Tell me a Lie (Lo) (Casual)

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona sat outside the New York Mall on the cold steps. She sat with her elbows on her knees and her chin resting in her palms. She stared out into space, her mind going blank. She had had a stressful week and was happy that it was Friday and she didn't have to work, or go to school for two days. She would be perfectly fine with staying in bed for the rest of her weekend and not answering her phone for anything. She knew though that wouldn't happen, especially since it was Dolores that had called her. And Mona could never say no to Dolores. Lo had been her first friend, and the person who had saved her from being a helpless loner for the rest of her young life. Mona was still her one and only true friend, and the only person that knew about her past. Lo was also the only person on the face of the planet who could get Mona out of bed at eight o'clock in the morning to go window shopping.

Mona sighed and closed her eyes as she thought about when she had first became friends with Lo. When she first saw her, Mona thought Lo looked like a Fairy or like Arial from the little mermaid, she never told Lo, but Mona had loved her since that moment. She remembered when she had first realized her feelings for her Best Friend.She was scared and timid around Lo for a short while, before the truth was forced out of her. Mona couldn't hide the pain that she felt when Lo had said that she didn't like Mona the same way. It had hurt so much to admit that the person she loved the most could never love Mona back. But Mona laughed it off and continued to act like nothing could hurt her. It's where her "Mona Lisa " Smile came from. A way to hide all her true feelings from the world.

Mona felt the wind blow through her hair, sending a slight shiver down her back. She knew her smile worked on many people, but she rarely used it around Lo. She didn't want to deceive her best friend, but sometimes it was necessary for her to hide things from Dolores. Otherwise she was afraid that Lo would start asking questions that Mona wasn't ready to answer. Like why she didn't hold on the girlfriends for more then a month, or why she let people experiment their feelings on her and ask nothing in return. Mona had excepted her fate in the world, as someone who is impossible to love. Her parents didn't love her, and they were supposed to be the people who love her no matter what. They were the reason she hated families.

Mona let out a quiet sigh before starting to hum a Disney song from The Nightmare before Christmas. She loved music, but not like Lo did. She liked it because of the calming effect it had on people's system. She would never let others hear her sing , or ever think of having a profession in Music. She had grown up around hundreds of Music stars thanks to her father's job. They had all seemed bigger then life and active, but Mona noticed that they also ignored the little things around them. Such as her. She didn't want to lose the part of her inside that loved all the little things and people in life. It's why she fed the homeless and volunteered at the Suicide ward at the hospital. She wanted the feeling that she felt inside her to stay alive, not matter what.

Mona kept humming while the wind blew lightly against her light jacket and jeans. She went for casual, because she knew Lo wouldn't care if she dressed up or not. Mona loved that about Lo, how no matter what Mona wore , lo still was friends with her. A smile graced Mona's lips as she thought about her very best friend in the whole world. They were truly as different as could be, yet the worked perfectly together. Mona loved how they were two pieces of a whole when it came to friendship. She kept her eyes closed and waited for Dolores to show up .

[DOLORES HAZE]

Dolores thought that it was her responsibility to get Mona out of bed to see the city the girl seemed to know so little out. She had to admit- her friend was a genius with numbers and ethical reasoning, but never took in the wonder that was around her. And truly appreciated it. They were complete opposites, living together. Sometimes Lo would throw her pants about for laundry, missing the bin entirely and Mona would pick it up, no problem.It was just how they worked. Mona would stay indoors all the time? Now it was her time to return the favor. She truly cared a bunch about her friend- and they've been close for as long as she could remember. They were still in diapers, and grew up through nursey school. What made them fit so well and have so much chemistry was that they both knew how it was to be in the middle of ridicule and strong in the face of adversity. Mona- liked girls. Dolores- was considered a slut. They both had their fair share of trials and tribulations to work through in order to become better individuals.

