Vol.4 Rewrite, Chapter XVIII — Perfume, Promises, and Playful Pouts

Abby and I were back to school, but we weren’t bothered by it at all as we were still humming from last night.

Last night, the night after New Year’s, I decided to put into use the gift I had received from Claire. It was a very comprehensive skin care gift set prepared by her, with instructions written by her too. It had been something I had found intimidating but decided to try anyway. Must have been that New Year spirit or something. Anyway, it contained three exfoliators, one for the face, one for the body, and one for my hands and feet together with three hydrating creams for each of those areas, plus one extra that was a night lotion for my face. There was also a facial cleansing foam too. These were all barely scented, something Claire mentioned in the note as she simply wanted to introduce me and Abby—Abby received one kit too—to a skin care routine “to drive our cuteness to the next level” and would let me and Abby decide on what scents, if any, we’d get in the future.

I had always thought these kinds of things as overkill and a pain as there were quite a few steps in how to use them. Why, just for the face I had to wash it with warm water to open up the spores, use the exfoliator, rinse, apply the cleansing foam, rinse after about a minute has passed of scrubbing, tap the skin dry with a soft towel, and then yes, apply the hydrating cream. However, Claire seemingly predicting me thinking that, stated in her note for me to not see it as a chore but as a self-appreciation ritual, a way for me to relax and make myself feel pretty at the end of a long day, and I must say, that worked. The fact that, after showering and being done with all the steps and products, I was looking amazing—if you’ll forgive my lack of modesty—also helped. My skin was the smoothest it had ever been, and there was a slightly sheen to it, not greasy, just… “healthy” I think is the word. It really turned out to be relaxing. Some sort of ritual, really.

In the bag was also a facial mask that I wasn’t going to try just yet as that required me preparing the mud and leave it on my face for twenty minutes up to half an hour before rinsing, and Abby would be home before that. There was however an almost black, green, square bottle of perfume. According to the note, it had top notes of lemon and bergamot, middle notes of silk and lavender with a base note of tonka bean and sandalwood. I had no idea what top notes, middle notes and base notes meant, or what some of those ingredients even were, but the ones I knew, I enjoyed, in particular the lavender.

According to Claire, it was a very soft, inviting and calming scent, a “fougére” as she called it, whatever that was. She recommended me to give my chest a single spray as Abby’s nose was around that hight. That was what was intriguing me: it felt like she picked this specific one not just because she thought I’d like it, but also, or mostly, because it’d be something Abby would appreciate.

I went ahead with it, giving a shaky spray to my bare chest and waiting for it to dry out a bit before putting on a shirt. It smelled… ethereal. That’s all I can say about it, as I didn’t have the “education” to tell apart the scents. I guess I could pick up the lemon? It was there, mostly at first, but after a few minutes, it had subsided to being backstage, the ethereal aspect of the scent becoming the forefront. I was really enjoying it as it smelled very clean, like fresh sheets, and there was a velvet creaminess to it. I guessed that was the silk and lavender and some other ingredient?

While waiting for Abby to return, I reclined in our bed, doing some research on what top notes and such were, catching myself lifting up my shirt’s collar many times to catch another, more direct, whiff of the perfume.

Abby eventually arrived, and her reaction was instantaneous.

“Hi the—” she said at the door after opening it, freezing mid-sentence. Her smile turned into a frown before easing up into a relaxed expression, her nose twitching all the time. I watched her in silence, my brow furrowed as I was impressed with how fast she picked it up and reacted. She had her eyes practically closed as she walked her way to me, always sniffing. Once she got on the bed, she crawled on it, her nose eventually finding my chest. She let out a moany sigh as she rubbed her face on me, her hands starting to knead my clothes, as she snuggled up to me.

“Do you like it?” I needlessly asked, putting a hand around her.

“Mmmh,” was her answer, still kneading, still rubbing her face, and still pressing herself even harder against me. I also noticed how her hips were starting to bump into mine.

