "Looks like you got everything you need. Change into a shirt you are not worried about getting dirty and let’s get started. You are going to be a very beautiful red head." Erin said as she grabbed the right red out of the box and moved into the bathroom to get it ready. She had moved off quickly, hoping Alex didn't call her out for saying Alex would make a beautiful red head.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex gave a satisfied nod at Erin's resignation. To Erin presenting a custom built, badass gaming computer may not have been a big deal but to Alex, who's parents had occasionally struggled to make ends meet it was a gesture that she would never completely feel as though she could pay back. It had been such a selfless, generous gift that Alex almost felt a little guilty for accepting. Almost.

A giggle escaped the tiny girl as Erin took the box from her hand. This was almost like a dream come true for Alex. "You build computers, you game like a boss and you know how to dye hair right." Alex's head shook and she issued an overly dramatic sigh. "Dammit, Erin, where have you been all my life?" She positively beamed as she looked to Erin. One day she felt it would be prudent to do something nice for the redheaded girl who'd rapidly moved up the list of her favorite people in the world.

Pursing her lips, Alex glanced down to the shirt she was wearing. It wasn't anything special but it bore the logo of her beloved San Francisco 49ers so ruining it was off limits. Suddenly something came to Alex and she started as if pinched. Her eyes lit up. "Oh!" She exclaimed before hurriedly crossing the room to her dresser sitting in the corner. She pulled open a few drawers, rummaging through each one until she found what she was looking for with an enthusiastic "Ah ha!" She produced an over-sized, white t-shirt with paint splattered on it from the art class she had to take earlier in the year. "Perfect!" She said to herself, as if she was alone. With little modesty she promptly pulled the red shirt over her head, revealing a simple, black bra, and tossed it onto the bed. With the painted shirt in hand she moved to the bathroom door and peered in to see what Erin was up to. "If you want to stick around a while I'll order pizza and we can watch a movie." She offered, her bright, expressive brown eyes focusing on Erin. "Have you ever seen the original Friday the 13th?" She asked, only now moving to tug the large, white t-shirt on over her slender frame.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin was by no means rolling in the billions or even the millions. Her family had the money that it did because of the work that they both did. Jobs involving technology was the way to make a decent amount of money since all business pretty much needed technology of some sort. "Behind my computer in Japan." Erin responded back with a small chuckle when Alex asked her where she had been all of her life, because that was where Erin had been. It was basically impossible at this point for Erin to get rid of the blush that had slowly taken over her face. She blamed Alex for everything that she was saying and just how the other girl made her feel.

Then they were onto the hair dying, with Erin getting everything set up in the bathroom. She was pleased that Alex even had the foil that they needed and even gloves. This would not take long at all and she was looking forward to it. That was until she spotted Alex walking around without a shirt in the mirror and eventually in the bathroom with her. Yes, Alex was thankfully wearing a bra but the fact was that she was in her bra around Erin. Yup, her mind had dropped off into the gutter as she tried to not get caught staring. "Y-yeah, sounds awesome. I'm game for that, so game. So game that I'm like crushing the level, game. That game. Yeah." Erin said, practically in a panic so it came out fast as she tried to busy herself to hide the fact she had been checking Alex out through the mirror.

She liked the idea of being able to hang out with Alex some more, getting pizza and watching movies with someone was something that she enjoyed a lot. Even if it was something new that she started to do thanks to making some friends. "Umm...maybe. I'm not sure." Erin said as she had to actually think about it. She motioned for Alex to sit anywhere as she had everything ready. Once Alex was seated and looked ready to go, Erin would focus on combing through Alex's hair, separating it, placing foil under some strands of her hair and getting to work with the hair dye.

"You want all of it red, right?" Erin asked, wanting to make sure. She just wanted to put all of her focus on the hair dye and movie talk to stop thinking about the fact that she saw Alex's bra and thus the girl's size. Ugh, girls were just too perfect!

[Alexandra Lawson]

Large, soft, expressive brown eyes peered up at Erin as she spoke. Alex didn't know what was going on in the redhead's mind but there was a certain sense of comfort and ease she got from the other girl. Alex knew there was no way she would ever be able to repay Erin for the ridiculous computer that she had built, even though she would try. Gifts and the like had never been something Alex took well. It always made her feel awkward and uncomfortable. Erin, however, was different. She did something that Alex thought was so huge and shrugged it off as if it was nothing. If Alex knew anything it was that Erin was unlike anyone she'd ever met before.