However, through their lives, she had her fair share of hearing shocking things. Although Mona was more of the thinker, Dolores never realized how predictable her friend could be. She relied on her friend when she forgot something and sometimes sat pretty on that- forgetting her own responsibilities- trusting her friend with the workload. It sounded pretty bad. She knew she needed to get more organized, but how? She was still searching for that solution to this very day. But the one time Mona suprised her, it took her by storm. For the first time in Dolores's life, she felt bad about breaking someone's heart. If her best friend was a male, she would truly be all over that. It wasn't the person, it was their sexual organs. Dolores was not into female-on-female action. In fact, she found herself actually a little disgusted by it. She had to tell Mona the truth, straight up, so as to not let her friend thinks he was leading her on. Knowing that it would hurt, and how deeply Mona was about those feelings, Dolores predicted it would be hard.

Try as she might, she eventually made things less weird again. There was a time when they wouldn't speak for a couple of hours- it was dead silent in their apartment. She reasoned that they should reach an understanding about theior situation. She supported Mona so much, and wanted nothing but the best for her best friend. Even though that 'best' wasn't her romantically. She remained enthusiastic to show her friend a good time- a round of a walk and dinner in the city. Luckily she had rounded up enough tips from her job for the past three days to order something at a fancy restaurant. But which one was the question. The mall had too many options- the food court extensive to every nationality, race, and culture there was. She had walked there- it wasn't that long, having a slight athletic build to her legs- she was a dancer after all. "Hey! Mona! How the hell did you get here so fast?" She rushed over and scooped the girl into her arms in a suffocating hug, smiling as she did so.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona felt herself being lifted into her best friend's arms and gave a short, little laugh and hugged her back. She rested her head on Lo's shoulder briefly before pulling away. She remembered a short time ago where Mona did everything in her power not to touch Lo. It felt too awkward and painful to touch Dolores after the rejection. Now that they had gotten over that, Mona was so happy to be back to normal. Well almost normal, Mona still felt slight ashamed and worried around Lo. She didn't know how Lo felt around her sometimes so most of the time Mona changed in the bathroom or left the room when Lo changed. Mona knew that there no chance for her and Lo being together , but she felt like sometimes, that she was a burden on her friend. She didn't like putting Lo in uncomfortable situations, it made her feel like she was a failure of a friend. And though she would never admit it to anyone, even to Lo, but she felt uncomfortable in public.

Mona knew that she liked girls since middle school, it wasn't anything new to her. But she knew so many people were against anything that wasn't church oriented. It was why Mona didn't show off her love for girls. She had already felt the hate, first hand from her parents. If they kicked her out because of who she wanted to be with, what was stopping the world from hurting her? It was why she was so closed off from the world, she was tried of being hurt. But she made sure no one knew about it. She was safe from everything, if she kept everything to herself.

Mona gave Lo a bright little smile, "don't know know Lo? I'm magic!" She laughed softly before looking at the mall that stood before her. She actually hated the mall, the only places in New York that Mona truly liked was Central Park, The Library, and the beaches. Other then those Mona really didn't care. She would much rather spend the day in her bed sleeping. It sounded lazy and pathetic, but Mona was the happiest when she had no work and just laid around in bed. She like work and school, but it all got too much for her sometimes. She didn't get much sleep all week, but that wasn't anything new. She often stayed up all night studying or working.

Mona sighed a little and looked at her friend with wide eyes , "Do I have to go in there Lo? I'd rather just go home and sleep." Mona tried to beg her friend but she knew in the end Lo would not bend on the decision to go to the mall.

[DOLORES HAZE]

Dolores simply laughed as her friend joked around by saying she was magic. But however, she caught the slight sadness in her friend's eyes. Not wanting to question about it, she didn't show any particular reaction on her face. It wasn't that she didn't care- because Lo cared a great deal for her best friend. She just didn't want to destry the day. She had an inkling about why Mona looked that way- but feared to let all that unreciprocated feeling conversation come into play once more. She didn't need to relive that monstrocity two fold. Once was enough. At the slight protest on going to mall, Lo instantly made a face and interlinked their arms. "Uh, no. You're not allowed. You're inside all the fricken time! C'mon and live a little! We can ride on the escalators, shop, get a bite to eat, look at the pretty boys- or in your case, girls. There's so much to do, dollface. I don't know how the heck you can tolerate sleeping in as much as ya do!" Dolores waved her arms around exaggerated, emphasizing all of the words she spoke, a little too loud- but enthusiastic with a smile the whole time.