I urged her to go take a bath first before we got to making love, but she wasn’t budging. I almost had to use a crowbar to detach her from me, and she went to eat something quick before showering with a pout.

After she left the room, I fanned myself. I had hoped Abby would have liked the perfume, but I wasn’t expecting such a strong reaction. It was like a cat with catnip, only more dangerous as it was Abby. She was acting way too cute and needy just then.

When she finally came back, I could tell that she had also tried out Claire’s gift, as she was glowing as she darted towards the bed, practically face-planting me and initiating our love-making. She smelled absolutely wonderful and felt the warmest and softest she had ever been, the two of us getting a bit carried away. That night, her stamina managed to match mine, and it was well past midnight when we finally drifted to sleep.

Next day, today, after waking up, we didn’t make love as we almost overslept. We simply put on our clothes, did our morning skincare as per Claire’s instructions, and had breakfast.

Before leaving, I asked her if she wasn’t forgetting anything.

“Ah! There’s something missing, yes!” she told me, darting towards the bathroom. She came back just as fast holding our flasks of perfume.

Without a word, she loosened up my uniform tie, undid my shirt and gave half a spray of my perfume to my chest, fixing up my clothes right after.

Then, she held her flask towards me, buzzing with excitement as she waited for me to grab it and apply some to her.

I did the same she had done to me, accidently applying a bit more than the half a spray I was aiming for. I then read the label as Abby was again kneading my clothes and rubbing her face against my chest, making her happy noises.

Her perfume top notes were Sicilian lemon, bamboo leaf and pear. That checked out, explaining why it was a fresh, grassy and had a slight fruity sweetness to it, something matching Abby to a tee without turning my nose off. Quite the contrary, it mixed wonderfully with her bathing products and natural scent. Middle notes would become more present in a while, and were of freesia, hints of jasmine and white tea, two of those smells I had no idea what they were, but one sounded like the name of a flower while the other was tea, so it should be that thing I couldn’t quite put my finger on last night. The base notes were white musk and a hint of sandalwood.

Again, I had no idea what most of it was, so that was my reading on our ride to school by bus while Abby permanently glued herself to me. I’d show her my phone screen asking for her feedback on what I was reading since her nose was so sensitive, Abby humming pleasantly as she too got educated on the matter.

“Your perfume makes you smell absolutely wonderful, babe,” she hummed in a low voice as the bus approached school. “It perfectly complements your natural scent and makes me feel all calm and fuzzy.”

I lifted the flap of the ushanka I had given her over Christmas before lowering my libs to her ear, my words only meant for her.

“I think the same about yours,” I whispered into her ear, Abby already holding back a giggling fit. “It makes you smell so sweet and soft… it’s even harder to resist snuggling you.”

That sent her over the edge, leading us to now.

We sat on our seats in the classroom, Abby moving her legs over my lap, still giggling as she buried her face into my armpit, forcing me to take off her coat and ushanka since we were already inside and it was warm for once, people having had the good sense of turning on the AC before we students and teachers got there.

“Abby, behave,” I quietly urged her, feeling everyone’s stare on us.

“But… but…” she giggled, showing me her glowing face and smile. “Not fair… you… not fair…”

I sighed and pulled her face back into my armpit to at least muffle her giggling. Hopefully, once the novelty wears off, Abby will have a bit more self-control, although, Abby will be Abby, so I might have to only wear perfume when outside of school, as much as that’d sadden her.

Then, as I was thinking this, someone slapped our table with both hands, startling me and Abby back to reality. Mathilda was leaning over the table with a fire burning in her eyes.

“I’m going all out, I’ve decided,” she huffed, forgetting how sentences are formed in her excitement. “This year, I’m getting a boyfriend!”

I don’t think it’s hard for anyone to guess, but it was easy to tell what a lot of the guys—and girls, in class were thinking when they shifted their gazes upon her, having clearly heard Mathilda’s proclamation. As socially inept as I am, I could still see that, mixed in with a deep interest from the guys, there was also the collective question of how it was possible that she was still single. If they knew how much of a wishy-washy idiot she could be while pursuing the guy she likes, they’d be rolling their eyes instead.