"As long as you can handle campy, eighties violence, we're good." She said a-matter-of-factly. Alex would have punctuated her reply with a nod but Erin had already started the process of dying her hair and she didn't dare to anything that would make that a more difficult process. "I wont', like, force you to watch it if you're not into that, though." She said, letting a short laugh escape. "It's pretty bad. Like... really bad." Another smile spread across her face and she couldn't help but give a short nod. "Yeah. All of it." She confirmed.

[Erin Hackett]

Erin could not handle those eyes looking at her, such cute eyes that felt like they were looking into her very soul. She wanted to see those eyes give her another look, a look that...no, no more thoughts like that. It was practically becoming impossible with how Alex was all happy around her and just being really nice. Erin was used to not really dealing with the kindest of people in person; mostly Quinn and Tim's friend, but things were getting better with Quinn. Maybe. At any rate, Alex walking around without a shirt had certainly not help her mind stay out of the gutter.

Now she felt like she was a level one assassin going up against a level twenty boss that could see through her hidden ability skill. With the added bonus of being all alone on this fight with no way to escape so it was either die or try and see how long she could survive against this foe. "I don’t mind. That is what makes making fun of old movies the best. Seeing how far technology has come and just being able to point out any hidden strings and any continuity issues in a shot." Erin responded as she chuckled a little bit. She was just thrilled to be able to watch a movie with a girl, all alone...perhaps it was best to not think of it that way.

"No, I want to...." Erin quickly said before her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat and then focused on the task at hand. Just letting out a "Got it." When Alex confirmed that she wanted all of her hair to be red. Erin got right to work, as focused as she would be on a boss fight, and so far she was winning so long as Alex didn't say or do anything that would cause her to lose some of her life. It would take a little bit, but soon all of Alex's hair would have the red chemicals in it and all that was left to do was rinse it out.

"Hmm...we can either do this in the sink or I can step out while you take a quick shower to risen out your hair." Erin said. The dorm rooms didn't have bathtubs after all, so...those were the options. Options that had Erin blushing as she thought of Alex and a shower.

[Alexandra Lawson]

It didn't seem possible at the time, but Erin's response to the uncertain question only succeeded in causing the broad, warm smile on Alex's face brighten even more. Alex had always found it far too easy to fall into her own routines. Her easily distracted mind often caused the days to meld into one, long memory to the point where she'd forget how long it had been since she'd connected with her friends or even done anything with another person. Whether Erin actually liked the movies Alex spoke of or was merely choosing to tolerate them in the name of friendship, Alex didn't know. She was just thankful to have someone she could talk to that actually understood a lot of her obscure references.

"Great!" Came the cheery reply. "Pizza's on me tonight." Alex insisted, turning an eye up toward Erin to make sure there was no protest. Alex wasn't the only one of the two that had a job and her own income. That, unto itself, was reason to celebrate. "I only got the chance to rinse off after track practice today." She said with a disgusted frown. "Would you mind if I took a shower?" There was no hiding the excitement. Alex had to keep herself from jumping up and shoving her way to the bathroom mirror. She'd never really done anything so drastic when it came to her appearance and she couldn't wait to see the finished product. "I won't be long and you can pick out a movie or two."

[Erin Hackett]

The cheery reply just made Erin smile as she did her best to just focus on this talk about the movie and what she was doing to Alex's hair. No, she was not having any thoughts of what she wanted to do to Alex's body. That would just be wrong and Alex had a boyfriend after all so that was just all the no, so she was not thinking such things at all. No way. Which also meant that no way did she literally picture having to eat pizza off of Alex when she said that pizza was on her. It was why she did not voice a protest at first for wanting to pay for it.

She just nodded, accepting it for now but she would at least pay tip because it felt weird when someone bought anything for her. She was the one that did the whole buying sort of thing after all. Erin's train of thought was still mostly in the gutter, not helped but Alex's words just making them sort of stay there; even if Alex clearly was not trying to. Erin could just feel herself going warm all over as she blushed and just nodded her head. She was quick to clean everything that remained up as she just nodded her head yes; a lot of times, to the question of Alex hoping in the shower.

