Chapter 7 - Conversations

Author's note: This chapter contains mature and sensitive themes that may be disturbing to some readers. It is never my intention to trivialize or sensationalize these topics. Reader discretion is advised.

Breathe. Just breathe.

Mariah shook off the fog of another nightmare. Of course her brain was throwing up old horrors. Merda! It's not about you, she thought. Need to do something to help Genie.

Breathe, puttana. Just breathe.

In the end, there was only one thing she could think to do.

"Hey," she sighed.

"Hey yourself," Miranda said. "So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you or what? 'Cause it's been like three days and I'm getting worried."

"Merda," Mariah cursed. "I'm OK."

"Liar," Miranda interrupted.

"I am," Mariah insisted. "Well... at least... it's not about me. I'm worried about... someone else... but I can't say..."

"Genie," Miranda nodded.

"What? I didn't say that," Mariah blinked.

"You didn't have to," Miranda said.

"Madonna. She talked to you?" Mariah sighed.

"No," Miranda admitted, "but while you've been walking around like a thunderstorm, she's been as skittish as Gwen's cat that time I... well, that's not important. It's pretty obvious something is bothering you both... but I could tell you weren't mad at her. So, I guessed it might be the same thing... whatever it was."

"Clever, Sherlock," Mariah muttered.

"I was just hoping one of you would talk to me," Miranda said, "or to someone, at least."

"Well, I've got to or I'm going to explode," Mariah said.

"So, what did Orange do?" Miranda asked.

"Porca miseria, how do you know this?" Mariah snapped.

"Right, like the fact that the two of you have been giving each other the death glare for three days wasn't obvious," Miranda snapped back. "Would you tell me what's going on?!"

"He hurt Genie," Mariah snarled.

"Oh God," Miranda gasped. "You don't mean... Did he...?"

"She says no," Mariah replied, "but not far from it. She doesn't want to file a report. I want to be there for her but I..." She took another deep breath, "This isn't about me. It can't be about me."

"You don't have to do this alone," Miranda said gently. "Any of it. Neither does Genie. I... I want to try to talk to her. Maybe together we can figure out what to do."

"OK," Mariah sighed.

"Just promise you won't try to beat the shit out of Orange," Miranda added, "at least not until I've talked to Genie."

"Why would you even say that?"

"Promise!"

"Madonna!" Mariah groaned, "OK, prometto. I promise."

The dorm was shocking normal, Miranda thought. Dorm-mates going about their lives, maybe not entirely unaware of the tension between some of them... Miranda was pretty sure someone would have to be three days dead to miss the tension... but at least moving outside of it. 

She found Genie watching TV in the common room.

"So," Miranda said casually, "are you... OK?"

"Oh God," Genie groaned, "Mariah told you, didn't she?"

"I may have wheedled some of it out of her," Miranda said.

"I shouldn't have told her," Genie sighed. "It's really upset her."

"We've all got baggage," Miranda allowed, "but she's worried about you."

"She wants me to report him," Genie said, "but I don't... it's not like that. He didn't attack me or anything... he just... we hooked up and he... did things that I didn't like... I don't know."

"Hey, it's OK," Miranda said. "I just want to help, however I can. I want to know what you want. Even if that's for me to leave it alone."

"You know," Genie laughed bitterly, "I think in this whole thing, you're the first person to ask me what I wanted. I mean if he'd asked me what I wanted, none of this would have happened."

"OK, so what do you want?" Miranda repeated.

"I want to tell him that!" Genie said. "You know... he doesn't even know. I've... I've been avoiding him. He knows that. He cornered me in the bathroom the other day... said he wanted to talk. I ran away."

"I was so scared," she continued. "I mean... I really don't think he wants to hurt me. I don't think he ever wanted to hurt me... but he did... it really hurt. He was so strong. I was afraid." 

"Yeah, I get that," Miranda nodded, suppressing a shudder. 

"I didn't even say anything to him," Genie whispered, "while he was... because I was afraid. I should have..."

"Don't go there," Miranda said gently. "You were right the first time. If he'd only asked... only talked to you, instead of just doing what he wanted and waiting for you to say 'no'... we wouldn't be here."

"No means no," Genie sighed.

"No... yes means yes," Miranda insisted.

"So," she continued, "you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah, but I can't," Genie said. "I mean, I could have the other day in the bathroom but I just freaked out."

"So maybe don't talk to him alone," Miranda suggested. "We can be there with you. Meet him in our dorm-room. Mariah and I can be there... and if he gets out of line, Mariah will kick his nuts up between his ears. She might do that before long anyway."

Genie laughed, then took a deep breath. "OK... OK, let's do this."

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"I mean, you can't just do that to a girl!" Genie was saying firmly. Once she'd gotten started, she was surprising forceful. "You can't go around just assuming that the answer is always 'yes' until we say 'no." You've got to ask!"

Orange, for his part, had moved rapidly and transparently from confused to shocked to genuinely horrified.

"Oh man, Genie," he said. "I... I'm really sorry. I didn't think... I mean... I guess, I thought you were into it. I didn't... You're so right. I should have asked. I feel like a monster."

"Good," Mariah muttered.

"I mean, can you ever forgive me?" Orange asked.

"Maybe, yeah, I can," Genie said, "but just to be clear, we're not dating. We're not hooking up. You and me... it's never happening again. I don't think you're a bad guy, Orange... If I did, I would have let Mariah kick the shit out of you... but what you did was bad."

"I know," Orange whimpered. "God, I'm so, so sorry."

"Remember," Genie said, "talk to a girl. Yes means yes. Don't be doing stuff without her saying it's OK."

"Oh wow," Genie said, after a visibly diminished Orange had left the room. "I can't stop shaking... but that was good. Wasn't that good?"

"You were amazing!" Mariah smiled.

"I couldn't have done it without you guys," Genie said. "Thank you both, so much. I'm going to go splash some cold water on my face... maybe throw up a little... but I'm good. I'm so good."