“And how exactly are you going to achieve that?” Abby asked, partially uncovering her face from me.

“I’ll show my good feminine sides! And I’ll give the person I like plenty of hints!”

“Well, I sure hope that those hints are you approaching him and saying that you like him and would like to go out on a date,” Mathew said, having just arrived with Stephen and knowing fully well both whom she was actually talking about and her.

“Humph! We girls always give the guys we like plenty of signs!”

“Oh, really?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Like what? Giving him a smile when your eyes meet?”

“For example, yes.”

“And what’s so different in that smile from one that is just you being polite, awkward, or thinking that the guy looks goofy?”

“You’re just dumb! You need to read between the lines!”

Mathew let out the most pained groan I possibly ever heard, like his soul was being forcefully ejected out of his body.

“You can’t go around expecting a guy to pick up on that!” he told her. “Do you have any idea how many times there’s a misunderstanding because a guy thinks a girl is interested when she’s not, she was just being friendly or polite? Or even just smiling at the guy behind him?”

“You’re just dumb! Stephen, you agree with me, right?” she huffed, turning to him.

“No, actually, he’s right this time.”

“What do you mean ‘this time’!?” Mathew huffed in turn, punching Stephen’s arm.

“I’ve had plenty of occasions where I thought a girl might have been interested in me when she wasn’t after all,” Stephen continued, casually rubbing the spot he got hit by his friend. “Those smiles and other little hints can be very misleading. Oh, and I’ve had girls saying that they were interested in me before but I never picked up any of their hints, so there’s also the risk of being so subtle, it’s like they aren’t even there.”

“…Girls?” Mathilda tried next, desperate to have someone agreeing with her.

Abby and I exchanged a look before Abby gave her our piece of advice.

“Well, hints are all nice and good if you don’t want to be direct about it or slowly build interest, but it’s like they said, they can be quite misleading or not picked up at all. Maybe incorporate a more direct approach too to make it a bit clearer that it’s not just you being nice and polite?” she told our friend before her tone had a slight shift towards a more serious one that hopefully Mathilda, Miss ‘Read-Between-the-Lines,’ would pick up. “Or just friendly?”

I nodded, feeling like those words were exactly what Mathilda needed to hear: not a complete dismissal of her idea, as she’d likely love to have her love for Stephen to be slowly realised by him and then his own feelings for her grow as a result, but also a reminder that she couldn’t be too subtle about it, that last part Abby asked being the most important thing for Mathilda to stay mindful of.

She kept huffing as she shifted her gaze between us and the boys before letting out a defeated sigh, mumbling under her breath that she had to go back to the drawing board. She then got very fixated on us with her stare, me already expecting something stupid to come out of her mouth as a realisation and a question formed in her mind.

“There’s something different about you two today,” she said, lowering her voice as she crouched down by our table, staring at us from a lower angle, her chin resting on her hands that she was using to hold onto the table and keep her balance. “It’s not just that you two banged last night, there’s also something else extra in the way you two are glowing today.”

I groaned, having guessed correctly and making the boys look back at me, not knowing why I produced such a sound. Abby too sighed, but she also explained her that we used Claire’s gifts last night and in the morning.

“Hmm… I should also start using them then,” she hummed. “Maybe also have sis take me shopping with her. My sis sure looks pretty and… feminine, doesn’t she?”

Abby agreed to her statement and that it was likely a good idea to have Claire give her a hand. I on the other hand remembered how Abby reacted to Claire’s “femininity” on the Christmas day. There was still a short pang of jealousy jutting out, but I quickly reminded myself of Abby’s words and how she reacts to the simplest things I do or about me, and it faded back into obscurity. Abby likely picked up on that as she almost imperceptibly snuggled closer and rubbed her cheek on me.