"Just....just don't get it in your eyes and don't be worried if it..." Erin stopped, shaking her head no to stop herself from saying anymore and then quickly dashing out of the bathroom. "Take as long as you need! I’ll be fine! Yeah, I'll pick out a move, nothing else! I swear!" Erin said, talking loud and basically yelling because she was slightly panicking at the places her brain was going as she quickly went over to Alex's movie section and started to look over the movies.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Erin's quick departure from the bathroom was witnessed by a curious and puzzled Alex. While public speaking and Alex had never seen eye to eye, the now redheaded girl rarely had any qualms about dressing or bathing in close proximity to other girls. It probably stemmed from her long history in athletics and cheer. It wasn't as if the locker room before or after cheer practice was anything like it was portrayed in pervy movies. Rarely did any of the girls linger in various states of undress. There simply wasn't time. It was business. They had places they were coming from before practice, and places to be after. Few every wished to spend more time hanging out in the locker room of all spots to be in.

With a shrug, Alex reached into the shower and turned on the water. She let it warm up some while she took the time to check her new hair color in the mirror. It was a much more vibrant red than she had hoped for, though it didn't look bad. In fact, the longer she looked at it, the more she liked it better than her original plan. With a broad smile, she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed behind her. Following Erin's advice, Alex washed the chemicals from her hair while being careful to keep it from her eyes. She didn't even want to know what that must feel like.

Thankfully, Alex wasn't in the bathroom long. As an accomplished procrastinator, the girl was adept at getting ready for school in record time, often waiting until the last possible minute to begin. Stepping out of the bathroom, Alex's bare feet padded against the carpeted floor as she crossed the room toward Erin. She was wearing he same t-shirt and shorts she had gone in with, though she carefully toweled out the thick tendrils of now brilliant, red hair. "It's a lot more red than I thought it was going to be." She admitted, though there was no hiding the bright smile that was still plastered across her face. "But I like it." She lowered the towel and shook out her hair. The damp strands clung to her neck and cheek, falling down her shoulders in a haphazard, crimson wave. "What do you think?"

[Erin Hackett]

Erin was not the sports kind of girl; she didn't even really play sport video games so the concept of changing with girls was foreign to her. Well, that was a lie. Yes, she had to deal with changing with other girls back at her other school but she usually changed in a corner and gave her back to the other girls. It was not like she was ashamed of her own body; it was more so she didn't want to get caught staring or checking any of the girls out. Sure if she had been the kind of lesbian who was particular about her girls then it would not have been a problem. Yet, as it stood at the moment she pretty much crushed on every girl she met. For the sake of not wanting to make any of them uncomfortable she just did her best to avoid any and all situations of changing.

Plus the fact that she was already thinking that she was going to need a shower soon with where her mind had been hanging out for a decent amount of time when she was around Alex. She was so blaming the other girl for doing things that just made Erin think that way, but she also knew that Alex was not doing it on purpose. At least if she was, she was very good at acting like she was just being a very innocent and unaware of the slight seduction she was doing on Erin. You can do her, this! THIS! Not her. Focus. Just look at movies, take some deep breath, and just remember that she is super straight and would be grossed out if she even knew that you had the hots for her. Erin thought to herself, trying her best to settle herself down and not think of Alex in that light.

That trick had worked for while Alex's was in the shower, but failed as soon as the other girl was stepping out of the bathroom and showing off her knew hair. Did she say something? If she did, Erin so missed it because she was too busy staring and water as some water droplets worked their way down Alex's hair and onto her skin. At any rate, Alex seemed happy and Erin did manage to catch the question at the end. "Yeah, totally. It's so leet and it really brings out your skin. It should not be as bright after a few more washes but you did buy a really bright brand. I thought you were uh…aware of that. You...movie?" Erin said, her mind getting distracted again by the hair, the water, and just Alex and general. Her boyfriend really needed to just show up so Erin could tag team out of here to settle down.

[Alexandra Lawson]

In many ways Alex was, in fact, naive to the point of a near clueless state. She wasn't, however, so dense to not see the reactions Erin was giving to nearly everything she did and not be able to put two and two together. Slowly but surely it was all starting to sink in that things weren't exactly how they seemed between the two girls. Alex had only acted innocently, though she'd not taken into account that her actions may have been perceived differently than most by Erin.

Regardless, Alex was determined to make sure things didn't grow awkward. It wasn't as if she didn't receive a certain ego boost at the way Erin was acting. Alex was never the star of any show. Sure, she may have been the plucky best friend or wacky comic relief depending on the situation, but Alex wasn't on anyone's radar, as far as she knew. Artemis had come out of nowhere to capture her heart in such a sudden and surprising manner. Alex simply had trouble believing anyone aside from him ever looked at her other than the quirky girl that fell down a lot and had a habit of laughing at random things that popped into her head.