With that, she dragged Mona's hand inside, taking in the lights and sounds of the Mall. Looking to her friend's face, she hoped to see a smile. After, began to run... knowing it would keep Mona's evergy and reflexes on her toes. "Catch me if you can, slow poke!" She hollered as she rampantly dashed, passing by stores and hordes of chocked individuals who had clearly never observed a hustle like Lo's. Dolores really wanted Mona to loosen up, and if getting in trouble and making these people annoyed with her was the price she had to pay? So be it. The fiery redhead slipped on a drink spill and flew in the air, landing on her butt. "Aw, damn. My skirt." She pouted and slowly stood up, feeling her rear end, "Oh, my butt..." Trying to dust off that stain she knew that wasn't going to come off easily, she continued forth- much to everyone's surprise. They would think she learned her lesson about running at the mall- but Lo wasn't like any average teenage girl. Making her way down the escalator with ease, she skipped steps, trying her best to keep her balance and at the same time, holding her probably bruised butt.

It was quite a sight to see- a mass of wavy red hair donning a tie-up at the navel button up that was far too long, with a pink skirt that came to right over the knees. Her flats weren't anything special, plain black... but her sock underneath were mismatched- plaid and beige, both coming up to the knee. Dolores didn't have a very good relationship with her socks and shoes- they always managed to get lost. At the mall, she figured why not buy a pair or the things she needed while they were at it. Glancing behind her, she checked to see if Mona was on her tail. There she was- that vision of tanned skin and black shiny hair, worriedly rushing right after her. She saw that she had indeed underestimated her friend- she was catching up! Dolores did not intend at all to leave her friend in the dust, but thought it would take a teeny bit more longer to play catch-up. She stopped in front of the Payless Shoe Source while still trying to get that stain out of her skirt. Waving her friend over, she breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath as innocent bystander watched on, clearly looking like they were about to report her.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona groaned as her friend went off running. She sighed and ran after her, but a smile soon appeared on her face. She loved all these small fun times that she and Lo had. Running around and screaming like they were kids again, it was some of the best times of her life. She missed those days when she and Lo were carefree kids running around New York with smiles on their faces. She often wished she was a child again, before all the worries of life caught up with her. Mona watched as her friend fell and couldn't stop the worry that rushed to her. Mona often felt responsible for Lo, she wanted to make sure she was safe and unharmed. Now they were living together , Mona felt even more reason to take care of her.

Mona rushed after her friend, but just as she got to her she ran off again. Mona groaned and ran faster after her. She finally caught up with Lo and opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was gasps. Mona bent over at the waist and took in gasping breathes. She turned to look at Lo, and felt laughter bubble out of her. Her face was happy and light as she laughed. It had been years since Mona had gone running after Lo through the mall. She didn't even care if they got kicked out of the mall, she was just happy to be with her best friend. She quickly grabbed Lo's hand and dragged her into a clothing store. she pulled her into one of the clothing racks and went into the middle pulling Lo in after her. She looked out sneakily between the clothes.

She turned to Lo with a happy smile on her face,"The last time I did this, was when I was 4. Before my mom started to drink." Mona had gotten over her mother's drinking a long time ago, at least that's what she told everyone. The truth was that she wished she had a mother who didn't drink and hated her. She ignored the thoughts of her mother that came to mind and went back to smiling at Lo. She was having fun pretending she was a kid again.