“I think you already look pretty feminine,” I said, remembering seeing her in pink from head to toe. There were also her looks and mannerisms. She wasn’t the type of “girly” girl, besides her obsession with pink, who talks in an affected way nor that moves around flamboyantly, or uses layers upon layers of make-up, accessories, and fake nails, but she was undeniably feminine.

“Thanks, but maybe boys would prefer if I was… more,” she said, glancing at Stephen, making it obvious that she meant him, and him alone.

“I think you’re selling yourself short,” Stephen said while turning around, having heard this last exchange. He seemed briefly confused from seeing Mathilda crouched by our table, but he moved past that as it wasn’t an important detail right now. “I do have to shoo away plenty of guys that are simply interested in your body and not so much on who you are as a person, so don’t worry about it.”

“Are you saying that I wouldn’t look better with bigger breasts, and a more hourglass shape?”

“Not necessarily, no,” he said, in an almost deadpan way. “I think you look great exactly how you are. It could maybe make you more attractive on a surface level, but that’s about it, surface level.”

The face Mathilda was making was priceless. Completely red from embarrassment from having the guy she liked give such an honest opinion about her attractiveness, her eyes wide with surprise from getting such an answer, and a smile she was doing her best to hide from the sheer happiness of hearing such a glowing compliment. It was like her head would explode from the three emotions that were swirling inside it.

“Don’t get me wrong, Claire is super attractive, but the same could be said about you, you know? It’s just a different kind of charm and beauty, is what I’m saying. Besides, I think that you already—”

“Please stop!” she whimpered, her voice trembling in her throat, looking away and still crouched, hiding her face with one hand while holding the other up towards him. “Any more and I might legitimately die!”

Yup, Stephen was another menace. Abby was one, Mathilda was another… when would Mathew reveal to be a menace too? And me? Well, I was one to Abby, I guess.

My thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Miss Maple and rollcall. During it, Miss Maple asked for Abby and I to sit more normally.

“Girls,” she said, looking at us after having called Abby’s name. “I get that you might be a bit cold and are very close, but this is the classroom you’re in right now, so could you please sit like everybody else?”

We more or less complied, Abby’s chair still glued to mine, and so were our sides.

Miss Maple also asked what the matter was with Mathilda as she was clasping her beet-red face, practically fuming as she replayed Stephen’s words in her mind with an unsettling smile on her face. I guess that, instead of him falling for her, what was actually happening was that Mathilda was falling even harder for Stephen instead.

After rollcall, Miss Maple had an announcement to make.

“All right, class, listen up!” she started, clapping her hands once to fully captivate her audience. “As you all might recall, there was a talk about a school trip. The school has decided on a few details. It will be sometime in May, and it will last two days, those being a weekend. Your grades will be used to decide on who goes and who stays, not just your parents permissions, so keep working as hard as you’ve been doing recently. The school is still studying potential places to visit and stay out of a list we picked, however. That is all I have to share about it for now. Now, if there are no questions, I’d like to get our class started. I want to do a quick quiz to see how many of you forgot everything we’ve learned during the holiday.”

The class excitement about the school trip vanished with a collective groan, but Abby and I were not part of the group. We had studied during our time off after all.

“Now, now! I know it sucks to have a quiz spring up to you firsts day back in school, and even more so since it’s the first class of the day and Math, but I want to be sure that we are all on the same page so none of you is left behind, ok? I made it easy if you’ve covered your bases and it won’t count to your grades, so relax and just try to do your best, ok?”

“Hmm, now that’s a nice way of going about it,” Abby hummed, admiring our teacher’s teaching method. And I agreed, that did sound like a good way to start classes after a break.

And speaking of grades, after this, we all should go with our friends to check our scores, as they’d likely be already posted. We’ll also likely discuss possibilities of where the trip is going to be and if we’ll have free time to explore around, and if so, if we’ll be allowed to explore the place freely, I was sure of it. At least, that was what I was finding myself eager to talk about with them after class.

School with Abby and a group of friends certainly was a lot more interesting place.