"Well... sorta..." She answered with a furrowed brow. "I mean... I knew it was bright but not this bright." With a light chuckle she crossed the room, her bare feet padding against the carpeted floor before she settled into her computer chair. "It's a happy accident." She insisted, pulling her feet up beneath her and spinning the chair lazily around a couple times. "I like it better than I thought I'd like the color I thought I was getting." She stopped the chair and tilted her eyes upward as she contemplated something. "Does that make sense?" She asked before quickly throwing up both hands dismissively. "Anyway. Yes." There were more important matters to tend to. "Movie."

The majority of the DVD's (yes, Alex still collected what many believed to be an outdated media) that were lined up on the multi-tiered shelf sitting in the corner of Alex's room were horror from a number of genres. There were zombies, slasher movies, creature features, ghost stories and haunted house tales strewn about. Scattered among the myriad of fright flicks were a chaotic mix of goofy comedies, mindless action and even the occasional sports movie. "What're you in the mood for?" She asked, spinning the chair around so she was facing her new computer. There was a moment of silence as she brought up her web browser and started typing an address. "We don't have to watch a movie." She said, glancing over her shoulder to Erin and offering a half smile that had a faint trace of sheepishness residing just behind it. "To be honest I just really like having company."

[Erin Hackett]

In terms of things getting awkward, Erin knew she would be able to make it so long as Alex didn't start walking around in her underwear or anything close to that. Nope, she could not handle that. Oh great, now she was thinking and picturing it which was just making her blush even more. No female is going to want to be your friend if you are crushing on them every second of your time with them. Calm your hormones, play a dating sim after this. Erin thought to herself as she took a deep breath. Thankfully there was talk about Alex's new hair color that was helping keep her mind out of the gutter other than wondering if Alex such in making sure the carpet would match the drapes.

Erin listened and half looked at Alex as she spoke about how she was not fully expecting it to be this red but how she liked it still all the same. Erin understood, well sort of. She had a time where she knew that a green was going to be pretty bright but she had not been expecting it to be that bright when it was all said and done. "Yeah, I totally understand. Full compression and relation here." Erin said with a smile and several nods that were more than necessary but she was still nervous so that was to be expected. "Yeah, so up for a movie. Or would it be down? I'm both directions for a movie but I don't swing both directions if you know what I'm saying." Erin said, trying to make a joke but just ended up slowly face palming herself and letting out a heavy sigh.

Talking was probably for the best, because clearly she could not keep all of her thoughts to herself when she was trying to be bold but was also still very nervous. Erin had looked through a lot of the movies, seeing some of them were pretty old, even with being on DVD but that was because they were put onto DVD from VHS. What was she in the mood for? Anything that was not a romance, because then things would be too difficult. "Something old school scary? We can point out the use of strings or call what kind of fake blood they are using." Erin suggested as she played with the end of her shirt a little. Alex's last comment had her feeling like she did something or said something wrong and was quickly moving over to take one of Alex's hands as a way to super assure her or something.

She didn’t know why she took Alex's hand to get the girl to look at her, but she did it. "No, I want to. I like hanging out with you. Like its nice playing video games with you but being able to hang out in person...it makes me feel like it's real. That it’s not just my imagination and that I still exists..." Erin said, her voice trailing off as she got to the end before she looked away.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex watched Erin's display as it slowly spiraled through the air and finally came crashing down to the ground. The way the natural redhead seemed to paint herself in a corner and get flustered at her own train of thought was similar to the way Alex would do much the same. "Either way, up or down, it's fine. I get it." She smirked though, stifling the urge to make a 'both ways' quip. It didn't seem prudent, at the moment, to go there, so Alex simply remained quiet.

Alex's attention was split between Erin and the computer sitting in front of her. She'd brought up the website for a pizza place in town that delivered via email and the use of a credit card. Alex loved ordering food this way. She just filled out a few information boxes, hit 'send' and just like that, within a half hour food showed up at the campus front gate for her to pick up. It was simply and easy with no fuss or dealing with people. Just the way she liked it, for the most part.

When she felt the softness of Erin's fingers slip around her hand, Alex's eyes shifted, looking up the other girl. The nature of Alex's comment didn't stem from Erin, rather an unsettled aspect of her own life Erin was helping to placate simply by being near. She smiled and even went so far as to lean to the side, resting her head on Erin's shoulder for a moment. "Yeah." She said softly as her eyes closed. Sometimes Alex just needed to be around someone who made her feel good about life in general. "I know what you mean. It's nice to not feel... alone once in a while."