[DOLORES HAZE]

Dolores was glad that her friend wasn't mad at her for the huge chase around the mall, and took success by the reins in watching Mona laugh and giggle along with her. Yeah- this took her back to when they were kids and would do the same thing around Central Park. Oh how grand and beautiful it was the be so carefree as a child. Lo knew that she indeed could get away with more things the younger she was- she was held less responsible, less suspected of doing anything wrong. Innocent naivete was going to be at her side all the time. Maybe that was why she cherished all these baby-doll outfits, and never seemed to grow up with the rest. Her obsession with Disney never faltered, and she felt no need to catch up on the tougher subjects in class, keeping with doodling in her notebook, practicing her autograph. She had big dreams- just not in the classroom. Her interests where elsewhere and she was constantly distracted with one of the worst attention spans ever. Her body was constantly at motion, figeting with every single second that went by.

Don't get her started on waiting at the Doctor's office for her check ups in a room of crowded people when it was her turn next. She would pick up a magazine one second, glance at the cover immediately bored, put it down, swing her legs while she sat, looked at the tv, played with her bracelet around her wrist and so many more things to pass the time. That was one of the habits of hers that was hard to break. She was absolutely restless. These large scale runs were just what Dolores needed to calm ever present nerves down, an energy that was controlled in this large space- released. As she was pulled into the clothing store, she didn't even have time to look at a top that caught her eye- but didn't mind. It would be there when she traveled out of the racks. Sneaking inside with Mona, she shook her head, not believing they could still fit. "What, are we gonna creep and spy on people now? or pop out? What's your plan, chica?" She queried, raising one of her well-defined brows.

"Well, it's always nice to be a kid again. Remember who you're talking to. I'm the biggest 6 year old EV.AR." Dolores pronounced with perfect annunciation, peeking through the rack, shifitng the hangers and trying to stay perfectly still so as to not give away their hiding place.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona let out a small laugh. Lo was very child like, but Mona loved that about her. She often felt like was already full grown, and was responsible for every little thing. She liked seeing Lo so happy and care free, it made her see that not everyone has to be stressed out and busy all the time. Mona often pushed herself to hard, and she knew it. But she felt the need to prove herself to everyone around her. She need to show her mom and dad, and everyone how she had ever meet that she was worth the time to notice. It's why she pushed herself in school and worked so hard outside of it. She just wanted to show everyone that she could do it.

Mona looked out between the clothes as she tried to think up a plan that could actually work.Truth be told she didn't think this far ahead, up to this point she was just going on instinct. Mona watched as people passed by her not even noticing that both she and Lo were hiding there. Mona liked watching other people. Their interactions and physical gestures gave so much away about them. Mona liked that she could see them yet they not see her, like her own personal zoo, though that sounded creepy. Mona just liked watching people in their true environment. She noticed things that others didn't, like the way a girls eyes looked away from her boyfriends when talking about what she did last night. A sign of lying. It was all so interesting for her to see. She knew that others didn't understand it and as much as she tried to explain it, she just ended up confusing people more.

Mona turned her gaze toward the guard that was walking around the store. She wondered how they got into this mess but she remembered who she was friends with. It seemed Mona always got in more trouble when she was with Lo, but she always had fun doing it. She watched carefully as the guard came close to them and was careful not to make a sound as she went back inside the rack. It was amazing that they hadn't gotten caught yet, it wasn't like they were little kids, if people looked hard enough they would see both herself and Lo. Some people could be very dense sometimes

Moan turned to look at Lo,"Umm okay so this is just on the top of my head Lo so if it doesn't work I'm sorry. So we wait till the guard isn't looking and then run like crazy to the next store. Then we can go off and do whatever you want to " She smiled at her best friend, before turning to look back out at the store. She hoped that this worked she didn't want Lo's plans to get ruined because her plan didn't work out.

[DOLORES HAZE]

As Lo heard Mona's plan, she gave an approving nod- but there seemed to be no point. She wanted something more than just running like crazy past the guard. That rish just wasn't enough. Dolores was one who loved to tread the eggshells of danger, and she could care less if she got in trouble or not. But she had to remember she had her best friend there with her. There was no way she could pull Mona into the arrested meses she got into- and she was quite ashamed to let her friend see how she got out of those jams. There was a fine line of sleazy and professionalism that she couldn't cross when Mona was present. She would feel embarrassed if her friend caught her doing one of the many sexual acts she would perform to avoid getting a ticket or a fine. She knew how Mona was such a beacon of light towards women's rights- and was against any kind of demotion of person to some extent.

But oh- dear, she would love to throw herself out there and have some fun with the middle-aged guard partolling the mall. A natural and forward flirt, she made her way out of the clothing rack and checked behind her to see if Mona was following her lead. "You don't need to follow what I do, but I just thought I'd take a more... athletic and creative and funny approach to this thingy, kay? See how racked up I can get the dude without making any war." She warned, her finger drawing in the air for emphasis, a light wag and a final tap on Mona's cute little nose. Dolores started to skip out of the store they had just ran in and walked int he opposite direction of the guard, only a couple of steps to give her a running start. She quickly went into cartwheel set up position. How in the world she was going to make this work in a skirt, she had no clue.

But it was a self-motivated challenge none the less, and Miss Haze was tempted to try this out. Who these days commuted by cartwheel anymore? She was sure close to no one. This not only was a time to show off her flexibility, but a chance to possibly flash some of her newly bought underwear at the man. Like he'd be able to resist looking away. She started to cartwheel and sure enough, her skirt slipped down and she kept on going, managing to do four in a row with her red hair flying about. The guard indeed looked befuddled, but she knew that there was probably no concrete rule against cartwheeling in the mall. After she finished, Dolores waltzed forward on her tiptoes and letting her hands graze his badge. "Hey mister, did you like my dismount? I've been practicing really hard.." For further measure, she glanced down at his crotchal area and ran away to the next store in a fit of giggles and looked behind her, hoping Mona was not too far away.

[MONA LISA DRAGOTI]

Mona followed Lo out of the store and sighed as she listened to her friend. For some reason she just knew that Lo was going to go off script and start to improvise. Dolores couldn't help but be herself, and being herself meant flirting with every guy that she across. Mona couldn't be mad at her friend, it was just who she was. But Mona was mad at herself, she always felt guilty. She felt as if there was something she could of done to protect Lo when they were children. She didn't know what she would do, but she would of done something! Anything, as long as it protected Lo from the things that happened to her. Mona just wished she could of helped out Lo more, but at the time she was going through somethings that she had never told Dolores. There was many things that Mona kept to herself that happened in her Childhood. She just couldn't talk about it with her friend, Lo had her own problems she had to deal with.

Mona watched her friend to the cartwheel and walk up to the guards chest. Mona felt an uncommon blush fall across her face. It was one of the few things that Mona felt uncomfortable around. Mona wasn't use to sexual things. Sure she knew it happened and she had some sexual relationships in the past, but she didn't really feel comfortable around displays of it. She felt so much like her mother when she was around sex displays. She didn't want to be like her mom who slept with judges to win first place in the contests. It made Mona sick, and she had turned down many doctors offers and suggestions. She tried to keep away from as many male doctors as she could, they were the worst when it came to where they put their hands. Doctors were more of lo's type any ways.

Mona looked away quickly and kept her eyes on the tiles under her feet as she walked after Lo into the store. Her hands were stuffed her her dark jean pockets. She looked anywhere but at lo's face, she didn't want her friend to see the blush that still was on her face. She hated that it was so hard for her to keep her emotions away from Lo, but at the same time, she was glad for it. There was few people that Mona couldn't hide her emotions from. Lo, her mother, and her father. And of course two out of the three hated her and wanted her to jump off a bridge. That left only one person who actually cared enough to see past the smile. She would always be grateful to her friend for that. Then their was those times where she just wanted no one to know how she was feeling. It was why she perfected her smile, so she didn't have to tell people that she was sad or to just leave her alone.

Mona pretended to look at the different clothes in the store, till she noticed that the store they were in was a lingerie store. Mona looked around and felt her face go even more red she looked towards Lo ," Lo can we please go to a different store?"